My friend Yizhuo sent me a message asking if I was interested in trying the emu egg she got at the farmer’s market, and of course, I jumped at the opportunity! Who wouldn’t want to try eating a dinosaur-looking egg? (Ok, so as it turns out, plenty of people. But I, being QuiteCurious, was pretty excited.)
Since an emu egg is equivalent to 10-12 eggs, I got some gusty, food-loving people together, threw together a menu, and on Saturday morning, we had a fun emu omelette brunch. It was such a great experience, since most of have never seen – or thought about eating – an emu egg before. We marveled at its beauty, poke and prodded it, and devoured it.
Guess what! Yesterday at the farmers market, we saw a guy with EMU EGGS!! There was only one left so there was only one thing I could do… Add it to my growing repertoire of exotic eggs! Anyhow, I wanted to see if you guys are free sometime this week/end so we can crack (drill) it open.
You’d think that the dark greenish-blue eggs that come out of this creature would taste pretty weird. Just in case you forgot what an emu was, they’re large birds, similar to an ostrich. Most are in Australia, although we have a few farms here in California.
The Emu Egg
How can anyone have the heart to crack an emu egg? They look so amazing – dark blue-green, with light blue specks and a slightly bumpy texture. So instead of cracking the emu egg, we blew out the insides (video below) to keep the shell in one piece.
I set the table with a “bird/spring” theme in mind. I made a giant emu-sized nest in the center of the table.
The emu egg had a strange oblong shape to it.
It’s like an avocado and an egg popped out a really big baby.
Getting the Insides Out
Blowing Out An Emu Egg
“Whoa!”
“Gross”
“That’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Lick it”
“Where’s the yolk?”
“So weird!”
“It looks like yellow ketchup.”
The egg looked clean, but we washed it anyway.
Marcello is holding the emu egg while Mike drills a hole into it. Because the emu lays eggs standing up, they have a thick shell because they need to withstand the impact of hitting the floor.
He used a smaller drill bit to make a pilot hole, then a larger drill bit on low torque to make the hole larger without cracking the egg.
Ashley, Marcello, and Yizhuo each had a turn blowing out the inside of the egg. Ashley said, “It feels like you’re head’s going to explode.”
The albumen came out first. Mike commented, “That’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen.”
We thought the yolk was going to come out next, but it ballooned out instead! It was so strange.
Just to make sure the yolk was popped, we stuck a bamboo skewer in it. Well – we also wanted to play with it, too. The insides felt very…thick.
At some point, the insides stopped coming out so we poked and prodded it even more. Blowing on it more ended up working instead.
This is how much came out of ONE emu egg!
Mike beating the eggs to make omelettes.
The beaten egg was very, very thick. Much thicker than chicken eggs – but it cooked up a lot fluffier, too.
The Meal
Now it was time to eat! The weather was beautiful that morning so we had all the doors and windows open. Yusuf and Ashley brought over some fresh fruit, and delicious fruit smoothies for everyone.
We did a make-your-own omelette buffet, with a platter of precooked mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, dandelion greens, sliced turkey, zucchini and cheddar cheese for people to load on.
I tend to like having too many vegetables in my
omelette to even fold over, so it turned into a
breakfast scramble instead.
How does it taste?
So you’re probably wondering, how does it taste? It tastes very, very similar to chicken eggs except:
- It tastes and smells less “eggy”
- It’s fluffier
- It’s lighter
Overall, it’s delicious. It was one of the best omelettes I’ve ever had. Even guests who planned on having chicken egg omelettes because they were skeptical about eating something that comes from a green dinosaur-looking egg ended up having one anyway.
Should you go out of your way to try to get an emu egg? Probably not, since the difference isn’t huge. Should you try it, if you stumble across one? Definitely! It’s so much fun, and makes great home decor.
I made a quick hash out of the potatoes and sweet potatoes I got from my vegetable box.
I also made my (now) famous, no-yeast cinnamon buns.
I put the cinnamon buns on a plate my mom made for me in her ceramics class. She gave it to me last week for my birthday. It has rabbits on it (of course). Thanks, mom!
We kept the egg in the “nest” while we were eating. It was a great conversation piece. It’s in a mug because it’s still leaking out goo.
Let’s do this sort of thing again soon!! Rattlesnake steaks?
@Mike
Mrmmmm….no.
Hey! We have the same salt and pepper shakers! Aren’t they the cutest?
@Emily
Haha, no way! I got them from my friend’s wedding.
Jiminy Crickets! How do emu chicks hatch out of such hard shells?
@Kingsley
Good question! I have no idea….
O.M.G. I CANT BELIEVE EMU EGGS ARE EVEN SOLD HERE. and i cant believe you guys DRILLED it open AHAHAHHAHA. great video, paula!!! and very interesting post!! the egg is actually quite exotic bc of its odd color and size!! :)
@effie
I know! Isn’t that crazy? You should definitely get your hands on one if you see them. They’re unbelievably cool!
@mike how about bison steaks???
I hard boiled an ostrich egg a few months ago. Took 2 hours. Then I had to let it cool for an hour. Then it took some effort to crack into it (video): http://www.flickr.com/photos/xeeliz/3998526931/
@ayman
Ayman, thanks for sharing! Wow that ostrich egg looks amazing…
Paula, that was SO MUCH FUN. Your pictures + video summarize the experience perfectly. Also, I know I’ve said this a bajillion times, but your place is so cute! I absolutely love what you & Mike have done with it.
@mike, I wonder if anyone sells snake eggs… that’d be a great one to add to my repertoire!!
@spyra
Thanks for sharing your precious emu egg with us! I had a blast. Let’s do this again when we across another interesting food item.
That was a great day and so much fun. If we ever get our hands on another egg, we have to do it again! Thanks so much for inviting us :)
@Ashley
Thanks for coming, and yes, let’s do this again!
That looks so awesome! (And I recognize those salt & pepper shakers! I’m glad they’re going to good use!)
@Vanessa
Thanks! I really wished you were there that day. The salt and pepper shakers reminded me of your beautiful wedding :)
My poor, poor stolen cinnamon roll. I’m still sad it is gone, never to be nibbled on again.
Your cinnamon buns look so delicious. I love to drink a hot good cup of cappuccino in a cold morning & have a yummy cinnamon bun with it, it’s heaven to me. Can you share the recipe with us?
A Merry Christmas to you & to everybody!
You’re in luck! Here it is: http://www.quitecurious.com/cinnamon-buns/