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What's on your plate today?

Not A Nice Person said:
Well I certainly can't compete with Nihon Ni on eggs but I found myself with a bunch extra on account of standing in one too many grocery store queues so even though I don't think I've made these since my teens I gave it a go. Didn't turn out too badly, but I think I would've preferred Dijon & a touch of horseradish to the Zatarain's Creole Mustard I had on hand.

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~Boar
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I dunno -- looks pretty tasty to me! I don't think I've ever made a deviled egg...hmmm...
 
I love deviled eggs. I could eat them until I burst. Just wish peeling the eggs wasn't a horror show.

@Thoughts, for me the thicker the steak the better. I think the tomahawk I cooked for the GF and I for Christmas was about 2" thick. My typical MO is to sear and then roast slow in the oven. I don't trust a thinner cut for that method. I'd probably over-cook it in a heartbeat.
 
So tell me your method. My wife typically likes a little above a rare to medium rare cook. I've been cooking them steaks on the griddle and dayum you gotta put some maintenance into them, but works out well. So, after your sear, what oven temp do you put them in at, how long, what pan type, anything else you do to them?
 
The Black Cloud said:
I love deviled eggs. I could eat them until I burst. Just wish peeling the eggs wasn't a horror show.

@Thoughts, for me the thicker the steak the better. I think the tomahawk I cooked for the GF and I for Christmas was about 2" thick. My typical MO is to sear and then roast slow in the oven. I don't trust a thinner cut for that method. I'd probably over-cook it in a heartbeat.
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Eggs I hard boiled this year were the easiest peeling I've ever made. Hoping I finally unlocked the secret, but not holding my breath.
 
Mrs. Nihon escaped the house today to run a few errands. She stopped at the international grocery store while she was running around, and sent me a text a few minutes ago that she found quail eggs and duck eggs. I'm already conceptualizing this weekend's experiments!
 
Nihon, shoot a photo of those eggs before you cook them please. Never have seen them available here. Also, is there a taste difference in those eggs or is an egg a egg? Thanks.
 
Thoughts said:
So tell me your method. My wife typically likes a little above a rare to medium rare cook. I've been cooking them steaks on the griddle and dayum you gotta put some maintenance into them, but works out well. So, after your sear, what oven temp do you put them in at, how long, what pan type, anything else you do to them?
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So my typical method requires a probe thermometer. If you don't have a good one, I recommend getting one as it will make these things far easier. I'll usually throw my cast iron skillet in the oven as it heats up. I usually set it to around 225-ish. Once the skillet is hot I'll rub the steaks with oil and put seasoning (I'm partial to Montreal seasoning) on them, then put them in the skillet, searing each side for about 4-5 minutes. Once that is done I'll insert the probe and put the skillet in the oven and set the probe to alert when the internal temp has reached about 135. Once reached, I take them out and let them rest 5-10 minutes.

This method has given me more consistent results. If you want to guild the lily a bit, before the steaks are done cooking, put a thin pat of butter or two on them and let that melt over them while finishing up. My reasoning for the low temp relates to BBQ/smoking. The low and slow method allows the fat to render into soft gelatinous bits of love. If you typically cut away the fat then I suppose you could do with a higher temp/quicker cooking time. Me, I love those layers of fat that have been slowly rendered and soft. High heat/quick cooking doesn't allow the fat to break down and you end up with chewy, hard, rubbery fat, at least in my experience.
 
Pugman1943 said:
Nihon, shoot a photo of those eggs before you cook them please. Never have seen them available here. Also, is there a taste difference in those eggs or is an egg a egg? Thanks.
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Here are a couple of photos of the eggs. I added a chicken egg in the center of the second photo for size comparison. Duck eggs are generally richer and creamier than chicken eggs, and they have more Omega 3 fatty acids, protein, etc. Also, the yolk is proportionally bigger, so I'll be interested to see how they do as an Eggs Benedict. I've only cooked with them once when I made fried duck eggs with steak, so this is unfamiliar territory. Quail eggs are a bit sweeter, but are really difficult to get out of the shell. We used to eat them a lot in Japan -- every yakitori restaurant had some version of quail eggs on a stick, and you could buy them both fresh or cooked at every grocery store.

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In a strange twist of events, Mrs. Nihon brought me breakfast while I was working this morning, with what was undoubtedly the most perfectly cooked egg I've ever eaten! She made sausage, egg and cheese biscuits; and they were divine!

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Nihon_Ni said:
Mrs. Nihon escaped the house today to run a few errands. She stopped at the international grocery store while she was running around, and sent me a text a few minutes ago that she found quail eggs and duck eggs. I'm already conceptualizing this weekend's experiments!
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We've been eating homegrown duck eggs. They're like big chicken eggs basically.
 
The Black Cloud said:
So my typical method requires a probe thermometer. If you don't have a good one, I recommend getting one as it will make these things far easier. I'll usually throw my cast iron skillet in the oven as it heats up. I usually set it to around 225-ish. Once the skillet is hot I'll rub the steaks with oil and put seasoning (I'm partial to Montreal seasoning) on them, then put them in the skillet, searing each side for about 4-5 minutes. Once that is done I'll insert the probe and put the skillet in the oven and set the probe to alert when the internal temp has reached about 135. Once reached, I take them out and let them rest 5-10 minutes.

This method has given me more consistent results. If you want to guild the lily a bit, before the steaks are done cooking, put a thin pat of butter or two on them and let that melt over them while finishing up. My reasoning for the low temp relates to BBQ/smoking. The low and slow method allows the fat to render into soft gelatinous bits of love. If you typically cut away the fat then I suppose you could do with a higher temp/quicker cooking time. Me, I love those layers of fat that have been slowly rendered and soft. High heat/quick cooking doesn't allow the fat to break down and you end up with chewy, hard, rubbery fat, at least in my experience.
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Thank you! Will definitely try this
 
smellysell said:
We've been eating homegrown duck eggs. They're like big chicken eggs basically.
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That's cool! I'd love to have access to fresh eggs like that, but I can't keep birds at my house. There's a farm on my way to the airport that sells chicken and duck eggs, so that's my compromise.
 
Nihon_Ni said:
That's cool! I'd love to have access to fresh eggs like that, but I can't keep birds at my house. There's a farm on my way to the airport that sells chicken and duck eggs, so that's my compromise.
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Yeah, I'm fortunate to have a little land. We've got chickens (having to start over with these as something picked them all off this winter), ducks, and turkeys. Hopefully will be getting a bum calf next year, but need to fix the fence the horse ate first.
 
Thank you Nihon. We have a farmers market very close. Will ask about the possibility about of the Duck eggs. I need an adventure. Appreciate your taking the time And the photos.
 
My pleasure, Ed! Let me know what you think of them.

So here are the results. Overall, I was really pleased with the effort. I marinated the duck breast in maple syrup overnight. I got up early this morning to get the smoker going, with the intent of having a cigar while the duck cooked for 3-4 hours, but as soon as I pulled the smoker out it started raining, so the cigar had to wait. After about 3.5 hours at 225, the internal temp was 165, so I took them out of the smoker and started work in the kitchen.

The skin hadn't rendered very much at the low temp of the smoker, so I removed the skin and rendered the fat cap in a frying pan, then chopped up the skin and put it back in the pan with thyme and used the rendered fat to cook the mushrooms. When the mushrooms were done, I took them out of the pan and added a tablespoon or so of maple syrup to finish the cracklings.

The duck eggs my wife got from the grocery store weren't super fresh, but I didn't notice it until I saw the egg whites dissipate during poaching. Nevertheless, they turned out nice, although smaller than I expected. I reviewed a few videos yesterday and realized I had been poaching my eggs at too high of a temperature. They are supposed to gently rest in hot water that's just below boiling. The way I had been cooking them in boiling water produced tougher egg whites, so I let these eggs rest in the hot water for about 5 mins which yielded perfectly runny yolks, and I did notice the difference in the tender whites.

The duck egg yolk Hollandaise sauce was amazing! After I broke the sauce I attempted last week, I reviewed my technique and realized I had been cooking the Hollandaise with too much heat. Today, I cooked it once the pot of water was just simmering, and that turned out to be a much better approach: one yolk, the juice from half a small lemon, a splash of water and a melted stick of butter. It could have used a bit more butter, as the sauce was pretty thick, but I was still satisfied with it. I layered the benny with sliced duck breast, duck egg, Hollandiase, and then put the cracklings on top of the sauce. The side of wilted spinach with lemon juice, and duck fat fried mushrooms was a nice balance to the richness of the eggs. This was definitely worth the wait!

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Duck, Duck, Duck Eggs Benedict with a side of wilted spinach and duck fat sauteed mushrooms.

I used all of the skin of one duck breast, but only half the meat for breakfast, so I made a few hor d'oeuvres with the remainder of the duck and sauce. This might be my dish for the next neighborhood block party.

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ETA: I smoked two duck breasts while I was at it, and I figured I'd do something else with the second one. I had about 1/4 cup of Hollandaise sauce left after serving yesterday, and I was amazed at how well it held the emulsion. The duck egg version was still holding together when we got done eating, so I put the leftovers in the fridge. This morning I made Duck Eggs Benny (Redux) and melted the sauce in a bowl over a simmering pot and it was nearly as good as it was yesterday. I tried a new technique of tying the eggs up in a square of plastic wrap to keep the whites from dissipating in the water like yesterday, and I was pleased with the results. All the whites made it onto the plate today instead of having most of them left in the pot. I made brunch today in probably 10 minutes, essentially repeating all the kitchen steps from yesterday. I warmed the duck up in the oven at 225 while we were "at" church, and had brunch shortly after service was over. It's a nice sunny day here in Virginia, although a bit cool, but warm enough for a post-brunch PLPC on the deck.
 
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