She has a kind of hobby farm on her property. I don’t know the specifics but I do know that she has chickens, ducks, and goats. I said once that I would love to have chickens. She said she would bring me some duck eggs because she knows I am always baking and that I’d much prefer them to chicken eggs. They aren’t washed and I was a bit freaked out by that but she texted me to say that unwashed they could sit on the counter for 4 weeks but when washed they have to be immediately refrigerated. They can stay on the counter for now.
Just wanted to reach out to the crew to see if there is anything I should know about using duck eggs in cooking/baking recipes that call for chicken eggs. I’ve never had them or used them before. I figure it can’t be as simple as a 1:1 swap.
The only time I used duckies for anything but standard fried eggs, I scrambled them (woohoo!). It was a waste of good duck eggs. To savor them best, my vote would be to pan-fry them leaving the yolks runny to the degree you like them best, and eat them with toast.
FYI they are much bigger than chicken eggs, so 1:1 probably would not work for baking. You might have to weigh them and go by that.
I would use them for those Ina Garten recipes (um, all of them) that call for “extra-large”.
How cool to have a hobby farm, and a colleague that remembers you like to bake.
They are bigger than chicken eggs, yes? I suppose you could just go by weight in crucial recipes.
I would go by weight too. I used to be able to buy duck eggs at the farmers market and loved them. I felt as though the yolks were richer than chicken eggs. But like @MunchkinRedux my favorite application is as fried eggs.
I had a carpooler that used duck eggs to make crème brûlée. I think she used a 3:2 ratio (chicken:duck), but I’m not sure. It sure was rich and delicious, though!
Definitely weigh them - they are generally larger than even jumbo chicken eggs. Otherwise, you should be fine swapping them - in my experience the flavor difference in baked goods isn’t huge, though things made with duck eggs taste a little richer and maybe buttery-er than those made with chicken eggs.
When fried, the whites of the duck eggs are much firmer than chicken eggs. The Big J loves them, but I prefer the texture of chicken eggs when fried. Just my 2 pennies if you’ve never had them before.
Can I also add – I’d make homemade pasta. 3 eggs to 2.5 cups of flour (dash of salt and a little olive oil) – you’ll probably have to add more flour as you mix it (if you decide to try this).
What a fantastic gift!! My mind is racing with all of the wonderful baking and cooking I would be doing.
Homemade pasta sounds like a great idea. I have experience doing this after making homemade pasta and ravioli for Christmas dinner each year since I can remember.
She said she has more than she knows what to do with or that she could ever use so if I become a fan I definitely will have a reliable source for them.
Yes… I make a homemade spinach pasta. I always make extra and take some to my neighbor up the street (Neighbor #2) – I think this is her favorite meal!!
ah yes she has the duck eggs while I am always leaving baked treats in the faculty room. Too bad it involves dealing with hundreds of teenagers each day. hahaha
Mark Wiens opened a restaurant in Bangkok that uses fried duck eggs with his Pad Kaprao and they are delicious! The duck eggs there are not as big as the duck eggs I have seen in the states so take my picture with a grain of salt, so to speak.
