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Four brown eggs rest in a bowl lined with printed newspaper, set on a dark wooden surface—a perfect setting to learn how to pasteurize eggs at home before using them in your favorite recipes.

How to Pasteurize Eggs

Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: egg
Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Author: Namiko Hirasawa Chen
Eat Japanese dishes with raw eggs worry-free. Raw egg over rice, Japanese mayo, sukiyaki dipping sauce: follow my step-by-step method to make them safely.
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Equipment

Materials

  • 6 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) (see Notes below)
  • water

Instructions

  • Set up an immersion circulator in a large pot of water. Preheat to 135ºF (57ºC).
    A close-up of a digital sous vide cooker display showing a temperature of 134°F, a set temperature of 134.6°F, and a timer set for 1 hour and 20 minutes—a perfect setup for learning how to pasteurize eggs at home. The device has a green rim.
  • Add 6 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) directly to the water—no need to vacuum seal. Make sure they're fully submerged. Let sit for 75–80 minutes, keeping the water temperature steady.
    Nami's Tip: To help prevent cracking from thermal shock, let the eggs sit in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes before adding them to the pot (I usually skip this without issues).
    A hand uses green tongs to lift a small potato from a pot of water with other potatoes at the bottom, demonstrating careful handling similar to techniques used in How to Pasteurize Eggs.
  • Transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice water for 30 minutes to stop the pasteurization process. Remove and pat dry before using.
    Brown eggs submerged in a clear glass bowl filled with water and ice cubes, creating an ice bath on a wooden surface—a crucial step in the process of how to pasteurize eggs safely at home.

To Serve

To Store

  • Keep pasteurized eggs in their shells in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to a week. I don't recommend freezing.

Notes

Reference & Cooking Notes
  • This method is based on a Journal of Applied Microbiology study showing 135ºF (57ºC) for 75 minutes reliably kills Salmonella in shell eggs.
  • Home pasteurizing doesn't guarantee 100% safety, but it significantly cuts the risk compared to raw eggs.
  • 6 eggs is just my batch size, not a safety limit. Scale up freely as long as your pot keeps them fully submerged with room for water to circulate.
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