How To Use Up All Those Homestead Eggs In The Spring

Now that the pullets are laying we have an over-abundance of eggs. Our refrigerator is full of brown eggs in every shade from pale to medium-dark. In the winter when I'd have to buy a dozen eggs from the store, the whiteness looked strange and pale.


Some chicken keepers have birds that lay white eggs, but I enjoy the variety of shades in a bowl of brown eggs, and I prefer brown-egg-laying breeds.

Even when I had my older flock, we always had plenty of eggs in the spring. Spring is when I splurge on egg dishes. Some of the things I make more often during the spring are:

- custard
- quiche
- angel food cake
- deviled eggs

Deviled eggs are one dish that I seldom make but in the spring there is no reason to be stingy with egg dishes. Deviled eggs aren't just for potlucks at church or company for dinner.

Hard boiling farm fresh eggs has its difficulties though. It's nearly impossible to peel fresh eggs that have been boiled. I usually peel off a thick layer of the white along with the shell. (Can you see the chunk missing from the top egg above?)

I've tried a few different ways to boil eggs hoping to avoid tearing them apart when I peel them. Recently I found two more to try. First is Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs:

"Get the water boiling first: rapid boil. Add a dash of salt. Gently lower eggs in with slotted spoon and keep the water boiling. Fourteen minutes later, drain and put in cold water so they are cool enough to handle. Peel."

This is the method I used recently and it worked very well. There were a couple spots where I lost a small chunk of the white, similar to the divot on a golf ball, but on the whole the eggs looked good.

The second method, which I haven't tried yet, is Alton Brown's Baked Eggs instead of Boiling:

"Preheat the oven to 325°. Position the oven racks in the center of the oven. Place the eggs parallel to the bars on the racks. Place a baking sheet pan in the bottom of the oven (just in case an egg breaks). Bake for 30 minutes. When the eggs are done, fill a large bowl with ice water and move the eggs into the bowl. Peel the eggs as soon as they're cool enough to handle, then return them to the ice water to thoroughly chill... This recipe works best with the freshest eggs you can find."

Everyone has their favorite recipe for deviled eggs. Some are closely guarded family secrets, but mine isn't. I found it at GoodEgg.com years ago, so if you don't have a favorite, give this one a try.

What is your favorite egg dish? Share with us in the comments.



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