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Baking with Duck Eggs

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MikeB:
Not a specific recipe; but if you can get your hands on some Duck Eggs I highly recommend baking with them.

I ended up with some Ducks in addition to the Chickens I keep about 2 years ago. When they started laying eggs I tried to give them away like I do with most of my Chicken eggs. Most people wouldn’t  take or eat them. I will occasionally for breakfast instead of Chicken eggs; but many don’t like the flavor or the idea of it being a Duck egg for some reason. The flavor is a little stronger or eggier I guess when fried, scrambled, etc. You can’t taste the flavor difference in baked goods, except that the baked goods are better.

Anyway long story short trying to find something to do with all the Duck Eggs I was getting I started baking with them. It really does make a difference. Most everything I’ve made turns out richer and fluffier. People that won’t take the Duck Eggs will knife each other over the last piece of Duck egg cheesecake or Brownies. I’ve done Custards, Cakes, Cookies, Cheesecakes, Brownies, Cupcakes, and probably some I’m forgetting with the Duck eggs and everything has turned out great. I substitute one for one on the eggs; some say use one Duck for two Chicken. I’ve found the one to one works fine for me.

makattak:

--- Quote from: MikeB on July 21, 2017, 07:39:38 AM ---Not a specific recipe; but if you can get your hands on some Duck Eggs I highly recommend baking with them.

I ended up with some Ducks in addition to the Chickens I keep about 2 years ago. When they started laying eggs I tried to give them away like I do with most of my Chicken eggs. Most people wouldn’t  take or eat them. I will occasionally for breakfast instead of Chicken eggs; but many don’t like the flavor or the idea of it being a Duck egg for some reason. The flavor is a little stronger or eggier I guess when fried, scrambled, etc. You can’t taste the flavor difference in baked goods, except that the baked goods are better.

Anyway long story short trying to find something to do with all the Duck Eggs I was getting I started baking with them. It really does make a difference. Most everything I’ve made turns out richer and fluffier. People that won’t take the Duck Eggs will knife each other over the last piece of Duck egg cheesecake or Brownies. I’ve done Custards, Cakes, Cookies, Cheesecakes, Brownies, Cupcakes, and probably some I’m forgetting with the Duck eggs and everything has turned out great. I substitute one for one on the eggs; some say use one Duck for two Chicken. I’ve found the one to one works fine for me.

--- End quote ---

I've got 8 ducks (and two drakes). We get, on average, 6 duck eggs per day*. My children absolutely love them. We eat quiche, strata, waffles (so light and fluffy), etc... made with them. We eat them boiled, scrambled, fried, and poached. Cakes, brownies, etc... Only problem is trying to use all the eggs. Thankfully, we have quite a few people wanting them.

The yolks are bigger, proportionally, even accounting for the added size of the duck eggs. I've found the differences in taste generally come from diet. When I fed them a "waterfowl" feed to supplement their foraging (they keep the beetles off our fruit trees), the eggs were a little more "fishy". Since I've switched to a "layer" feed, I can't tell a difference between them and chicken eggs.

As you noted, it really does make a difference in baking. However, I try to subsitute 2/3 to 3/4 a duck egg per chicken egg. E.g.: recipe calls for 6 eggs, I use 4. 4 eggs, I use three.

Even at that substitution ratio, the result is still a little more "eggy" than made with chicken eggs. I think it's great.


*During the laying season. I don't extend the season year-round with additional light. Partly because I'm lazy and partly because I'd prefer the ducks to have a longer production life.

Perd Hapley:
I will pass this tip on to my local baker.

Another tip for cooking with duck eggs: if you're making egg in a hole, egg in a basket, whatever (my mom calls them "round-ups") w/ duck eggs, you will have to make the hole in the bread a bit larger.

mtnbkr:
I love duck eggs and prefer them to chicken eggs.  Fistful, we call that "toad in a hole". 

Chris

K Frame:
We called them bird's nests.

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