Store-bought eggs have a pretty good refrigerated lifespan on their own at 3-6 weeks from the date of purchase. Our velociraptor ladies produce more eggs than we can use and we store them in our basement refrigerator. With the bloom intact (unwashed) we get a  4-6 month lifespan.

We give away and donate as many eggs as we can but like every prepper, we think to ourselves “can we store these long-term”? And so, here we have ways to preserve raw and even cooked eggs for later use!

Costs

The cost of freeze-drying eggs is much cheaper than purchasing pre-dried. With Avian Flu and large commercial operations euthanizing chickens, the prices of eggs at this time have increased about 400% over the levels in 2020.

Regardless of processing this yourself or purchasing we always suggest storing it in Mylar Bags with Oxygen Absorbers to extend its life for long-term storage. The only exception is if they come in #10 sealed cans as those can actually last longer than Mylar Bags.

Processing

Each tray for our Medium Harvest Right Freeze Dryer will hold a dozen eggs. With 4 trays we are able to process 4 dozen eggs at a time. The Large Freeze Dryer from Harvest Right will process 8 dozen eggs and the newer X-Large should easily handle 16+ dozen.

Raw Egg Processing

Handling liquids to freeze dry in large trays can be nearly impossible without spilling it everywhere. Through our trial and effort, we have found the following steps that help us not spill a drop and save money!

If you are limited on freezer space and relying on putting the liquid eggs directly into your freezer dryer, make sure that you level your freezer dryer and/or tray holder. The egg will be thicker in areas, spill, and otherwise cause a mess. Our method is to first level our freeze dryer and when working with solids we place a block of wood under the front legs. When working with liquids we remove the block until it is finished processing and replace this to ensure when it defrosts the removed water properly runs out of the machine.

Cooked Egg Processing

Cooked eggs can be processed in your freeze-dryer just as easily as raw. We prefer to scramble about a dozen eggs at a time.  Each tray for our Medium Harvest Right Freeze Dryer will hold a dozen cooked eggs. With 4 trays we are able to process 4 dozen cooked eggs at a time. The Large Freeze Dryer from Harvest Right will process 8 dozen cooked eggs and the newer X-Large should easily handle 16+ dozen.