How to Dehydrate Eggs

How to Dehydrate Eggs: Dehydrating is a perfect way to preserve eggs in spring and summer for use in winter when egg production is generally low or even absent.

Chicken flock keepers are likely to find themselves glutted with eggs during the spring and summertime.

It's the perfect time to take some of that egg overage and dehydrate them for use when nary a fresh egg can be found. 

This page is about how to dehydrate eggs for preserving them. There are, of course, a number of other ways for preserving eggs  - we listed dehydrating and other best methods (in our opinion) on the How to Preserve Eggs page. They are:

• Water Glassing Eggs
• Freezing Eggs
• Freeze-Drying Eggs
• Preserving Eggs in Salt and/or Oil
• Pickling Eggs

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Step by Step How to Dehydrate Eggs

While you can dehydrate cooked scrambled eggs, I prefer to thoroughly dehydrate raw eggs, and then vacuum-pack them in measured quantities.

To dehydrate raw eggs:

1. Blend fresh, washed, raw eggs with an immersion blender, in batches of six or seven eggs. Blend well. My silicone trays hold 6-7 raw scrambled eggs comfortably. Adjust the number of eggs depending whether your trays can accommodate more or fewer eggs.
   
   
2. Place a silicone tray onto a dehydrator rack. The silicone trays are wobbly, they need the structure of a metal rack BEFORE pouring the liquid eggs into them.
   
   
3. Pour the liquid eggs from the bowl into a silicone tray.
   
   I like to make a note how many raw-scrambled eggs went onto each silicone tray, so that I can make a note on each vacuum-packed bag how many eggs it contains. This simplifies the rehydration process because I will know how many eggs are being reconstituted.
   
   
4. Repeat the process for as many silicone trays as will fit into your dehydrator at one time.
   
   
5. Dehydrate for 10 hours at 149 degrees F (65 C), and then for 8 more hours at 140 degrees F (60 C). (Or follow the directions for your own dehydrator.)
   
   

Storing Dehydrated Eggs

Once dehydrated, store in airtight containers. Vacuum-packing is an excellent storage option.

I tend to vacuum-pack the dehydrated eggs before powdering. Since they will be stored for a long period of time, the less processing the better, is my thinking.

There IS one drawback - those "egg chips" can be sharp! They can puncture a vacuum-pack bag. If the bag takes on air and loosens, simply re-package.

Before using the dehydrated eggs, powder them first in a blender, such as a Ninja. This is an essential step which is needed to minimize the time it will take to reconstitute the dehydrated eggs.

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How to Reconstitute Dehydrated Eggs

Reconstituting powdered dehydrated eggs:

• Don't even think of reconstituting dehydrated eggs unless they have been first powdered. It takes minutes to rehydrate powdered eggs; it takes up to 24 HOURS or more to rehydrate "egg chips" (pictured above).
  
  
• The general rule of thumb is: 1/4 cup water reconstitutes one egg. 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) powdered egg are said to equal one egg, therefore, reconstitute your powdered eggs at a ratio of 1/4 cup to 1/4 cup (1:1 ratio).
  
  
• In my experience with large American Bresse eggs: one egg equals 4 tablespoons AND 1 1/4 teaspoons (4.3 tbsp). Therefore, I tend to reconstitute my dehydrated eggs at a ratio of 1:1.3 (1/4 cup water to 4.3 tablespoons dehydrated eggs).
  
  To reconstitute 4 eggs: 1 cup water to 1 cup, plus 1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon of dehydrated powdered eggs. (In real life, I add one cup water to one rounded cup of powdered egg.)
  
  
• Let the powdered eggs soak in the water for around 10 - 15 minutes. (If you didn't powder them first, you would have to soak them initially for nearly 24 hours.)
  
  
• After 10 minutes, thoroughly blend with an immersion blender for perhaps 1 minute. If not yet as smooth as a baby's bottom, soak a little longer, and then blend for another minute. 

There you have it! The eggs will taste as delicious as the day you first scrambled them. You can use them for nearly anything you could need them for, with the exception of sunny-side up eggs, of course. 

Here's more info on reconstituting dehydrated eggs, from PrepSOS. 

I opened a packet of eggs that I had dehydrated "only" three years prior. It initially smelled somewhat of the plastic wrapping, which was a little off-putting.

However, I powdered them in the Ninja blender, filled up a glass container with the dehydrated egg powder and put it in the freezer.

Literally a few days later, there was NO plastic odor remaining. We continue to enjoy dehydrated eggs when we need them!

According to Backwoods Home, dehydrated eggs that have been vacuum-packed and stored in a dark, cool space, should have a shelf life of five to ten years. 

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A Couple Tips for a Steadier Egg Supply...

If you are keeping a flock of layer chickens, here are a couple tips on how you might be able to stagger the monthly supply of eggs so it isn't quite as lopsided:

1. Chicks hatched in Spring will start laying in the Fall, and may keep laying throughout their first winter. If you plan it right, you will still find a variable number of smaller pullet eggs even while the one- and two-year-old hens are taking their break.
   
   
2. Supplying supplemental lighting will trick the hens to keep laying. Add enough hours of lighting to give the girls 15-16 hours of light and 8 hours of darkness. 
   
   I choose not to boost the lit hours, as the need for a rest is built into the chicken's DNA. Research indicates that health problems tend to crop up if they aren't given the chance to rest and recharge their bodies for the egg season.

I love knowing how to dehydrate eggs, because I and my family love eggs for breakfast! 

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