Follow this step-by-step tutorial on how to pasteurize eggs at home using an immersion circulator to use in recipes in place of raw eggs.
In recipes like Japanese mayonnaise (recipe coming up next), sukiyaki, carbonara, Caesar salad dressings, and ice cream which call for raw eggs or undercooked eggs, you may want to be safe and use pasteurized eggs. You can purchase eggs already pasteurized, but they are rather expensive and often hard to find at your local grocery stores.
However, if you already have an immersion circulator (sous vide machine), it’s actually simple to pasteurize eggs yourself at home.
Why Do We Pasteurize Eggs?
Roughly 1 egg out of every 20,000 eggs will contain the salmonella bacteria which cause food poisoning. Cooking the eggs kills the bacteria, but what about those recipes that require raw or undercooked eggs?
That’s where pasteurized eggs come in. They are gently heated in their shells, just enough heat to kill the bacteria without actually cooking the egg. They are similar to ‘raw egg’ but the only difference is that egg whites of pasteurized eggs are opaque, slightly cloudy, and thickened.
Using pasteurized eggs can reduce or eliminate the risk of being infected by the salmonella bacteria when preparing recipes that call for raw or uncooked eggs.
If you’re serving eggs to young children, pregnant women, or elderly people who may have weaker immune systems, pasteurized eggs are the safest choice.
Did You Enjoy Learning How to Pasteurize Eggs?
If you want to learn more kitchen tricks, click here. Thank you so much for reading and till next time!
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How to Pasteurize Eggs at Home
Ingredients
- half to one dozen fresh eggs
- water
Instructions
- Set up the immersion circulator. Fill the pot with water and preheat the immersion circulator to 135ºF (57ºC).
- Gently submerge half to one dozen fresh eggs (no need to vacuum seal) in the water. Cook for 75–80 minutes.
- Remove the eggs and quickly place them in ice water for 30 minutes to stop further cooking. They are ready to use or you can keep them in the refrigerator for up to a week until needed.
Notes
- Many recipes and articles refer to the study in the Journal of Applied Microbiology. The cooking time says 135ºF (57ºC) for 75 minutes.
- Although it was not needed for me, you can put the eggs in a bag and fill it with preheated water to avoid cracking.
- Please note that your own pasteurized eggs don’t absolutely guarantee their safety 100%, but it should cut down the risk significantly more than using raw eggs.
Equipment
- an immersion circulator
- a large pot
why can’t i just do one egg? according to the recipe, the pasteurized eggs will last only a week in the refrigerator.
Hello there! Thank you for trying Nami’s recipe.
We used more than one egg, but one egg should work too.
Please let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Is it really minutes or was it a typo? It’ll be hard boiled by then.
Hi Lori, The immersion circulator is set to 135ºF (57ºC), and it will not be hard-boiled eggs. We hope this helps!
This recipe clearly has errors
Eggs cooking for 75 -80 minutes . Absurd!
Hi JC Yearwood,
This recipe shows how to pasteurize eggs at home using an immersion circulator to use in recipes in place of raw eggs.
Immersion circulator temperature is 135 ºF (57 ºC), and Sous Vide Pasteurized Eggs will take time to make.
We hope this helps.
Go ahead and try getting the center of an uncracked egg to the pasteurization temperature without cooking it in less time than that. I’ll wait.
Or you could, you know, just read the paper.
Food Science: Eggs don’t boil at 135 F, they need roughly 190 F. The long “cooking time” is required to ensure that enough salmonella will die to make the raw egg safer to eat.
Thanks Nami, it works well. Was able to beat the egg whites by adding 1/8 top of creme of tartar per egg.
Hello,
If your instapot has a sous vide function can you use that as well?
Hi Kristy! Yes, if your IP comes with that option. 🙂
Can the pasteurized egg whites be whipped to a stable meringue?
Hi Paola! I didn’t know the answer so I googled and found this page: http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/blog/2012/05/05/about_egg_whites Hope that helps!
I don’t know if you’re aware, but the acidity in things like mayo and Hollandaise is also a factor in rendering the raw eggs safe. I don’t remember the formula, but if I find it again, I’ll come back and add it in a comment. For me, that is preferrable to pasteurization since it’s already in the recipe. And I’m never sure that pasteurizing the eggs isn’t going to affect their emulisifying properties.
Hi Beejay! I heard of that too. I think acidity slows/prevents the bacterial growth? Yeah if you find it, please share it with us!
Thanks for this, I actually have the same idea since I got my sous vide machine but wasn’t sure what the temp and how long it needs to cook. Going to try this next time I bought eggs 🙂
Hi Roy! AWESOME! Hope you enjoy making pasteurized eggs! 🙂
Hello Nami,
Thank you for sharing this. I love raw eggs with my natto or tamago kakke gohan, but hesitate to eat them with supermarket eggs.
Can the eggs come directly from the refrigerator or do they need to be at room temperature before one sous vides them? Thank you.
Hi Sally! Oh I miss egg dishes in Japan… 🙂 It helps if you bring the eggs to room temperature so the water temperature won’t drop quickly with cold eggs. But it’s not “necessary” as the immersion circulator needs to bring back the right temp.
In dessert the eggs can be pasteurize mixing them with syrup (water and sugar) to 249.8 F as in Italian meringue or Pate a Bombe-bomb mix method .Hera a tiramisu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGoKy5nKQkY
Hi Ciricinzia! Thanks so much for sharing the Italian Tiramisu link! 🙂
Did you know by the time you get your eggs from the store eggs are about 30 days old. I love my chickens I can leave my eggs on the counter for up to 30 days provided I don’t wash off the protected coasting from when the chickens first kay them.
Hi Candace! You are so lucky to have your chickens at home! Thank you for your input! 🤩