My Emu Eggs-perience

I have half an emu egg sitting in my refrigerator. Because I couldn't possibly eat the whole thing in one sitting, at least not without a few friends around. Should've listened to Twitter.


After forking over $19.99 for a monstrous emerald green D'Artagnan emu egg (and the thrill of a novelty cooking project) at Whole Foods, I solicited the advice of my Twitter followers on what to do. And Twitter answered.

 

"Either a whole mess of Pasta alla carbonara or Tortilla de patatas!!" suggested @Be_Double_Love. "Invite a dozen people over for scrambled eggs and Sunday brunch?" wrote @SamGrieder. Endless Simmer offered up a video, and @swamp1ophelia wanted to know if I'd recreate the Top Chef DC emu omelet.


And my favorite: "You should egg a car the LUXURIOUS way," wrote @jmniblack.


No car egging planned here, so I went the predictable route: an omelet with Swiss chard, mushrooms, onion and Monterey Jack cheese. Ok, so my husband made the omelet, but I drank coffee and supervised, which is a really important job when making an emu omelet.


A few observations: The shell took a good firm crack on the granite counter to give way, and the membrane inside was so strong that we could peel bits of shell off without breaking it.






Once we punctured the membrane, the egg was free and wow, that's a big yolk. I'd say the yield was about 10-12 large chicken eggs.





So what does an emu egg taste like anyway? It's much milder than a chicken egg, but it puffs up beautifully, almost souffle-like. I really liked the fluffy, light texture once it was cooked. (Raw it was super slimy.) Here's what we did with half of the monster.


Emu Omelet with Mushrooms, Swiss Chard and Onion

serves 4


1 half of an emu egg, whisked

1/2 medium onion, diced

1 cup mushrooms, chopped

2-3 Swiss chard leaves, chopped and stems removed

3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 tablespoon butter

salt and pepper to taste


Heat the butter in large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and Swiss chard, cooking and stirring for 2-3 minutes. Pour the emu egg into the pan, and gently stir the other ingredients to evenly distribute them in the egg. With a spatula, lift the edges of the egg and tilt the pan so the uncooked egg runs underneath. Sprinkle the cheese, salt and pepper on top and allow to cook until the cheese melts and the egg begins the set. (You can cover the skillet with a lid for a minute or two to help it along.) Loosen the omelet with the spatula and slide onto a plate, folding it in half.