PLEASE do not try to pasteurize your own eggs. You have no way of knowing if the egg is properly heated all the way to the center of the yolk. You could end up with a temp where the bacteria multiply and thrive.

Please heed the advice of the FSIS: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Factsheets/Focus_On_Shell_Eggs/index.asp

Hi Bette,

While this may be true, the advice that was quoted here (See Pasteurization of Eggs comes directly from The American Egg Board. Choose your own authority.

The FDA Food Code states that in serving highly susceptible populations (preschool age children, older adults; individuals with compromised immune systems, and individuals who receive meals through custodial care-giving environments such as a child or adult day care center, kidney dialysis center, hospital, or nursing home): “Pasteurized eggs or egg products shall be substituted for raw eggs in the preparation of foods such as Caesar salad, hollandaise or Béarnaise sauce, mayonnaise, meringue, eggnog, ice cream, and egg-fortified beverages.”

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, “In-shell pasteurized eggs may be used safely without cooking.” For example, they may safely be consumed raw (as in raw cookie dough or eggnog) or in undercooked forms (such as a sunny-side up egg). Many food service and health care providers use these eggs to prevent cross-contamination in their kitchens.

While it is claimed that pasteurization equipment is not available at home, using boiling water and an accurate thermometer, temperatures capable of pasteurization can easily be achieved using equipment found in the home. If you choose to pasteurize eggs at home using the techniques described on The American Egg Board website, Cooks.com recommends that you add a tablespoon of vinegar to the pasteurization water bath. Salmonella doesn't survive in a high acid environment.

Bacteria is unlikely to thrive when temperatures above 140°F are maintained. Bacteria generally multiplies only at sustained temperatures below 140°F.

The American Egg Board also states that the probability of an egg being contaminated with Salmonella is about 1 in 20,000, which means that you're 4 times as likely to be struck by lightning. If this worries you, then you should use only commercially pasteurized egg products (the ones in the cartons at the supermarket that cost so much more than eggs in the shell and somehow don't seem as fresh).

Substituting a tablespoon of 80 proof rum for the vanilla in the recipe above - it will likely kill any bacteria that the 29% average alcohol content of vanilla didn't touch if you give it direct contact with the egg (it will also partially cook it).

Be careful not to allow the outside of the shell to come in contact with the white or yolk of the broken egg. You can also wipe down the egg shell with rum or vodka just before using as an extra precaution.

-- CM