Freeze dried eggs are an incredibly useful and versatile way to store eggs, whether for the short or long term. Freeze-dried raw eggs reconstitute quickly with a bit of cool water, and are perfect for use in all manner of recipes. And freeze dried scrambled eggs are best for a quick instant breakfast and are unbeatable when camping.
Why We Love Freeze Drying Eggs
Not only do freeze-dried eggs taste just like freshly cracked eggs when reconstituted and scrambled, but they take up very little space, they’re shelf-stable for 20+ years, and it allows all the homesteaders take advantage of the times of year when your chickens lay an abundance of eggs.
Why Freeze Dried Eggs?
You may be asking yourself, “If eggs are fine in the refrigerator for 3 months or more, why would I need to worry about preserving them?”
Well, I don’t know about you, but I don’t have enough extra refrigerator space to store 3+ months’ worth of fresh eggs. If I did that, I’d have no room left for any other food.
Think about it, if your family eats two dozen eggs per week, that’s 24 dozen eggs for just three months of fresh eating! Who has enough refrigerator space to house all those eggs? Certainly not me!
I also don’t want to rely on the freezer to store food long-term because if (or when) the power goes out, we have to rely on generators to keep them running and I don’t want to risk losing all that food.
Freeze-dried eggs don’t require refrigeration or freezing (other than the initial preserving) and will last for years on my pantry shelf where I have much more storage space than in my freezer. Plus, 48 eggs will fit into two quart-sized mason jars.
How to Make Freeze Dried Eggs
Freeze-dried eggs couldn’t be easier to make. You do need to have a freeze dryer, and I’m absolutely in love with a Harvest Right Freeze Dryer.
Pre-Freeze the Trays
When freeze-drying eggs, or anything liquid for that matter, I like to pre-freeze my trays because this will speed up the freeze-drying process. It can actually knock off up 8-10 hours of time in the machine!
I freeze-dry 12 eggs per tray on each of my four trays for a total of 48 eggs per batch.
- Crack your eggs into a blender and blend them up (or whisk well until the yolks and whites are completely combined).
- Pour them onto your freeze dryer trays.
- Repeat until all four trays are filled.
- Carefully place the trays into the freezer and freeze overnight.
Freeze Dry
5. Once the trays are completely frozen (this step can be done in the freeze dryer itself, but will use up more electricity and time than pre-freezing yourself), place them into the freeze dryer.
6. Add the insulating sleeve, securely close the door, and start the machine.
7. My eggs took approximately 22 hours to be fully dry. When checking your eggs, they shouldn’t feel cold to the touch at all, although the trays will feel cold (use a towel or pot holder when handling trays) or use the warm tray function button, and the eggs should crumble with ease when broken up.
8. If your eggs are not fully dried, place them back into the freeze dryer until completely dried through.
Storing Freeze-Dried Eggs
You can easily crumble the eggs by hand and store them in a mason jar. However, to make measuring your eggs easier when you’re ready to use them, I like to run my eggs through the food processor for a few pulses so everything is powdered very finely.
For short-term use, you can simply store your freeze-dried eggs in a jar. If you want to store them for the long term, say more than a few months, drop an oxygen absorber into the jar before sealing. You can then seal your jars airtight using a vacuum sealer with the jar attachment.
Alternatively, you can store eggs in a mylar bag with an oxygen absorber tossed in and all the air removed.
Reconstituting Freeze Dried Eggs
Reconstituting eggs to use for scrambled eggs and baking couldn’t be easier:
- Take 2 Tablespoons of freeze-dried egg powder and add it to a small bowl.
- Add 2 Tablespoons water to the eggs and whisk well with a fork or tiny whisk.
Scale-up if more eggs are needed, then use as you would any freshly cracked and whisked egg!