On occasion, I have been able to source duck eggs and have heard of their wonderful qualities for baking. So far I have made basic sponges and custards but am keen to produce something that stands out in taste and texture. Any ideas?
By Mandy from Adelaide
Lisa Featherby, Gourmet Traveller food editor, answers:
You can use duck eggs in any way you use a chicken egg. They do make the best sponges, but, if you’re after something different, I would recommend finding unusual recipes for chicken eggs and substituting the duck egg (you may need to cook it longer and adjust quantities in some cases as it’s larger than a chicken egg). Most commonly, they are salted and preserved (as in the thousand-year-old-eggs you find in Chinese grocers). Fuchsia Dunlop is a great reference for recipes like this and has a book out called Revolutionary Chinese which is great for these kinds of recipes. Otherwise, they are great steamed in the shell (less harsh than boiling) and served with a hot-and-sour Thai-style dressing. Smoking them would also give you an unusual flavour and texture. The other way you can cook them is to slow cook them in a very gentle water bath. Justin North provided us a with a great recipe not long ago for a smoked duck egg and the texture was very unusual – quite gelatinous.
