I was out on an errand way outside town today. I passed a sign on the side of the road that said:
Farm Fresh Eggs!
Chicken eggs!
Duck eggs!

I turned around and went back. The place looked a bit sketchy. A nondescript house, an RV, lots of “stuff” and a pen with a bunch of chickens and a goose. No one seemed to be around. I got back in my motorcycle and as I was headed out to the road, I saw there was a lean-to with a small refrigerator and a box with money in it.

I got off the bike and looked in the fridge. There was only one carton of a dozen duck eggs. I stuffed eight dollars in the box and wrapped the carton in a towel and put in in the trunk with a pair of overboots over it to keep it from bouncing around.

I guess we’re having duck eggs for breakfast tomorrow.

I know I’ve eaten them before, but it’s been a long time. I had “preserved duck egg” on congee in a hotel in China (and maybe in Australia). I sort of recall eating hard boiled duck eggs somewhere, somewhen.

As a kid, we ate a lot of turkey eggs from the farm across the road. We kept a tomato juice can on the kitchen counter. We’d slam the egg as hard as we could on the rim of the can. The shell would crack... one or two more bashes and it would crack open. Turkeys are so dumb, they don’t know to squat when they lay eggs. One egg per person was enough. They were about twice the volume of chicken eggs. And the ones we got were the double- or triple-yolk ones (with a shell that thick, I don’t know how you candle a turkey egg). They were literally a dime a dozen.

I’m expecting duck eggs to be a bit gamier than chicken eggs. I like duck. I like it better than chicken.

I’ll let you know.

Sounds like a find. But $8 per dozen?!

Is that what they charge, or did you give them extra?

They are pretty much identical to chicken eggs, just a lot larger and they have more of everything.

My daughters friend just lost their duck to a broken heater in the coop. They were sad. They had this duck for a few years and we have had eggs from them on a few occassions.

They are hard to crack too. Almost leathery consistency. Almost. You really have to hit them hard on the edge of a pan and then you risk a mess. I use a butter knife and and a swift hammer like action using the edge of the knife to contact the shell.

Nice! Enjoy!

“Salty duck egg” is fairly common in Chinese cuisine. Last I had a hard boiled duck egg was at a hot spring tourist attraction in Taiwan. The vendor claimed the eggs were boiled with natural hot spring water. I was hungry, I would have eaten it even if it was boiled with regular tap water.

Recall having duck eggs as a kid. I liked them.
Would like to find more.

quote:

Originally posted by piqué:
Sounds like a find. But $8 per dozen?!

Is that what they charge, or did you give them extra?

That was the price. Chicken eggs were $6 a dozen. Yeah, that’s a buck more than I pay for two dozen eggs at Costco, but for an occasional splurge, and supporting a small, independent operation, it didn’t seem outrageous. And since it was the last carton in the fridge and there was a lot of cash in the box, apparently other folks agreed.

The price list also had goose eggs at $5.50 for a half dozen. I’m guessing goose eggs are about the size of turkey eggs. I don’t recall ever seeing one in person.

I’ve had coworkers bring in chicken eggs to share for free. I figure paying $8 for a dozen duck eggs just makes me even with the universe.

Tastes like chicken! (Chicken eggs.) Bigger and delicious. Enjoy!