Four dozen dehydrated eggs in a quart jar
A few years ago I started dehydrating my extra eggs over the spring, summer, and fall. The main reason I did this was because from about November until March our chickens don't lay eggs up here in the cold north, with our short winter days. We didn't like having to eat store-bought eggs during the months our chickens got their break from laying. In the summer we gave eggs away to everyone we could push them off onto, and it seemed a shame to give away so many eggs, then have to pay to buy them in the winter, as well as buying feed for the chickens during those months too.
We live off-grid with solar electric power, so putting lights in the chicken coop isn't an option. Winters are cloudy and the days are short, so we have to conserve electricity during those months.
Dehydrated eggs have the disadvantage that you have to use them as scrambled eggs. That means no fried eggs in the winter, but lots of really good and creative omelettes! They can also be used in baking. I use one tablespoon whole dried egg to 1 tablespoon water, to make one reconstituted egg.
You can also separate the eggs and dry the whites and yolks separately. If you like to bake things that call for egg whites, or to make meringue, you can use the dried whites. The dried yolks can be reconstituted and cooked for eating, or used in baking.
My Nesco dehydrator came with one plastic liner for making fruit leather. I use it when I dehydrate eggs and I line the other trays with wax paper. I cut the hole out in the middle so it would sit on the tray, and trimmed the edges with extra so I could bend it up and form a lip around the edge so the egg wouldn't run off the trays. I'm careful with the wax paper and re-use it for several batches before having to cut fresh wax paper.
Each of these trays holds four eggs. If you have a different dehydrator you can experiment to see how many it holds. Break the eggs into a bowl and whisk them until the yolks and whites are evenly mixed, if you're dehydrating whole eggs. With the lined dehydrator tray sitting on the dehydrator, so you won't have to move it after filling the tray, carefully pour egg onto the tray. Move the bowl around the tray and pour until you have a good covering. You can use a spoon to further spread it.
You don't want it too thick or it'll take a long time to dry. I poured mine about the thickness of a plain chocolate candy bar. Try to spread it evenly so that you don't have part of the tray finished before the thicker parts. It won't be perfect, but take a few minutes to spread it as evenly as you can.
This is partway through the drying process. You can see the 'skin' forming on top. Set your dehydrator to the hottest setting, if you have a temperature control on it. Mine is 135 degrees.
You can dry eggs in the oven on a low setting, but use the absolute lowest temperature setting your oven has. You don't want to cook the egg, you just want to dry it.
If you live in a dry climate you can air-dry the eggs. Watch them closely and pour them thinly on the trays. I tried flipping mine partway through once and it was a messy disaster.
It takes my dehydrator about 8 hours to dry four trays of eggs. When they're done I lift the wax paper off the dehdrator tray and I turn it upside-down over a cake pan. The dried eggs should peel off without leaving a mess on the wax paper, other than a few crumbs. If it's still wet and slimey, put it back on the dehydrator tray and dry it longer.
When they're crumbled in the pan they resemble cornflakes. I broke them into crumbles, then spooned them into the blender to make egg powder.
The finished egg powder is in the bowl. I later started just packing the crumbles into a jar and crushing them down with a wooden pestle from a mortar and pestle set I have. When reconstituted, it works just about as well as 'powdering' it in the blender.
It doesn't make a dry powder. It makes a somewhat-greasy powder. If you have trouble reconstituting it try using different temperatures of water. It will look grainy when it's reconstituted, but when you cook it, as either scrambled eggs or omelettes, it comes out with an even texture and a bit spongy rather than fluffy. The taste is the same as fresh eggs.
We take it camping, so I put some in a ziplock bag for that purpose. This bag in the picture traveled with me on a 1,100 mile bicycle trip in spring and early summer 2010.
Dumped straight out of the trays and before further crumbling the dried eggs look like peanut brittle without the peanuts.
The majority of our dried eggs are packed tightly into glass jars and stored in our dark, cool root cellar. Most summers I dehydrated around 24 dozen to store for winter use. It's been a big savings and a great way to have 'home-grown' eggs over the winter.
If you have comments or questions, please leave them below or email me at:
Susan
The obligatory food-safety warning: Raw eggs can contain salmonella, and the dust from freshly-dehydrated eggs can carry enough of the bacteria to make you sick. Be very careful not to breathe the dust!!!
ReplyDeleteYes! Thank you for pointing out this very crucial piece of information that I forgot to include with the post.
DeleteThe dehydrated eggs are still RAW!!! Be SURE to cook them thoroughly after reconstituting them, and while handling them before cooking, us proper safety and hand-washing procedures.
As for the dust, mine are just greasy enough that even when powdered I don't see any dust. On the off-chance that it is there, I'll be sure to stay back from the blender if I powder the eggs that way.
Thanks again, Ellendra.
Susan
This was a very helpful and informative article. Thanks so much for posting! Will be trying this.
ReplyDeleteLaurie
Any idea how long the eggs in a air tight container will last for?
ReplyDeleteI'm using some now that I dried three years ago and they taste fine and have not made us sick. They were packed tightly into a quart jar and stored in our root cellar, which is dark and cool year round. I don't really know how long they will keep in all situations, but I know that dark and cool will help them keep longer. I'm sorry that I can't tell you more than that. I know that commercially dried eggs have a shelf life of 5 to 20 years.
DeleteSusan
I've read that properly dried eggs stored in a cold place like a root cellar or your fridge can last up to 15 years. I have No clue if that is true or not. However thats the longest time I've ever seen listed.
DeleteThey will last a long time if you add OXYGEN ABSORBERS.
DeleteWith the Oxygen Absorbers I seal mine in jars with my food saver and canning jar attachment.
DeleteThank you for this information! We are not at the point of having extra eggs yet (we just bought layers that aren't even laying yet) but someday I hope to need this information!
ReplyDeleteHow do you re-hydrate the eggs; how much water to how much egg? Measuring the eggs what measurement equals one egg?
ReplyDeleteAbove it states that 1Tablespoon of egg to 1 Tablespoon of water equals 1 egg
DeleteI would also like to know how to rehydrate and how to make the wax lip
ReplyDeleteI always like reading articles like this. I'm fairly new to preparing for the future. I do my own canning, dehydrating and such, but never think past the next summer. My chickens are now laying - I get 8-11 eggs a day. This information will come in handy.
ReplyDeleteHey Darlene - she does tell you about rehydrating eggs in the article - somewhere towards the top.
Thanks
Cheryl
Is it possible to put this through a food processor to get a powder and further dry out? Just a thought. Don't have extra eggs to try this out with. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's an excellent idea and worth a try. It might even make a fine enough powder that they will reconstitute better. I don't have a food processor but I do have an electric wheat grinder with extra-fine settings. I might give that a try.
DeleteThanks!
Susan
Susan, I wouldn't try the wheat grinder. You aren't supposed to grind anything oily - could mess up your grinder :/
DeleteThanks for the post. I did a dozen a few moths ago, and they were "a greasy powder" like yours, I thought I had somehow messed them up!
ReplyDeleteThx for this article. I will definitely try this !
ReplyDeleteI've done this in the past, but I don't find that they taste the same; nobody in my family can stand home dehydrated eggs. :(
ReplyDeleteThat happens sometimes. Sorry it didn't work out for your family. If you want to store 'dried' eggs, some of the commercially freeze-dried ones are good. I like the Augason Farms freeze-dried eggs in the #10 can.
DeleteThanks for your comment.
Susan
Try using butter when you scramble them. Cheese gives them a different taste as well. My kids couldn't tell the difference after I started using butter and cheese in them.
DeleteI bought a coffee grinder just for grinding eggs I dehydrated into powder.
ReplyDeleteI placed my eggs beside the pint jars I used storing commercially processed eggs and couldn't tell the difference, except my farm grown eggs were a deeper golden color.
When I dehydrate eggs, I package them into sterilized canning jars & toss in an oxygen absorber. The OA will deplete the oxygen in the jar, sealing it (just as if it had been canned) which prevents the fats from becoming rancid. Keep the jar in a dark, cool place (same as home-canned goods) or it can be placed in the freezer. After opening, it should be refrigerated.
ReplyDeleteGreat info!
ReplyDeleteVery excited to try this! I was used to freezing my eggs, which must first be separated and such, but I will no longer have the luxury of a freezer. I will have a root cellar near the house (couldn't connect it to the house, since we are heating a rather tiny house with wood), so I could store them there. I have never used a light in the coop either, but the first two Winters the hens lay almost enough year-round, not so in their third and forth years. They become stew-pot hens after that, so I don't really know how long they would lay through the Spring and Summer after year 4. Wish I had read this post, or had your books, in the Spring!
ReplyDeleteOff topic: Do you happen to have any pictures/diagrams of the shelves you use to dehydrate above the woodstove? Our only electric will be in the shed by the main road, which is 1000' away from the house, and I would much prefer to do my Winter dehydrating when the woodstove is being used. Of course, Summer in PA is often not dehydrator friendly, but when it isn't humid, I will dry in the shed using the Excalibur. Thank you.
so just double checking, you do not 'can' or preserve the dehydrated eggs. just put them in a jar, put a lid on tightly and store in a cool dark place. is the basement ok? a back corner that's dark unless we have a light turned on briefly
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't can them, Dehydrating them is a preservation method, but storing them in an airtight jar in a cool, dark place extends the shelf life of the dried eggs. Light, heat, and oxygen cause changes in the fats in the eggs and they will become rancid faster. They're still 'safe' to eat, in that they won't make you sick, but rancid fats aren't that good for you, and I've heard claims they are bad for the liver. I can't say if that's true or not. So your best bet is to dehydrate them until they're like peanut brittle without the peanuts in it, then store in the airtight containers, preferably glass, in a cool, dark place with a steady temperature. By the way, plastic is not as airtight as glass. Plastic is somewhat permeable and the food can pick up odors from the plastic and from surrounding foods or other objects.
DeleteA basement is a good place. The temperature is usually fairly stable in a basement. Artificial light doesn't cause as many changes to food as natural sunlight does, so the occasional light turned on isn't a problem.
Thanks for your question.
Someone else has left a comment that using butter or cheese with the dehydrated eggs masks the difference from using fresh eggs. I've tried to publish the comment but it never shows up here. So I apologize to whoever sent the comment. It's a great idea, and now it's here for everyone to see and try. Thanks for sending the suggestion to me.
DeleteI have a seal a meal vacuum sealer. can I use that in place of jars?
ReplyDeleteVacuum sealing using the heavy bags such as for freezing food would be as good. Plastic can be somewhat porous even when it seems airtight, but sucking all the air out creates a good environment for dried eggs or any dried food. If you can store them in a cool, dark place with a steady temperature, that's even better!
DeleteSusan
What n where can you get oxygen absorbers ?
ReplyDeleteThey're little packets kind of like tea bags that contains things like iron oxide that absorb the oxygen from their surroundings. When you put a food item in a bucket and throw in one of these packets it sucks the oxygen out of it's surroundings in the bucket and keeps the food fresh longer because oxygen isn't available then to cause deteriorization of the food.
DeleteYou can get some good quality oxygen absorbers for a low price from different sources on amazon, here:
http://amzn.to/1yHo3rj
Hope this helps! Good luck!
Susan
You can order O2 absorbers from the LDS or obtain them at an LDS dry pack cannery. I am not LDS, but have utilized both the local dry pack cannery (Carrolton, TX) as well as there mail order service.
DeleteDo you think you can dehydrate eggs in the toaster oven?
ReplyDeleteIt depends how low you can get the temperature in the toaster oven. If the control goes down to around 135 or 140, it would work fine.
DeleteIt can run your power up a little bit but I know someone who used a piece of aluminum foil wadded into a 'stick' and she stuck it in the toaster oven door to keep it cracked open just a little bit to let extra heat out. She put a thermometer in the toaster oven to find out what the temperature was. At first it was still too high so she plumped up the foil 'stick' a little to open the oven door just a bit more. Then it was right in the target range and she went ahead and used it as a dehydrator for several kinds of food. I don't know if she ever dried eggs, but she had it in the temperature range where she could have. But like I said, it would cost a bit more in electricity. I'm not sure if it would add up to enough to matter.
Thanks for your question!
Susan
Some vac/sealers have an attachment to vacume wide mouth jars. With an 02 absorber in the jar, it don't get any better. Just keep em cool and dark.
ReplyDeleteThat would be the ultimate way to store the dehydrated eggs! :)
DeleteThanks!
Susan
Thanks for sharing. I can buy eggs from time to time from a (I'm Dutch so some words are weird maybe, sorry.) little farm with animals for children. The chickens over there are free roaming and happy. But usually I only buy 2 dozen, you can't keep them forever! Now I kinda can :)
ReplyDeleteI live in the city, they would not like it very much to be waken by a cock or chickens Maybe in a few years me and my partner will move to the country, then we will have some chickens of ourselves! This will be very helpful, also the idea of dehydrating them separately, I love to make a Pavlova every now and then, and this way you can without thinking what to do with the yokes.
well i tried the eggs I have a problem that the eggs run to the center and over the wax paper. is there something I need to do? I have the same machine as you. would using the liner from cereal boxes work or are they to thick for drying?
ReplyDeleteI had a problem sometimes with them running over the edge of the wax paper, or pooling on one side or another of my dryer racks. I folded the edge of the wax paper up to try and keep it in, but sometimes it still got messy.
DeleteI think the liner from a cereal box would work fine, if you mean the wax paper bags inside the boxes. It would probably be good to wipe it down to remove all the cereal crumbs and dust. That's actually a great idea. It 'recycles' and saves money too!
Thanks!
Susan
You CAN freeze eggs without separating them. I get the little child size snack ziplocks...they hold two eggs...carefully put in tho..so you don't break the yolk...freeze them laying flat...like on a cookie sheet...then I take out and put into a square ice cream bucket..you can get a lot in it. When you go to use them...take them out and lay them flat again and let them thaw...then you can even fry them.
DeleteNOW tho I am going to try dehydrating...ty for the directions
I have dried eggs before in my Excaliber (square racks). I used plastic plates (like one can often get in the summer) to put the liquid egg into. The plates are washable as well, which helps a lot.
DeletePlastic disposable plates? or the cheap plastic plates from someplace like walmart?
DeleteThanks for the GREAT idea.
ReplyDeleteI live in california where we don't have basements or cellars , how lon do they keep at room temperature
ReplyDeleteIn part it depends on how cool/warm your room temperature is. I suggest that you find the coolest, darkest place in your home to store the dehydrated eggs. It might be a lower cabinet in your kitchen, or under a bed, or any place dark and cool.
DeleteAt a standard room temperature of 70 degrees they should keep 6 months to a year. Make sure your container is as air-tight as possible. Glass is good, but you can also vacuum seal them in food saver bags. Less good is plastic bottles or metal cans.
Light is one of your biggest enemies. It will turn the fats in the eggs rancid, so the best thing you can do for your dehydrated eggs it to keep them in the dark, even if your rooms are somewhat warm.
I hope this helps. Thank you for asking.
Susan
No A/C in TX. Last few days have been triple digit. Storing in an extra fridge or in the freezer will work well until the grid is down (starting work on off grid stuff). Most do not have basements in my area due to clay/heavy soil and foundation issues (requires hauling in sand to prevent). HOWEVER...... I find that most foods do store well even with the heat, given they are kept in a dark area.
DeleteThis question might have been answered but if it was I couldn't find it. How fresh were the eggs you used to dehydrate? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI think you may be the first person to ask this. The eggs I used were less than two weeks old and as new as that day's eggs. As we collected them I'd start a batch dehydrating whenever we had enough extra.
DeleteThanks for your question!
Susan
Do they have to be fresh? I can get eggs from Aldis for .39 a dozen and wanted to try this. thanks
DeleteThere are a couple of people who have left comments recently (first half of November 2015, and they accidently got deleted before posting. I was trying to learn how to do email on my cell phone, and I messed up a few things before figuring it out. I apologize to those people.
ReplyDeleteOne person asked if the eggs could be cooked first and then dried. They could be but I'm not sure how they would be used them. I don't know if they could be added to things like pancake batter or cookie dough and still do what they're supposed to do if they're precooked. If a person diced or sliced boiled eggs you might be able to dry them and use them in potato salad or other recipes.. I might give that a try and see how it works.
I can't remember what the other person asked, but if you get on here and read this, please leave your comment again and I'll see that it gets posted.
Thanks!
Susan.
I scramble them first in a Teflon pan on low heat with no oil or spray (that would turn them rancid) till done, then dehydrate them till hard,145 @ 18 hours then run them through a blender to powder them, to re-hydrate them 1tbls egg powder to 1 tbls hot water makes 1 egg.
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent idea! Silly me, I was only thinking about whether eggs cooked before dehydrating could be used in cooking or baking, and I didn't even think about rehydrating them as scrambled eggs. I bet this would make even better omelets than the eggs I dehydrate from raw. That's probably what previous commenters or those who emailed me were getting at, and it went right over my head! Thank you!
DeleteSusan
I have a large square 9 tray dehydrator. I bought the sheets for fruit leathers. But the trays do not have much in the way of edges. I don't see how liquid eggs would stay on them. Also you have to slide the trays in which
ReplyDeleteWould create a wave and splash over. Want to do them raw but I do not think it will work in my dehydrator.🙁
ReplyDeleteYour comment came in two parts, so readers be sure to read both the last two comments.
DeleteThe only solution I can think of is to line the fruit leather trays with wax paper and fold the edges up to make a better rim around them. It would be more work, but it would keep it from running over the edge. Then pour the raw eggs slowly into the wax paper and spread it with the back of a spoon.
Susan
My favorite article on dehydrating eggs. My dehydrator is on the way and I can't wait to try it.
DeleteThanks! I hope you have a lot of success and fun with your dehydrator!
DeleteSusan
I dehydrated my eggs a little bit different. First, scramble your eggs in a non stick pan using no oil (a dry scramble on medium heat). Break up into as small pieces as possible in order to get rid of the moisture. Afterwards put into a food processor to break up into smaller pieces. Put into dehydrator on 135 degrees for about 16 hours. Now put your golden nuggets thru a grinder (I use a coffee grider) to pulverize into a powder. Eighteen eggs make approximately 1 pint of product. I then put into a pint mason jar and remove all the air and seal the jar. I would assume that since you are pulverizing cooked eggs into a powder that salmonella wouldn't be a risk factor.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great way to dehydrate eggs, and avoid the salmonella risk, if you're only going to use them in things like scrambled eggs and omelets. They can't be used in baking with this method.
DeleteThank you for sharing this with us. It's great information!
Susan
I was thinking about a way to use the dehydrated eggs in smoothies for extra protein. Mine is always low and doc says eat more protein. You can eat only so much. I like the idea of scrambling them, then pulverizing them into a powder. Do you think that would work in a smoothie?
ReplyDeleteYes, that should work, however I recommend you cook the eggs first (probably as scrambled eggs) and then dehydrate them, to avoid the risk of Salmonella from uncooked eggs.
DeleteThank you for the idea. There may be others who could benefit from adding this kind of protein to their smoothies.
Susan