Hello, my name is Lisa, and I have an egg addiction! For those of you who know me, I tend to bring up eggs in almost every conversation and cooking class I teach. I seriously eat eggs every single day in some way, shape or form.
If you are new to The Chopping Blog, I am pretty sure I have mentioned eggs in most of the posts I have written in the past nine years. My favorite being Around the World in 80 Eggs which by the way I will be writing a follow up on. That blog mainly focuses on chicken eggs since that is what most people have available to them.
But there are so many other incredible edible eggs out there. So, before I write part 2: Double Yolked (working title), I want to talk about goose eggs. I have had many other types of eggs besides chicken such as quail eggs, ostrich eggs, and duck eggs, but never have I ever had a goose egg! Eggs laid from different species will range in size and color and especially taste. I find that so interesting!
So how did I come to acquire goose eggs when they are not readily available? I was fortunate to meet Linda Marshall in Culinary Boot Camp back in March. Of course, I inevitably brought up my egg obsession to the class. She proceeded to tell me that she lives on a quaint little farm in Manhattan, IL where she not only has some chickens, but she has geese as well. She talked about having freshly laid eggs daily, and I was truly jealous! I was so excited to learn all about goose eggs and when she surprised me the next day with two freshly laid that morning goose eggs, I am not egg-zaggerating when I say I almost teared up! It was so thoughtful of her to bring me these eggs, and I couldn’t stop thinking of all the ways to cook them up.
If you have never had goose eggs before, they are definitely larger than chicken eggs. They have a really thick hearty shell, that I learned people use for crafting purposes. I love the zero waste mentality. One thing you may not know is that when an egg is laid it is very dirty and has a protective film, called the bloom, that is applied to the entire eggshell right before the egg is laid. The bloom is what makes a freshly laid egg look shiny and feel wet and dirty. Once the bloom dries, which is usually within a few seconds after the egg is laid, it provides a protective barrier over the porous eggshell to keep harmful bacteria out of the egg. Fresh eggs that have not been washed naturally have a long shelf-life thanks to the protective bloom that covers the egg. They can last one to two weeks unrefrigerated. Once you do wash the eggs ,they would need to be put in the refrigerator to prolong their shelf life. They can last up to two months in the fridge.
The eggs above are freshly laid chicken eggs from the farm. Below, are the two goose eggs with a few store bought chicken eggs for comparison.
I found the flavor of the goose egg to be extremely rich and earthy. They are fattier and just taste “eggier” if that makes sense, like if a chicken egg was on steroids! The flavor drastically differs from store bought to farm fresh and in my opinion is better.
Just look at how beautiful these creatures are. This picture made me laugh so hard when Linda sent this to me so I had to share! Because I had two goose eggs, and I had never cooked with them before I wanted to try a couple of different recipes to see how they would turn out.
First, I made a simple omelet with one egg, and then I made a quick baked custard with the other. I kept these recipes very simple as to really taste the flavor of the egg for the first time. Chef Max wrote the best blog on how to prepare the classic French omelet with chicken eggs and gives you a step by step tutorial so you too could be like Sydney from The Bear series! For my test, I used one egg mixed with a splash of milk, salt and pepper whisked together and filled with some cheese and veggies the classic American way of just one fold in half.
Look at how big this omelet is! On average, a chicken egg is roughly 40-50 grams for a large egg and a goose egg is roughly 150 grams. So, this omelet would be the equivalent of a three chicken egg omelet. It was slightly firmer in texture compared to chicken eggs. Not in a bad way and I certainly didn’t overcook them but they felt chewier. It had a decadent depth of flavor that was really robust.
The second recipe I tested with my goose egg was a simple baked custard. Think of a Crème Brûlée but without the hard sugar crust. Just look at the size of that yolk and the thick membrane of the shell!
First I mixed my egg with coconut milk. It was the only thing I had, but any dairy or non dairy milk would work. That's because a custard is just a ratio of two parts dairy to one part egg and one part sugar plus whatever flavoring you want. I followed what I knew about the weight of the egg and doubled the amount in coconut milk. In laymen’s terms, I used two cups coconut milk, one whole goose egg, and 1/2 cup sugar. I also added a tablespoon of vanilla bean paste.
I whisked it all together, poured it into Le Creuset cocottes and then baked them covered in a water bath until the center was just a little jiggly, about 45 minutes.
The texture of the custard was almost exactly the same as its chicken egg counterpart. I would have added more sugar or flavoring because the savory egg yolk flavor really shined through. All in all it was still very delicious and super cool to be able to experiment with an ingredient I have never had before.
Have you ever eaten another kind of egg besides chicken? I would love to hear about it in the comments.
Check out our class calendar and be on the look out for exotic ingredients or recipes you are interested in learning about and cooking. We also make custard in a few classes in May like Mother’s Day Family Brunch, Vegetarian Mediterranean or Passport to Basque Country. If any one does happen to find that golden egg, I hope to hear about it!