Egg-cellent Dehydrated Eggs

Dehydrated eggs. You may have heard they are hard to make, or even impossible… well readers, that’s just an invitation for this gal to give it a try! I did my research, and found reports ranging from, “this is a ridiculous idea, nothing worked” to, “it’s so easy!” My goal is to give you the how-to so you can successfully dry your own eggs for the backcountry. I want to acknowledge this blog for giving me some great beta on dehydrating eggs (I’m not a Prepper, but some of the info on such blogs is pretty interesting!).

You can buy powdered eggs online, and for the cost, it’s much more economical than taking the time and effort to dry a lot of your own. BUT… I prefer to do it myself. Why?
1. I’d much rather support pastured chicken farms than the commercialized version,
2. Pre-dried packaged eggs tend to have anti-caking agents in them (yuck),
3. I have a food allergy that shows up when eating some eggs, and would certainly happen with mass-produced eggs.

I am highly reactive to soy. Within ten minutes of consuming it, my belly bloats up as big as I’d be at 4 months preggers. Highly unpleasant. Seriously, if you saw me after eating a stir fry made with soy, you’d be asking me, “how many in the oven?” When I eat eggs from chickens who have been fed soy (which includes most mass-produced eggs), I react as well. It’s not as dramatic, but still unpleasant. Some people claim that when a chicken (or any animal) eats soy, it’s impossible for the soy proteins to maintain enough integrity to still cause a reaction from consumption of the animal itself (or its eggs). Ha! Let me tell you, I’ve talked to many people whose bodies tell a different story. I’m all about science, but sometimes, your body just knows best, and screw the dudes in lab coats.

the chickens at Skagit River Ranch have run of the quonset huts, the dirt and the grass. this was a hot day, and most of them were hanging out in the shade beside the huts.

me and Daisy the Skagit River Ranch dog chillin’ on the porch of their country store

The soy reaction… is it the power of suggestion? No-cebo effect (opposite of placebo)? Nope. I’ve experimented with cross trials and blind trails over time, and I react poorly to eggs laid by chickens fed soy. Recently I found a local ranch that has eggs I can eat. Awesome! Let’s just hope they keep the same feed mix all year… or I’ll be paying for it at some point. If you have a soy allergy, I highly suggest talking to your local chicken farmer – they know what goes in their feed, and here in the pacific northwest, many small farmers avoid soy feed due to the overwhelming requests from customers for soy-free food. Oh, and if you check out that web page linked above, that photo of people lining up for eggs before the market opens is from my ‘hood! I go to my favorite tea shop before the market, and saunter over just in time to get in line early. The nice lady actually walks down the line to hand out eggs to those waiting, so they know they’ll get them that day!

Raw or Pre-Cooked?

There are two ways to dehydrate eggs: From raw eggs, or from pre-cooked eggs. Which one to choose? That depends on a few factors. Some people feel more comfortable with the idea of pre-cooked eggs, to better avoid the risk of salmonella. My take on that: a. I don’t like to live in fear, and, b. you’re going to cook them anyhow once you rehydrate them. Your choice. But I wouldn’t use mass-produced eggs. Something about locally raised, free-ranging chickens in a clean environment eases any anxiety I might have about contamination. Another reason I prefer the raw eggs: Pre-cooked dehydrated eggs have a grainy texture.

I tried both types to see how the process went, and to test both as finished product. Directly below are instructions on how to dry both raw and cooked eggs, with a comparison of my results below that.

Drying Raw Eggs:

NOTE: I don’t recommend using an oven for this. It can take a lot of hours to dry eggs, depending on various factors, and they need to be at a steady temperature the whole time.

1. Whisk eggs very well.

2. If using square dehydrator trays, cut parchment paper into sheets large enough to overlap the edges of the tray by two inches on each side.

3. If using round trays, cut paper in a circle just larger than the tray, or use the pre-made fruit leather inserts.

well-whisked eggs. say that fast.

curl the parchment paper under

4. Line dehydrator tray with parchment paper; square tray – fold the excess underneath on the sides. This will secure the paper during drying, and helps keep the paper from blowing on top of the wet eggs and sticking. After a few minutes of drying, take a look in and make sure everything is holding up fine. If you hear a lot of rattling noise, your paper has likely come undone and is gluing itself to the top of the eggs.

5. Pour the egg mix onto tray, spreading as evenly and thinly as possible.

6. Transfer tray to dehydrator.

7. Dry at 145°F for 5 hours, or until completely dry and crackly (time will depend on your dehydrator’s air flow and temperature regulation).

raw eggs ready to dry

raw eggs after drying

8. Cool eggs completely.

9. TIP: After cooling, to get the eggs off the parchment paper without exploding them everywhere, fold all four corners of the paper in, make sure there are no gaps, and scrunch the paper in your hands to release the dried eggs from the paper. Then carefully flatten the paper, fold gently in half to make a u-shaped funnel and slide the eggs into a wide-mouth bowl. Transfer from the bowl to the blender for pulverization.

TIP: scrunching the eggs off the paper

raw dried eggs after being un-stuck from the paper

10. Place eggs in dry blender, food processor, or clean spice grinder, and grind till powdery.

11. If the eggs act gummy, they are not dry enough. Place back in dehydrator for another hour, and repeat cooling and grinding process.

12. Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place. Storage in freezer or fridge will provide longer shelf life. Eggs prepared and stored correctly are reported to have a shelf life of years.

Drying Pre-Cooked Eggs:

The process is the same as for raw eggs, with the following exceptions:

1. Whisk the eggs well, and cook with a minimum of olive or coconut oil. Excess oil will make drying time longer and cause a grainier finished egg.

2. Because the eggs go on the dehydrator tray in small clumps, they will dry in clumps; this can make it tricky to know if the pieces are actually dry. After dehydration and complete cooling, pay special attention to whether or not the eggs act gummy in the blender/food processor/grinder. If the eggs act gummy, they are not dry enough. Place back in dehydrator for another hour, and repeat cooling and grinding process.

cooked eggs ready to dry

dehydrated cooked eggs

Side by Side Comparison

I dehydrated 12 eggs from the same carton of “large” brown, pastured, local farm eggs; six raw and six pre-cooked. Below are some images for how things looked side by side. Post-dehydration, after the same amount of grinding, the raw eggs are orange, and fine in texture. The pre-cooked eggs are yellow and a bit coarser, similar in hardness to couscous. After the final cooking, the raw eggs were pretty close to normal, with a slightly more rubbery texture than if they had been cooked right out of the fridge. The pre-cooked eggs were grainy. Overall, the dehydrated raw eggs were the best option, and would make a delicious meal in the backcountry. Throw in some dehydrated veggies, coconut aminos for savory, salt, black pepper (NOT AIP) and eat ’em up!

If you prefer to dehydrate pre-cooked eggs, I have read that they turn out fine if used in baked goods. That information came from a blog about long-term in-home food storage, and although I have baked in the backcountry, I prefer to use my outside time for adventuring. However… out camping, you could use them easily in coconut flour or plantain flour pancakes (I’ll be posting a recipe for one of those soon!).

Dehydrated Raw Egg Summary:

• Drying time at 145°F for 6 eggs: 5 hours in an Excalibur dehydrator. Some dehydrators need as much as 12 hours, depending on the air circulation and accuracy of temperature control.
• Appearance after drying: Shiny, hard, crumbly flat pieces.
• Appearance after pulverization: Orange, fine crumbs or powder.
• Appearance after 5 minutes rehydration: Water completely soaked up.
• Cooking behavior: Just like fresh eggs: Stuck a bit to the stainless pan, nothing out of the ordinary. Stir frequently.
• Appearance after cooking: Pretty much like fresh cooked eggs.
• Texture after cooking: Like fresh eggs, with a slight tinge of rubberiness, which I’ve heard from others about dried eggs. Totally edible.
• Yield: 1/2 cup or 6 heaping Tablespoons after pulverization.
• Taste: Normal.

Dehydrated Pre-Cooked Egg Summary:

• Drying time at 145°F for 6 eggs: 6 hours in an Excalibur dehydrator. Some dehydrators need as much as 12 hours, depending on the air circulation and accuracy of temperature control.
• Appearance after drying: Shiny, hard, crumbly round pieces.
• Appearance after pulverization: Yellowish, crumbs the size of couscous (not powder).
• Appearance after 5 minutes rehydration: Not all water was soaked up.
• Cooking behavior: Didn’t stick to pan at all; this may have had to do with coconut oil content from pre-cooking. Stir frequently.
• Appearance after cooking: Particles the size of couscous.
• Texture after cooking: Grainy, not appetizing. I suspect longer soaking time may have helped, but I doubt it would completely remove the grainy texture, because I suspect the oil used in pre-cooking makes for the eggs not soaking up the water very well, resulting in the grainy texture.
• Yield: 1/2 cup or 6 heaping Tablespoons after pulverization.
• Taste: Normal.

on left: ground cooked eggs / on right: ground raw eggs

the final product: on left: pre-cooked / on right: raw

How to Reconstitute and Cook Dried Eggs

To reconstitute dried eggs, mix 1 heaping Tbs of ground egg with 2 Tbs water. Let sit for at least 5 minutes (longer if you use pre-cooked dehydrated eggs), then cook as normal.

6 eggs made roughly 1/2 cup of ground, dried eggs

each egg equals a big heaping Tablespoon.