How to Freeze Eggs
If you have a glut of eggs from your backyard chickens, you may want to save some for later. This tutorial will show you how to easily freeze eggs for later.
When you have backyard chickens, the eggs supply seems to be a feast or famine. Throughout the year from March through September, we have plenty of eggs.
So many that I sometimes even give them away. But in October, my girls start slowing down with their egg production
Come November, I start pleading with my hens to please lay just a few eggs. (They ignore me!) And then when December rolls around and I want to do some holiday baking, my hens have usually gone on strike. No eggs are to be found anywhere.
While I have found a few tricks that help my hens lay more (see Should I Light My chicken Coop?) my girls still don’t lay at nearly the rate they do in the spring and summer.
So how can you preserve the eggs from your backyard chickens? Can you freeze eggs?
Yes, You CAN Freeze Eggs
There are several ways you can freeze eggs. From freezing a bunch together for a particular recipe to freezing each egg individually, I’ll explain how best to freeze them below.
Plus I’ll share the pros and cons of each method.
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How to Freeze Eggs for a Specific Recipe
Let’s say you make your Grandmother’s famous pound cake once every two weeks and it always turns out better when you use fresh eggs from your backyard chickens.
You can freeze eggs in useful quantities that you need. If the cake needs 6 eggs, beat 6 eggs together in a bowl. Then pour them into a freezer-safe container and put them in the freezer.
Make sure you write the date and the number of eggs on the container. It will be nearly impossible to determine the number of eggs in a container once they are completely frozen.
The day before you get ready to make that cake, take the eggs out to thaw in the refrigerator. Whisk them thoroughly together again once thawed. But be sure they are completely thawed before you attempt to use them.
What If The # of Eggs You Need Varies?
If you typically use a varied number of eggs each week, it might be best to freeze them individually. This is what I have chosen to do most of the time.
Sometimes I need one or two eggs for a muffin recipe. Other times I need 4 or 5 for a cake. Having eggs individually frozen makes it easy to pull out just what you need.
The easiest way to freeze eggs individually is to crack the eggs in a bowl and whisk the whites and yolks together. Then divide them into a silicone muffin pan.
You can also use the individual silicone muffin cups to freeze the eggs too. So if you wanted to freeze 8 eggs, divide the eggs between 8 cups of the muffin pan. Pop the eggs into the freezer until solid.
Once the eggs are frozen, you will need to remove them from the silicone muffin pan or liners. To do this, push up on the bottom of each cup. You will probably have to actually push the cup inside out to get the frozen egg out. (See picture above.)
Then, once the eggs are out, place them in a labeled freezer storage bag and put them back in the freezer. (See picture below.) Then you can take out however many egg “cups” you need for your recipe.
A Few Don’ts When Freezing Eggs Individually:
- Don’t freeze the eggs first without whisking them together. The yolk will get very gelatinous and not whisk in well with the whites.
- DO NOT try to freeze eggs in a regular metal muffin pan. You WILL NOT get them out!
- Don’t try to freeze them in paper liners either. You’ll have muffin wrapper all in your eggs.
- And DON’T freeze eggs in the shell. They will expand and crack.
To Freeze Egg Whites
If you just want to freeze egg whites by themselves, you can freeze them in a regular freezer container. I have several recipes that call for an egg yolk or two.
I save the whites and freeze them 2 or 4 to a container. Then I thaw them and make Easy Meringue Cookies.
Freezing Egg Yolks
Freezing egg yolks is a bit more complicated. The yolk gets really gelatinous so a little extra care must be taken when freezing them by themselves.
First, you need to decide if you will be using the eggs in a sweet or in a savory dish. Yes, you have to decide this in advance.
If you will be using the yolks in a sweet dish beat 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar in with 4 yolks before freezing in a silicone muffin pan or in a freezer container.
If you plan to use them in a savory dish, beat in 1/8 teaspoon salt per 4 yolks. Freeze as above.
How to Thaw Frozen Eggs
A word about thawing eggs. Always, always, always, thaw your eggs overnight in the refrigerator or in a bowl of cold water.
If you try to thaw them in the microwave, they WILL start cooking. Don’t ask me how I know!
Your frozen eggs will keep for up to a year in the freezer. Only use thawed eggs in dishes that will be thoroughly cooked.
Cooking With Frozen Eggs
I have cooked numerous dishes and made cakes and pies with eggs that I had previously frozen. I could tell no discernible difference.
The one recipe that I could tell that the eggs had been frozen was plain old scrambled eggs. I wasn’t such a fan of them using previously frozen eggs.
They were a bit tougher to me. However, I suggest you give it a try with a single egg for yourself. I’ve heard they taste just fine to others.
Eggs are Seasonal
One thing to keep in mind, that isn’t as well known nowadays, is that eggs are a seasonal item, just like watermelon and tomatoes.
During the spring, chickens usually lay the most. That’s why you typically see eggs, especially deviled eggs, at Easter.
With the shorter days of winter, backyard chickens lay less, if at all. (But it’s a bummer to those of us who love to bake at Christmas!)
So to keep from purchasing eggs, freezing them is the way to go, especially if you have extras in the spring.
Other Egg Related Posts
Here are a few other egg related posts that may be helpful to you.
Many recipes often call for egg yolks and you are left with excess whites. This easy recipe for meringue cookies is a delicious way to use them up.
Your fresh eggs from your backyard chickens can be notoriously difficult to peel when you hard boil them. Here’s how to hard boil eggs so they will peel easily.
And don’t forget to save all those eggshells. They are so useful around your home and garden.
If your chickens don’t lay many eggs during the winter is there much you can do? Lighting your chicken coop can help. This post shares how to light your coop so you don’t upset your chickens.
Have you ever frozen eggs before? Which method do you prefer?
