Go big with duck eggs in your summer dishes
Which came first, the duck or the duck egg?
In Wine Country, that is actually a good question. The honor may go to the duck, thanks to Jim Reichardt, who has raised the renowned Liberty Ducks at his ranch since 1992.
These days, however, North Bay consumers can also get their hands on a growing supply of the big, blue-green duck eggs, produced by farmers such as Anthony Bordessa of Washoe Valley Duck Farm in Valley Ford and John and Lesley Brabyn of Salmon Creek Ranch in Bodega.
The 23-year-old Bordessa, who is a third-generation Sonoma County farmer, started out four years ago with 60 ducks in his parent's back field in Cotati, then moved his ducks to a 10-acre parcel in Cotati. Eventually, he expanded to Valley Ford, where he now raises some 3,000 ducks for their tasty eggs.
“When I was down at school at Cal Poly, mom and dad kept it going,” said Bordessa, who graduated with a degree in Agricultural Business. “Once I came back, we went to 500 and then 1,000 in Cotati, and then we moved out to Valley Ford to better facilities that are easier to manage.”
At his west county ranch, Bordessa raises two breeds: the Golden 300 Hybrid Layer and the White Layer. They are the same bird, he said, only with different-colored feathers: Golden 300 Hybrid Layers have light to dark brown feathers, while the White Layer stays true to its name but lays fewer bluish-colored eggs.
“It's called Golden 300 because it lays over 300 eggs a year,” Bordessa said. “So they're pretty prolific in laying, for a duck.”
Although his eggs can now be found in 25 local food stores, from Andy's Produce and Fircrest Market to Community and Oliver's markets, one of the challenges is educating consumers on what duck eggs taste like and why they are better than chicken eggs. Since duck eggs cost about a buck an egg, it's often a hard sell based on the price alone.
“We try to get the point across that they are such a rich egg, you only need to eat only one, and they're bigger as well,” he said. “In general, they're higher in nutrients ... there's close to 10 grams of protein per egg vs. about 6.5 to 7 for chicken eggs.”
Many people who are allergic to chicken eggs find they can eat duck eggs without a problem, and the harder shell of the duck egg also keeps them fresh longer.
Lesley Brabyn, who raises about 1,000 ducks for their eggs at Salmon Creek Ranch, stresses that duck eggs are very different from chicken eggs.
“They have five times the B12 and twice the iron,” she said. “When you eat them ... they are richer, creamier and more satisfying.”
Because duck eggs also offer a higher ratio of yolk per white, they are coveted by bakers who use them to add an extra rich, creamy flavor to custards and flans. They are also preferred by many restaurants who make their own pastas, such as Peter Lowell's in Sebastopol and Backyard in Forestville.
At Backyard, chef/owner Daniel Kedan orders a few dozen duck eggs a week from places like Farm Sinclair in Guerneville and Salmon Creek Ranch in Bodega.
“They are really spectacular,” Kedan said of the white and green-blue eggs. “They are a great extra source of protein and fat, and they are a very versatile egg, good for pasta production, cooking and having a sunny-side-up egg.”
Right now, Kedan has gotten his hands on some chanterelle mushrooms that he is blending with leeks, preserved lemon and stock to create a sauce for a housemade raviolo, which is a single, circular ravioli. The raviolo dough is made with a whole duck egg, then he fills the raviolo pouch with duck yolk and ricotta cheese.
“You crack the pasta, and the yolk oozes out everywhere,” he said.
The chef also likes to make a classic rendition of the Roman dish, Pasta Carbonara, and serve it with a sauce made from duck egg, garlic, onion, chicken stock, black pepper and Parmesan. He makes his own guanciale for the dish - hog jowls turned into cured, dry-aged bacon - but home cooks can easily substitute regular bacon.
The duck eggs also pop up on the restaurant's brunch menu on a regular basis in all kinds of savory egg dishes.
“One of my favorite things to do is a duck egg Tortilla Espanola,” he said. “It's a Spanish-style frittata ... right now, we're getting great leeks and spring onions and garlic and potatoes. You mix it all together and pour the eggs over it.”
For the brunch special, Kedan serves the Tortilla Espanola with a fresh herb aioli, which can also be made with duck eggs and a green salad.
One of the problems with using duck eggs in baking is that they often vary in size, Kedan said, whereas regular chicken eggs have a grading system for consistency. If you're looking for consistent and perfect duck eggs for baking, Kedan recommends sourcing from Salmon Creek Ranch, which can be found at the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market at the Luther Burbank Center on Saturdays and the Bodega Bay Community Farmers Market on Sundays.
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