Farm Fresh Hard Boiled Eggs In The Instant Pot

Farm fresh hard boiled eggs turn out predictably and shells peel easily using the 5-5-5 method in the Instant Pot.

To easily peel farm fresh eggs after hard boiling, use the 5-5-5- method in an instant pot or pressure cooker. Place clean eggs on a wire rack with 1 cup of water. Pressure cook 5 minutes. Natural release 5 minutes. Flash cool in ice for 5 minutes.

Why are hard boiled farm fresh eggs so hard to peel?

Before we moved to our acreage and back in the era before countertop pressure cookers, I used to hard cook my store bought eggs by boiling them in water on the stove. This method mostly worked well, and I didn’t often worry about whether or not the shells would come off once they had cooled. More often than not, my main concern was whether or not the yolks would be as firm as my family desired them to be. From time to time there might have been a difficult one to peel, but mostly shell removal seemed manageable and produced desired results.

When I switched to farm fresh eggs, things changed. I found removing the shells and membranes to often be a nightmare, if not completely impossible. I remember well the eggs that never made it to our mouths, but when straight to the dog with shells still on. Cooking them on the stove was not working!

If you’ve ever tried to peel a farm fresh hard boiled egg you know the frustration as everything sticks together and chunks of the white come off with the shell. While removing the egg shells and membranes you often remove much of the egg white itself, and probably prick or cut your finger on the corners of the jagged shell. With farm fresh eggs, however, this is seemingly simple task can become a nightmare.

I acquired an Instant Pot and learned of the 5-5-5 method, and it changed my life.

Egg Science & Anatomy

So why are farm fresh eggs so much harder to peel? What makes the different from the eggs on the grocery store shelves? Get ready for a science lesson. Here we go!

You see, the eggs you purchase in the store can be weeks, even months old. As the eggs age, they go through many chemical and structural changes. This egg quality handbook provides an easy to understand diagram of the changes. For the sake of boiling eggs and shell removal the most important changes to note relate to the overall moisture content and volume of the eggs.

Over time, moisture inside the egg slowly evaporates out of the porous shell, and causes the white of the egg to shrink. This increases the amount of air in the air cell (the little bubble of air that makes your hard boiled eggs have a flat end.) The membranes can also begin to loose integrity and pull away from the edges, making it easier to peel away the shell. All of this makes the egg easier to peel when boiled. So the older and egg is, the easier it should be to peel off the shell after hard cooking it.

In farm fresh eggs you don’t see these changes yet, so the structures inside are larger and stronger. Therefore, your options are to let them sit in the fridge for a very long time, and begin to break down and shrink, or find an alternate method to stovetop cooking. Regardless of the cooking method you choose, I suggest hard cooking the oldest eggs you have on hand, both for ease of peeling and to keep your egg stores well rotated.

Why the pressure cooker works

If you boil farm fresh eggs the traditional way they can be impossible to peel, but when you cook them under pressure, the force on the outside of the shell causes the egg to compress ever so slightly. As the inside of the egg cooks it forms to the smaller shape, and when the pressure is release, the shell pulls slightly away as it expands back to its normal size. Therefore you have a shell that is more easily removed and a farm fresh hard boiled egg that is easier to peel.

Farm Fresh Hard Boiled Eggs in the Instant Pot

The Method

To begin, place a metal trivet or rack in the bottom of your Instant Pot, so the eggs will not be resting on the bottom. This method actually doesn’t “boil” the eggs, it steam cooks them. I have found that if some of the egg shell is touching water, they are more likely to crack open during cooking. Keeping the eggs up out of the water helps prevent disastrous mess of scrambled egg chunks when you open the lid after cooking.

At this point I like to let my eggs sit out in the uncovered IP on the counter and reach room temperature. I have found that warmer eggs are also less likely to crack during cooking.

Add one cup of water (or your pressure cookers required minimum) to the bottom of the pot. Be sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the eggs. Remember, this method steam cooks them. It does not actually boil them.

Since I make these eggs very often, I have programmed my Instant Pot “poultry” button to be set for 5 minutes of high pressure cooking. When I’m ready, I can simply select that button and it’s all ready to go. Be sure to set the release valve to the sealed position.

Cooking

Keep in min that cooking for “5 minutes” really means about 20 minutes of time in the Instant Pot since you have to account for the time it takes the pressure cooker to build up steam. Once it’s up to the appropriate temperature and pressure, then the 5 minutes of cooking under pressure will begin.

Natural Release

Allow for a 5 minute natural release after that. (The second “5”.) A natural release is when you allow the pressure cooker to cool down and release the pressure on its own, without any intervention. To fully release the pressure inside the chamber to a point where you can open the lid it will take much longer than 5 minutes. A natural release allows a little extra cook time while still under pressure, and I would assume it lessens the shock on the shells when you open the lid and transfer them into the ice bath. After 5 minutes of natural release you can manually let the remaining pressure off by opening the pressure valve.

Ice Bath

After the cook time and natural release it’s time for the final “5”. I use a slotted tongs to transfer the eggs into a large bowl filled with ice and water. This ice bath cools the egg quickly to stop any further cooking. We certainly don’t want overcooked eggs that have become rubbery, do we? Allow the hard boiled eggs to sit in the ice bath for 5 minutes, then they can be removed and transferred to the fridge for storage.

Troubleshooting

I have had my fair share of cracked eggs and messy results when making eggs this way. I have, however, discovered a few things that make the difference for me.

Besides making the mistake of adding too much water, as stated above, I have also found that allowing the eggs to come to room temperature before cooking greatly reduces the number of cracked eggs. I fill my IP with the trivet, eggs, and water, then allow it to sit on the counter some time before placing the lid and starting the cook.

Since we use farm fresh eggs, the shell consistency and thickness on each egg is not always the same, and certain hens do lay eggs with more brittle shells. If you are using your own eggs, you may find that certain ones don’t seem to endure the pressure very well. If you have different breeds of birds that lay different colors, shapes, or textures of egg shells, consider selecting just the ones that you know to be most durable for cooking.

Farm Fresh Hard Boiled Eggs

Ingredients:

• Eggs
• Water
• Ice

Special Equipment:

Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker

Directions:

First, place a trivet in the bottom of your Instant Pot.

Stack the desired number of eggs on top of the trivet. I do at least a dozen eggs at a time. Just make note of the max fill line inside your pressure cooker.

Add approximately one cup of water to the bottom of the pot based on your pressure cooker requirements.

Place the lid. Seal. Adjust the steam release handle to “sealing”.

Set the Instant Pot to cook for 5 minutes on high pressure.

After the 5 minutes of cook time have elapsed, allow a 5 minute natural release, then manually relieve the additional pressure.

Transfer eggs to an ice bath of ice and water in a large bowl. Allow them to cool for an additional 5 minutes.

Finally, drain and move eggs to the refrigerator until ready to use.