My friend Molly McNeil is a busy woman. She slings farm-to-table food for a couple great food trucks, she does catering gigs, and in her spare time, she’s a yoga instructor. But her secret sideline? Duck eggs. Yep, the girl is packing those pale blue beauties on a regular basis, suppling restaurants and a few lucky friends with fresh duck eggs. The eggs come from her Uncle’s farm, Minnesota Peach, in Cold Spring, MN, who is also a premium purveyor of winter-hardy stone fruits, grapes and heirloom peppers and tomatoes. They maintain a flock of heritage Indian Runner ducks, known for their prolific egg laying and foraging habit, they roam the orchards in search of tasty bits.
With Molly’s duck eggs and my pickling know-how, we concocted a delicious idea: Pickled duck eggs. Before I met Molly, I had not had the pleasure of eating a duck egg. The flavor is similar to chicken eggs, but the yolk is much richer. They’re about the size of a jumbo chicken egg (or larger) and have a bright orange center. The shells are pale blue. We hard boiled the eggs using Julia Child’s full-proof method: Cover eggs with cold water in a pan, bring to a boil, turn off the heat, cover for 15 minutes, chill in an ice bath. We used week-old eggs to insure easy peeling, as just like chicken eggs, fresh duck eggs cling to their shells like the dickens. After peeling, we added the eggs, spices, herbs and pickling brine to jars and refrigerated them for about 10 days. Viola! Beautiful, richly flavored eggs with firm whites and creamy yolks, spiked with salt, vinegar, herbs and spices. We threw a little cocktail party with some wine and friends to celebrate. Delicious.
The recipes below are riffs on various flavor profiles, from the classic Deviled Egg, to Asian/Thai, to Turkish. Experiment with your own combinations. Any flavors you use in a pickle you can use for pickled eggs. Special thanks to Molly Herrmann of Tastebud Tart for her flavor suggestions!
By Tammy Kimbler & Molly McNeil
Ingredients:
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar (unsweetened)
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1tbs honey
1 tbs dark soy sauce
1/2 tsp sichuan pepper corns, crushed
1 tsp black sesame seeds
1 tsp green coriander seed (from a cilantro plant) or regular dried coriander seed
2 springs thai basil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 hard boiled duck eggs or 6 hard boiled chicken eggs, peeled
Instructions:
Add spices, vegetables, flavorings and herbs to the bottom of a pint jar.Layer in eggs. Combine vinegar, water, sugars and salt, stirring to dissolve. Add brine to the jar, removing any air bubbles. Top with lid and refrigerate for at least one to two weeks. The longer they sit, the better they taste. Recipes can easily be doubled for quart jars. Makes 1 pint.
By Tammy Kimbler & Molly McNeil
Ingredients:
1/2 cup cider vinegar
2/3 cup water
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp brown mustard seeds
1/2 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1/2 tsp black pepper corns
1/4 tsp chili flakes
small bunch fresh dill
2 red onion rounds
4 hard boiled duck eggs or 6 hard boiled chicken eggs, peeled
Instructions:
Add spices, vegetables, flavorings and herbs to the bottom of a pint jar.Layer in eggs. Combine vinegar, water, sugars and salt, stirring to dissolve. Add brine to the jar, removing any air bubbles. Top with lid and refrigerate for at least one to two weeks. The longer they sit, the better they taste. Recipes can easily be doubled for quart jars. Makes 1 pint.
By Tammy Kimbler & Molly McNeil
Ingredients:
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
pinch saffron
1″ stick cinnamon, crumbled
1 tsp cumin seed
2 red onion rounds
2 bay leaves
2 small dried chili peppers
4 hard boiled duck eggs or 6 hard boiled chicken eggs, peeled
Instructions:
Add spices, vegetables, flavorings and herbs to the bottom of a pint jar.Layer in eggs. Combine vinegar, water, sugars and salt, stirring to dissolve. Add brine to the jar, removing any air bubbles. Top with lid and refrigerate for at least one to two weeks. The longer they sit, the better they taste. Recipes can easily be doubled for quart jars. Makes 1 pint.
