Duck Egg Salad

This is one of my favorite recipes for curing the winter blues. Creamy, tangy, and rich with flavors, this is a go-to for those times when I’m hankering for a local-food lunch in late february and I’m tired of endless root vegetables and roasts…

Duck eggs are my preferred choice for egg salad, since they have larger yolks than a chicken egg. Extra yolk means extra nutrients — extra yolk also means extra creamy, and this recipe still tastes great even if you decide to skimp on the mayo. I also find duck eggs easier to peel after hard-boiling than chicken eggs, since the shell has a thicker inner membrane (holds together better) and is less brittle.

One thing I love about egg salad is that it’s a flexible recipe that I can always make with whatever I happen to have on hand — you can adjust many of the ingredients to your own tastes, as long as you’ve got eggs, mayo, celery, and something acidic.

I like to make a BIG bowl of egg salad to store in the fridge for many lunches (Brian is a big eater :P), but you can easily cut this recipe in half if your household doesn’t devour this as quickly as we do.

Ingredients:

• 12 duck eggs, hard-boiled and peeled
• 7 Tbsp Mayonnaise
• 2 stems of celery, chopped fine (substitute celery salt or celery seed if needed)
• 2 Tbsp pickles, chopped fine or relish (sometimes I use pickle juice, vinegar, or saur kraut when I’m out of pickles)
• 2 Tsp Kosher Salt (less if using regular table salt)
• 1.5 Tbsp Stone-ground mustard
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp of Dill leaf (dry or fresh)
• 1/4 tsp of Paprika
• 1/4 tsp of Black Pepper

Instructions:

1. Hard-boil the duck eggs in a medium pan on the stove. I like to bring the water to a boil, add the eggs, boil for 8 minutes, then remove from the heat and let sit in the hot water with a closed lid for an additional 8 minutes. Strain and run under cold water afterwards for easier peeling. Adjust the time to your desired done-ness of the egg yolks — if using chicken eggs, reduce the 8 minute intervals to 5 mins.
2. Mix Mayonnaise, Celery, Pickles, Salt, Mustard, Lemon Juice, and herbs/spices in a bowl, and stir until well-combined and smooth.
3. Chop the peeled eggs into fine pieces.
4. Combine with the mayo mixture, and stir together until the mayo mixture is evenly distributed.
5. Scoop some onto your favorite bread for a sandwich now! And store the rest in a closed container in the fridge for up to one week.