What to do with a glutton of eggs!
What do you do with a glut of eggs?
It's finally spring, and your ladies are working hard, gearing up to give you an egg a day. It's exciting as it starts up, and find ourselves wishing for more right? But multiply that egg a day by 5 hens, and you are likely getting 2 dozen eggs or more a week. Have more than 5 hens, well you know the math! You can quickly become inundated with eggs.
If you are new to chicken keeping, you may not realize yet, those ladies stop laying eggs in the winter. There are ways to extend the egg laying season, but most small flock keepers allow their hens to have a dormant period. That means buying eggs in the winter <gasp>!
But with careful planning now while you're flush with eggs, you can have fresh eggs all winter long. Here are a few simple ways you can preserve your eggs while the egg collecting is good, and save away for the cold winter months when your hens aren't laying.
1. Water Glassing Eggs
Water glassing eggs allows eggs to be enjoyed in their raw form later on. This preserving method requires eggs that are freshly laid, with the bloom in tact. What's the bloom you ask? Read about it here. But basically this means unwashed, clean eggs (none with litter or stains), and that store bought eggs or any other washed egg will not work.
Here is a nice step-by-step outline of how to water glass your eggs.
You will need a large storage vessel- 2 to 3 gallon glass/crock/food safe plastic bucket works best, distilled or spring water, and hydrated lime (also known as pickling lime). These water-glassed eggs will last 1 year- 18 months, but ideally long enough to get you through the winter months until your hens start laying again in the spring.
2. Freeze Raw Eggs in Muffin Tins or Baggies
Whole eggs can be broken out of the shell and frozen uncooked, to be used later- cooked as a scrambled eggs or baked in any recipe. This blog post from "A Farm Girl in the Making" gives a great outline of all the steps. Eggs are cracked into a mold, whisked a bit with a pinch of salt, frozen and then transferred to a sealed container for long term storage.
3. Freeze Baked Egg Products
Does your family love quiche, egg bites, pancakes, or other baked goods with eggs in them? Most of these things freeze exceptionally well- if you find yourself with a glut of eggs and know you will use a fair amount a certain way, research the recipe and see if you can make it now to freeze for later!
Here's my favorite recipe for frozen french toast sticks from the Pioneer Woman!
French Toast Sticks To Freeze For Later
4. Pickled Eggs
Have you had a pickled egg yet? It's an interesting thing, and usually a "love it or hate it" kind of thing. If you have a lover of pickled eggs, this is a great way to use up a glut of eggs. To make pickled eggs you'll need to hard boil and peel them first, then submerge them in a pickling bring and store in the refrigerator. Unlike water glassing and other types of pickling, Pickled Eggs need to be refrigerated.
Pickled Egg Recipes from National Center for Home Food Preservation
5. Salt Cure Egg Yolks
This is not the most practical way to preserve eggs but an option worth noting if you have all the eggs you need for the year and want to try something new.
6. Last but not least, you can sell, barter or donate any extra eggs you may have!
Lots of people love buying local, fresh eggs. If you're hens lay more than you can use for your family, reach out to your community to sell your fresh eggs. Check with your local authorities for the rules in your area. If you can't sell them, you can always barter with someone :) Local food pantries also love donations and you could reach out to see if yours could use them.