Duck eggs?

[centexguy]

A friend gave me a few ducks last year.they mostly hang out by the tank but in the last few weeks they have started coming up to the shop to lay eggs. I have been thinking about trying to eat some but Im not sure. Is there anything i should be careful of or check out. They are mallard and one Peking duck. The drake got killed by coyotes last year so I know they cant be fertile. Anyone eat duck eggs. How long will they keep at room temp? Should I gather them every day?

[snoozy]

Duck eggs are delicious! I keep a couple of ducks just for the eggs, I prefer them to chicken eggs. They will store at room temp for quite some time, but it is always good to refrigerate them. As long as you keep collecting them, the duck will keep laying them, at least until the days get shorter. Every day is fine, every few days is fine, too. If the duck collects enough in a nest, she may decide to set on them, which may be what you want, too. Or not.

Duck eggs are higher in nutrition, in flavour and in cholesterol than chicken eggs. They are preferred by French and Chinese chefs.

Don't be shy, just fry 'em up!

[airotciv]

Thats about all my family eats, everyone likes them better than chicken eggs. if you would like to see a nutritional comparison of duck and chicken eggs go to www.metzerfarms.com/nutri.htm. As for collecting and storage of the eggs I think snoozy said it all.

[brosil]

Don't waste those eggs by frying them! Use them for noodles. The best noodles you can make.
Duck eggs seem to come out tougher than chicken eggs when fried.

[pcwerk]

Originally Posted by centexguy

A friend gave me a few ducks last year.they mostly hang out by the tank but in the last few weeks they have started coming up to the shop to lay eggs. I have been thinking about trying to eat some but Im not sure. Is there anything i should be careful of or check out. They are mallard and one Peking duck. The drake got killed by coyotes last year so I know they cant be fertile. Anyone eat duck eggs. How long will they keep at room temp? Should I gather them every day?

Duck egg pancakes! Now thats living ;-)
james

[tamilee]

Originally Posted by centexguy

A friend gave me a few ducks last year.they mostly hang out by the tank but in the last few weeks they have started coming up to the shop to lay eggs. I have been thinking about trying to eat some but Im not sure. Is there anything i should be careful of or check out. They are mallard and one Peking duck. The drake got killed by coyotes last year so I know they cant be fertile. Anyone eat duck eggs. How long will they keep at room temp? Should I gather them every day?

Hi centexguy;
I used to have chickens and ducks. I gathered the eggs every day. I used the chicken eggs for eating and the duck eggs in baked goods and noodles. The "white" of a duck egg is smaller and the yolk tougher and larger when compared to a chicken egg.
My son liked the looks of the duck eggs and one morning insisted that I fry one for him for breakfast. So,from then on, if there were four eggs and one was a duck egg I fed it to my son while my husband and I ate the chicken eggs. I secretly felt guilty about this but I figured "Hey if he wants to eat duck eggs that's fine by me."
All that ended when a relative exclaimed "You're feedin' that youngun' duck eggs?" After that my son wouldn't touch them.
tamilee

[GRHE]

As airotciv, the wife and I have gotten to greatly prefer duck eggs to chicken for most things. I don't fry them myself, the white tends to be a bit rubbery fried, but for almost anything else they are great provided you can handle the cholesterol (their main bad point). For anything requiring beaten eggs, they take a little more beating than chicken eggs, but then will be fluffier as it is a little harder to break down the protein in them. Many people who are allergic to chicken eggs can eat duck eggs though. Things like scrambled eggs and omelets, French toast, pancakes, sponge cakes, noodles, etc. all tend to turn out richer than with chicken eggs because duck eggs have a higher ratio of yolk to white than chicken eggs. For delicate recipes you may have to do a little experimentation to get them to work by adjusting the number of eggs and possible oil levels, but once you get it right you should like the results. Do be a little careful though, as duck egg do have a bit more of a tendency to "turn" than chicken eggs, especially if they lay the egg in mud or water as they sometimes seem prone to do. To guard against these I normally just crack the egg in a separate dish to make sure it is OK, then add it to the other ingredients.