Eggs are eggs, right? They come in boxes from the store. Your varieties basically boil down to two choices, a dozen or a half dozen. (Preferably the salmonella-less ones in the news.)
Well actually, there are plenty of choices: cage-free, pasteurized, organic, etc. But many people don’t pay attention to what they buy. I’ve been a fan of the free range ones, but I used to just buy whatever was cheap. I recently came into a great source for free range chicken and duck eggs. Someone I know raises chickens and ducks (and turkeys–but not for their eggs). I’m a sucker for trying new things so I had to get my hands on some duck eggs. I will be remaking a few egg recipes with the duck eggs to see how it contrasts with the standard chicken egg. I’ve been told that in baked goods, they rise much better than chicken eggs. I still haven’t baked with them, but I’ll keep you posted.
I like easy dinners.
But for a first trial, I just wanted to try them straight up. Just fried in a pan and covered for a moment to help set the yolk a bit. I made a meal out of it be roasting some asparagus and tomatoes while the eggs cooked.
So how were the duck eggs? They were good. I was somehow expecting a bigger difference though. They were a bit larger than chicken eggs. The taste was very similar, but somehow a bit more, um, eggy. Overall I’d say that they had a richer taste; the white seemed to set up faster when it cooked and the yolk was definitely stronger in flavor.
I’m not sure what to really write about the recipe here as this was more an experiment about trying new eggs, but here is a rough break down of how the cooking took place. The meal itself was great though: simple and straightforward. Roasting vegetables is almost mindlessly easy and it’s always tasty.
I know a guy. He gets me eggs. He is the egg man. I am the walrus, goo goo g'joob g'goo goo g'joob.
Ingredients
No proportions here, just grab what you want to eat and cook it. I had some really good, fresh vegetables, so I didn’t even use spices beyond a bit of salt and pepper.
Asparagus (ends broken off or trimmed)
Tomatoes (cut in half, along the equator)
Onion (Cut into wedges)
Duck eggs (feel free to use chicken)
Olive Oil and/or butter
Salt & Pepper
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Put the asparagus, onions, and tomatoes (cut side up) into a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil, season lightly with salt and pepper.
3. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes, until the asparagus is tender.
4. While the vegetables are cooking, heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Add a tiny slick of oil or butter then crack as many eggs as you are going to eat into the pan. You may have to use a spatula to keep the eggs from running together. Let them sizzle and cook for a few minutes until it reaches the level of doneness that you enjoy. I covered the skillet for a bit to cook the yolks a bit (this is why they look a bit cloudy).
1 comment
I am glad you liked the duck eggs! We use them almost exclusively for baking and it makes a huge difference. Brownies and cakes (from the box) are great with duck eggs. Pound cake too. Duck eggs are slightly richer and with the ones you used being organic the taste is better.