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[greenstorm]

Today I'm putting up some duck eggs as century eggs. They'll be put into a ratio of 1 litre water, 40g lye, and 60g salt. They should be in there from 3-4 weeks, then into a vac sealed bag.

I'll also be putting up some goose eggs similarly but haven't got a container for them yet.

I'm using 1- to 2- day old eggs, no older.

The duck eggs are clean and washed, the goose eggs are less consistently clean and are also washed.

Edited from the future: goose eggs didn't get done, try duck eggs 10 days next time.

Comments

[yarrowkat]

what do they taste like when preserved this way? we have generally gone the route of selling our overage rather than preserving it (eggs are one of two things that actually make money for the farm) but sometimes we still look around and there's 12 dozen eggs on the counter. so i have been learning about pickling eggs and other preservation methods.

[greenstorm]

Century eggs are one of my favourite foods, they're often eaten in rice soup with pork. They have a really strong flavour, hm. Sulphury, intense... I guess they have the same characteristics as other really aged foods. I'd buy some at the store and try them first! Or if you have Chinese restaurants with century egg congee anywhere around. It's an alchemical process, not a straight preservation, like cheese is to milk.

I also pickle eggs in 50:50 water:vinegar with 1/3 cup kosher salt and 1/2 cup sugar per 2L brine. Plus spices as you see fit: hot peppers, beets, pickling spice, dill, turmeric. The quail pages have lots of neat pickled egg brine recipes, even though I don't usually pickle quail eggs.

I have not yet waterglassed eggs, mine aren't usually clean enough, I'm curious how well it works.

What else do you use to preserve?

[yarrowkat]

my usual method is to bake 2-3 quiches, cut them into quarters, and freeze in sandwich tupperwares. :-D so, that's highly indirect! but results in work-lunches for weeks, or quick "no thought required" dinners, which is valuable to me. my housemate Jenny likes fritatta and will usually put a dozen eggs in one. i have never yet pickled eggs! just thinking about it for next time we have a surplus - which will probably be after the coronavirus crisis abates, because right now they practically fly out of the house, it's so easy to sell them.

Albuquerque is not strong on good Chinese restaurants (we have a very small Asian community here in general) but we do have a robust pan-Asian grocery that will have Century eggs and pickled eggs - that's a great suggestion.

[greenstorm]

I have friends that make "mcmuffin" breakfast sandwiches or breakfast burritos and freeze them the same way. Maybe if my eggs continue until I get some good greens to put in there I'll do something similar.

I think of pickled eggs as white-person pub food, sitting on the corner of the bar or whatever. I've never eaten an egg I haven't personally pickled though. They're excellent in egg salad sandwiches etc if you don't like snacking on them as-is.

My very favourite thing to do with eggs aside from Caesar salad is the "momofuku soy eggs" ramen eggs recipe, where they are lightly soy-cured, but that doesn't really preserve them, it just makes me eat a ton of them a week down the road.