With the price of eggs soaring, many people are searching for an alternative to their breakfast and baking staple. You have many as far as baking goes – bananas, applesauce, tofu and others. But if your morning just isn’t complete without eggs, maybe it’s time to expand beyond chicken eggs to something more exotic, like duck, goose, ostrich or quail eggs. All can be prepared in the traditional ways on your cooktop or in your oven—scrambled, fried, etc. They will not necessarily cost less, but they are a fun way to add some variety and adventure to your morning meal.
Here are a few of your egg options and some new ways to prepare them:
Duck: Duck eggs are larger and have a tougher shell than chicken eggs. You can cook duck eggs the same ways you’d cook chicken eggs. But since you’re already straying off the beaten breakfast path, why not go a bit more exotic? If you’re into sous vide cooking, ChefSteps recommends serving their sous vide duck eggs over asparagus with olive oil, champagne vinegar, minced chives and chopped black truffle.
Goose: Goose eggs are as big as about three large chicken eggs. They’re likely to be harder to find since geese produce far fewer eggs than chickens. Try this scrambled goose egg recipe from Tastessence, which adds plum tomatoes, girolle mushrooms and chopped garlic for a fresh twist on a breakfast favorite.
Ostrich: Perhaps you’re serving breakfast to a large group of people. Or maybe you’re just really, really hungry. If either one of these is the case, an ostrich egg may be the way to go. And you’ll only need one, because one ostrich egg is equivalent to about two dozen chicken eggs. Are you recovering from a long night out? This ostrich egg omelet recipe, from the Travel Channel, is a traditional hangover cure in South Africa. Ostrich eggs can be tough to crack and you’ll probably need to use a few tools to get the job done.
Quail: It takes about five quail eggs to equal one chicken egg, but the speckled shells add a unique splash of color to your breakfast prep. Use a knife or scissors to penetrate the delicate shell. Use your oven to take your morning egg back to the nest with this recipe from JoCooks: quail eggs in hash brown nests.
Great eggs aren’t just for the oven and range. Take advantage of your smaller appliances, like your blender and immersion blender when you’re making scrambled eggs. And as always, take the time to follow safe cooking practices.
Have you ventured outside the shell of traditional breakfast eggs lately? What’s your favorite egg alternative?
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