How to Cook Duck Eggs 10 Different Ways

Gordon loves cooking and experimenting with food. He loves making new dishes, particularly with unusual or underused ingredients.

Eggs must surely be one of the most versatile and popular of all cooking ingredients. They are boiled or fried for breakfast, used in cakes and pastries when baking and incorporated in many more substantial meals for lunch or dinner. There are so many ways in fact in which eggs can be cooked that their use in cooking need never be repetitive or boring.

One way in which many people neglect varying egg recipes, however, is in the type of eggs which are used. Chicken eggs are almost always the selected option, but as this article hopes to show, duck eggs are equally adaptable and can be cooked in almost any way in which you would cook chicken eggs. Slightly larger than chicken eggs as a rule, duck eggs are packed with flavour and represent a whole host of new opportunities in the wider enjoyment of eggs.

Although the recipes featured on this page are not arranged in any particular order, the sequence does vaguely relate to the time of day at which they are most likely to be eaten. The earliest recipes are ideal for breakfast and the suggestions move on through possible lunch and dinner dishes.

Where Can I Buy Duck Eggs?

Duck eggs are not always as widely available as chicken eggs. If you find yourself struggling to obtain duck eggs, depending upon your location, there are a few options you can try. First of all, consider trying a small shop or store, rather than a supermarket. The duck eggs featured on this page were all bought from a small local fishmonger's but butcher's shops may be another option. Farmers markets—or local farms if you live in a rural area—may be able to help you out. Still struggling? Submit the name of your city, town or village to a search engine together with the words, "Fresh duck eggs," and see what pops up!

Important!

Duck eggs must always be properly cooked. This is important with chicken eggs but even more important with duck eggs due to their slightly different properties. They should also be removed from the fridge to reach room temperature an hour before being cooked. An example of the egg being found to be undercooked is where a coddled or boiled egg is opened to discover some of the white still in clear liquid form. If you find a duck egg is slightly undercooked, either cook it further where this is practical or discard it and start over.

Sausages, Bacon and Duck Egg Fried Bread

If sausage, bacon and egg is your idea of a hearty breakfast to set you up for the day, this is one recipe you should definitely try. The sausages and bacon are fried as normal but the duck egg is fried in a hole cut in a slice of bread with a drinking glass. Tomatoes and mushrooms complete this tasty ensemble, while HP Sauce is a recommended but optional condiment.

Ingredients Per Serving

• 4 beef link sausages
• 2 rashers/slices of bacon
• 1 slice of bread
• 1 duck egg
• 1 medium tomato
• 2 medium closed cup mushrooms
• Salt and black pepper
• Vegetable or sunflower oil for frying

Frying sausages, mushrooms and tomato

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Method

1. The sausages will take longest to cook so have to be first in the frying pan. Add a tablespoon or so of oil to a large frying pan and add the sausages (unpricked) over a low heat. Fry for ten minutes before adding the halved tomato, flesh side down and the mushrooms, stalks removed and cup side up. After five minutes, turn the mushrooms and fry for a further five minutes.
2. Use a drinking glass to cut a hole about three inches in diameter in the slice of bread. The circle of bread can be fried and served with the mushrooms and tomato, cooked for about two minutes each side. Just before the sausages are ready, add some oil to a small frying pan and heat. Lay the bread in the pan and break the duck egg in to a small glass or bowl before pouring it carefully in to the hole in the bread. Fry for three minutes before carefully turning and frying on the second side for a further three minutes.
3. Remove the sausages, mushrooms, tomato and bread disc to a heated plate. Cover with foil to keep warm. While the bacon could be grilled, in this instance it was fried in the pan vacated by the sausages for a couple of minutes each side while the eggy bread completes cooking.
4. Lift the bread on to a plate with a spatula and lay the bacon alongside. Place the sausages on top of the bacon and arrange the mushrooms, tomato and circle of bread as desired.

Soft Boiled Duck Egg and Toasted Soldiers

A boiled egg and toasted soldiers is not just for kids. This makes an incredibly simple yet tasty breakfast for all age groups and is ready to eat within minutes.

Place the duck egg in to a pot and add enough cold water to cover it completely. Put on a high heat until the water boils and then turn the heat down to reach a simmer. This soft boiled egg was simmered for four minutes.

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Start making the toast when the egg is simmering. Butter it, half it and slice in to soldiers.

Lift the egg from the water with a spoon to an egg cup on a serving plate. Carefully cut off the top of the egg and arrange the soldiers in a circle. A little salt is all the seasoning which should be required before the soldiers are dipped and eaten one at a time.

Duck egg is added to a pot of cold water for boiling

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Gordon Ramsay Scrambles Eggs—and Burns the Toast...

The video below features Gordon Ramsay making scrambled eggs. This is the method largely employed in the recipe which follows, so watching this informative and enjoyable video first of all explains certain points, such as why the eggs are seasoned only at the end and why the pan is moved on and off the heat as the eggs are scrambled.

Scrambled Duck Eggs With Smoked Salmon and Asparagus

Ingredients Per Serving

• 3 duck eggs
• 1 oz butter
• 1 tsp soured cream
• 2 oz smoked salmon
• 1 thick slice of bread
• 6 spears of asparagus (or as desired)
• Chopped chives to garnish
• Salt and white pepper

Chopped chives and smoked salmon

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Method

1. Smoked salmon has a bit of a reputation as being very expensive and a food to be enjoyed only by the rich. That need not be the case, however, and the smoked salmon here is offcuts which were obtained very cheaply in the supermarket. Begin this dish by roughly chopping the salmon and the chives and setting aside for later use.
2. The asparagus should be steamed for only about four minutes. Any longer and it will start to become soggy, stringy and pretty unappealing. The goodness will also start to be lost to the water. Add the asparagus to the steamer immediately before starting to cook the eggs.
3. Break the duck eggs in to a large saucepan. Add the butter and start your toast cooking before putting the saucepan on to a fairly high heat and gently working the eggs with a spatula or a wooden spoon. As in the video above, the eggs are taken several times from the heat while continuing to be stirred to prevent them overcooking. When the eggs are ready, stir in the soured cream and season with salt and white pepper before carefully folding in the smoked salmon.
4. Lay the toast and asparagus on the serving plate before carefully pouring on the scrambled eggs and garnishing with the chopped chives.

Coddled Duck Egg With Fresh Herb Bruschetta

Coddled eggs of this type are eggs which are cooked by adding them to a small porcelain dish and simmering it in water. The principal difficulty you are likely to encounter when attempting to coddle duck eggs arises from the fact that egg coddlers are largely designed for chicken eggs. This means that the duck egg may be slightly too big to fit inside. Should you find this to be the case, simply ensure that the yolk is included and allow some of the albumen (egg white) to be sacrificed.

Ingredients Per Serving

• 1 duck egg
• A little butter
• 3 bread stick slices
• 1 clove of garlic
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt, white pepper and black pepper
• Coriander leaf/cilantro to garnish

Measuring water depth for coddling duck egg

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Method

1. The water in which the egg is coddled should come about two-thirds to three-quarters of the way up the side of the coddler. The easiest way to measure how much is required is to put the empty coddler in to a pot and pour in the required amount of water. Remove the coddler and put the water on to reach a boil while you prepare your duck egg.
2. Break the duck egg in to a small bowl and season with a little salt and white pepper. Grease the inside of the egg coddler lightly with butter before carefully pouring in the egg. Tighten the lid to hand tightness only and very carefully lower it in to the boiling water. Duck eggs take slightly longer to coddle than chicken eggs so allow ten to twelve minutes, depending upon how runny you want the yolk. If you do take it out and it is underdone, simply put the lid back on and cook a little longer.
3. The bread slices should be toasted until golden on both sides. Rub the top of each slice with the peeled and lightly crushed garlic clove before drizzling with olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper and garnish on the plate with the roughly chopped herb.

Duck Egg Toasted Sandwich

Toasted sandwiches are quick and easy to make and the filling can be as versatile as you want it to be. A duck egg toasted sandwich requires next to no preparation time and a mere four or five minutes to cook.

Put your sandwich maker on to heat, per the manufacturer's instructions. Break the duck egg in to a cup or bowl and season lightly. In this recipe, the top and bottom crusts were cut off two slices of bread but this was purely to make them fit the toaster and the crusts should ideally be left in place. Butter the slices of bread lightly on one side only.

When the sandwich toaster is ready, lay one side of bread in place, buttered side down, and pour the duck egg carefully in to the centre. Lay the second slice of bread on top, buttered side up, and close the lid on the toaster. Cook for four or five minutes until beautifully golden.

Do remember that semi-liquid toasted sandwich fillings such as egg or cheese will retain their heat a lot longer than the toasted bread. Taking an immediate, unwary bite can therefore lead to painful burning of the inside of the mouth. It is best therefore to let the sandwich cool for two or three minutes before plating with an attractive scattering of freshly chopped herbs.

Sandwich toaster is preheated

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Hard Boiled Duck Egg and Smoked Salmon Salad

A hard boiled egg is a tasty component of a great many meals, particularly salads. When the egg is to be served cold, however (as in this instance), it can often be the case that an unsightly blue/green tinge forms around the yolk. The good news is that this is easily preventable, both with chicken and with duck eggs.

Put the duck egg in to a pot with enough cold water to see it comfortably covered. When the water boils, reduce the heat and simmer for eight to ten minutes only. Take the pot to the sink and run cold water in to it for a minute or so until the egg is cool enough to handle. Crack the shell all around by knocking the egg gently on a hard surface and peel. At this stage, submerge the peeled egg in cold water for ten minutes to cool it quickly and you will not get the discolouration. The egg can then be used immediately or covered and put in the fridge until required.

To prepare the rest of this meal, firstly toast a thick slice of bread. Lay it on a plate, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and top with a few slices of smoked salmon. Season with black pepper.

Arrange a generous handful of rocket/arugula beside the bread. Cut the duck egg in half down through the centre and lay on the green leaves. Add a spoonful of mayo and garnish with some salad cress.

Toast and salad are plated first

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Cheesy Duck Egg Omelette with Sauteed Asparagus

Ingredients Per Serving

• 2 duck eggs
• 1 oz cheddar or other hard cheese
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 6 to 8 asparagus spears
• 2 oz butter
• Salt and black pepper
• Salad cress to garnish

Beating duck eggs for omelette

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Method

1. Melt the butter in a small frying pan and add the asparagus tips. Season with salt and black pepper. Cook for about five minutes, shaking the pan gently but frequently to ensure even cooking.
2. Break the duck eggs in to a small bowl and lightly beat with a fork just until they are combined.
3. Put the vegetable oil in to a small omelette pan and on to a medium heat. Pour in the beaten eggs and gently draw the egg mixture in from the edges to the centre, just until the eggs begin to set. Continue to cook until the eggs are set almost but not quite completely all the way to the top. Season and add the grated cheese to one half of the omelette before folding the other half carefully over the top. The residual heat will melt the cheese and ensure the omelette is cooked to perfection in a matter of seconds.
4. Lay the omelette on your plate with the asparagus and scatter over the cress before service.

Steak, Poached Duck Egg and Chips

Steak, egg and chips is a popular combination, so much so that it simply rolls off the tongue. Normally, however, the egg will be a fried chicken egg, while here it is prepared to include a poached duck egg. The chips in this instance were prepared over the course of a couple of hours using the three stage method but if you don't have time for that, you can prepare them any way you choose, or even use frozen chips.

Ingredients Per Serving

• 1 rib eye steak
• 1 large baking potato (if preparing own chips)
• 1 duck egg
• 1 medium tomato
• 4 or 5 small button mushrooms
• Vegetable oil
• White wine vinegar
• Salt and black pepper