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!!!