I Try It So You Don’t Have To: Salted Duck Eggs

My last egg tasting was a pretty serious miss. While I have vowed to try to them again in case I got a bad batch, I have not been able to bring myself to do it. The biggest feedback I got was that century eggs should be chopped up and eaten in things and while I understand that, I try to taste things on their own merits as much as possible. I am generally of the opinion that if an ingredient has to be mixed in or otherwise hidden then I question it’s real value. I went shopping for the next round of century eggs and saw these side by side and figured I would warm up with a different preserved egg.

I was hopeful this little 6 pack of salted duck eggs would be much more successful. I went in for a smell through the packaging to see what I might be in for. I really couldn’t detect any smell at all which was a a good start for me.  I selected one and prepared to dig in.

Once I opened the vacuum sealed packaging I got a nice briny smell right away which was certainly encouraging. I was expecting something terrible. Once inside the packaging I was presented with a hard boiled egg that was quite pretty. The faint cracks in the shell showed where the salt used in the curing process penetrated.

It was a bit difficult to peel but in the end I wound up with a mostly intact egg ready for me to eat. Inside it was really cool looking, almost like a split open gobstopper  in appearance with the multi-color, multi-texture yolk clearly on display.

I sliced off a bite with both white and yolk and popped it in my mouth. The texture of the white was not great, very rubbery, like biting into an eraser, though a bit softer than that. The texture of the yolk was awesome, soft, almost crumbly but it melted into a rich  flavorful paste on my tongue.  The salt was not overpowering at all, if you are like me and sprinkle some salt and pepper on a hard boiled egg then these are perfect. I sampled the white and the yolk separately next and the yolk was the clear winner. The white was fine but the texture knocked it down. The yolk was exceptional. A couple of drops of Sriracha turned this into a treat I will go back for again for sure.

Slice one of these up and put it on your next salad instead of a regular chicken egg and enjoy. There area  ton of other recipes that use them as well and I would encourage you to “Try It” for yourself.