Saturday, May 8, 2010

Dehydrating Eggs (DIY)

Being the cheap errr.. frugal person that I am I am always looking for a less expensive way to do things. I was checking out dehydrated eggs on line last year and was amazed at how expensive they are. So I set out to find a cheaper less expensive way to do them myself. The #10 cans go for around $17.00 and have on average 80-90 eggs per can.(plus shipping) That's about 7 dozen eggs. Which comes out to a little over $2.00 a dozen. Pretty expensive don't you think? And so I set out to try my hand at doing my own. Now let me add my disclaimer right up front,ok? The USDA does NOT recommend doing this at home. 

Drying your own eggs is quite simple really.  There are two ways to do this. Most people who do their own scramble their eggs first and then dry them.  I personally don't care for the re-hydrated flavor.  Maybe it's just me because I'm pretty picky about my scrambled eggs.  I like mine on the softer side of scrambled and cooking them first just doesn't work for me.  So I decided to try doing them raw.  This method works for me because I can use them for more things than the cooked ones.  Including making soft scrambled eggs! 

The method is simple.  Beat your eggs really well and pour into your fruit roll up trays.  My trays will hold 6 eggs each.  Turn your dehydrator up to 165 degrees and let them dry until they are done.  Mine take an average of 16-18 hours.  When they are done they will be hard and all pretty much in one big piece.  You have to sort of  "pop" them out of the trays.  They will be hard and yet a bit  "oily"  to the touch.  Then I put them in the blender (because I don't have a food processor) and powder them up as finely as possible.  I store them in glass jars and seal them up with My FoodSaver.  A quart jar will hold about 3 1/2 to 4 dozen eggs.  I have some that I put up last September and upon checking them today I found they are still good and storing well.  To re-hydrate them I use one tablespoon of egg powder to two tablespoons of  water.  Let them re-hydrate for about 20 minutes and stir well. 
You can use them for scrambled eggs, omelets, dredging chicken and other fried foods and baking.  When using them for baking you don't need to re-hydrate them.  Just add the powdered eggs to your mix.
Some of us aren't able to raise chickens and so this is a great way to add eggs to your food storage.  And for half the price of buying them online.  When SHTF eggs will be a nice addition to anyone's food storage.  Even if you don't have chickens!!
Sorry I don't have a picture of our breakfast this morning....my camera batteries are dead. And yes, I need to stock up on more batteries.... hey... it's on my list!!!

8 comments:

  1. Never heard of doing it that way!
    Sigh, I haven't even touched the dehydrator I bought last November, I'm such a lazy bastard.
    Still don't have the garden in yet either, it is just now past our last frost date. I did go pull weeds out of it for an hour today. Tomorrow I am throwing some seeds in the ground and pulling more weeds. I do have some peas up and some volunteer onions and potatoes, all is not lost yet!

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  2. I've been looking for how to dehydrate eggs for a while and yours is the first reasonable 'how-to' that I've come across. Thanks

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  3. Yikes! When I tried this(9 trays - 6 doz eggs - 170degrees - 24hours) they looked kinda crispy and were nearly swimming in oil. Like a tsp per tray. I tried to wipe it off with a paper towel but they are still very oily. How do I powder oily things? Isn't the oil the thing that goes rancid? Is there any point in saving the dehydrated oily eggs? I poured the large chunks in a pail and don't know what to do with them-6doz eggs is a lot to lose. Did I do them too hot? What are your thoughts?

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    1. Anon, I'm not sure what happened. Ive thought about this for a few days now. It sounds to me like you might have needed to dry them awhile longer. I know it seems that 24 hours is a long time but if they aren't done then they just aren't done. Mine do have a "slick" feel to them when they are done but not "wet". They powder up fine and at last check they have been good for over two years now. I hope this helps.

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  4. Just curious, but are you using the eggs you stored 2 years ago? My family tends to be one of those that loves eggs but don't eat them that often. It would be great to know that I can store them and that the kids could crack open a jar and have eggs at any time. Also, once you open a jar of the dehydrated eggs, do you store it in the fridge or back in the pantry..or whatever method you use?

    By the way, this is my first time visiting your blog and I'm loving it.

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    1. Hey Mechelle,
      Yes I'm still using them although they are about gone now. I use them mainly in baking and cooking. They are ok scrambled but you really have to "powder" them well to use for eating things like scrambled eggs.
      As for storing them, I vacuum seal them in a Mason jar and just pop it open when I need them. They seem to be shelf stable for at least 3 years now. (I'm still counting)
      Thanks for visiting! I hope you'll come back often.

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  5. Well, here in Commifornia, eggs are $1.99 a dozen at the cheap store, so I'll just be happy to get the #10 can.

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  6. Eggs here are $1.89/ dozen, then I have use energy to cook them and then I have to pay for the packaging to store them. I'm not sure if you added the shipping of the #10 can or not. I appreciate the information on dehydrating the eggs raw. I'm eager to try this. I think it's great to have knowledge and thus options.

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