Learn how to boil duck eggs and get the cook times to make runny (jammy) duck eggs, soft-boiled duck eggs, and hard-boiled duck eggs. This blog post will give you the cook times plus all the tricks so you can enjoy delicious and nutritious duck eggs anytime!
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Why eat duck eggs
We eat duck eggs for the following reasons:
- The duck eggs from our local stores are typically pasture-raised from free-range ducks and come from local farms, unlike mass-produced chicken eggs.
- Duck eggs contain a lot of omega-3's, vitamin A, vitamin D, B vitamins, and protein (source). This makes it easier to justify their higher cost.
- We love trying new foods, and are big fans of quail eggs (see my quail egg stuffed mini peppers, or my mini breakfast sandwiches with quail eggs), so why not add duck eggs to the menu?
- Our son gets a kick out of eating duck eggs, so it's fun to get them once in a while!
- When there is a shortage of chicken eggs, duck eggs are typically still available and the same price as before.
Equipment
To boil duck eggs, you'll need:
- A medium (~2-quart) pot with a lid
- Medium bowl with ice and cold water, for an ice bath
Of course, if you want to scramble duck eggs, you'll need a pan instead of a pot, and you can scramble duck eggs just like you do chicken eggs.
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How to cook duck eggs
Since this blog post focuses on boiling duck eggs, I'll give you detailed instructions below. If you want to scramble duck eggs, you can cook them exactly like regular scrambled eggs.
Boiling duck eggs
Gently place your duck eggs in a medium-sized pot, taking care not to crack the shells. Add enough cool water to cover the eggs.
Bring the water to a rolling boil. As soon as the water is boiling, turn off the heat (or remove from heat, if using an electric stove), and cover with a lid.
Set a timer for the amount of time listed below, depending on how you like your duck eggs. Remember, that cook time will vary depending on a LOT of factors (read below), so you might have to experiment a few times before you get eggs cooked to your exact liking. Which is OK, it's a tasty experiment!
Once the timer goes off, remove the duck eggs immediately with a spoon and place them into an ice bath for a few minutes. Peel, rinse off any egg shell bits in cold water, and enjoy!
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Cook times for duck eggs
For runny eggs with a really runny yolk: 4 minutes (I do not have a picture of these, it would be too messy)
For jammy eggs: 5 minutes
For soft eggs: 7 minutes
For medium-hard eggs, where the yolk is still softer but is pretty much fully cooked: 8 minutes
For hard boiled duck eggs: 11 minutes
Factors that will affect the cook time
Keep in mind that the exact cook time will depend on a ton of factors, such as:
- The size of your eggs.
- The starting temperature of your eggs and your cold water.
- The amount of water in the pot, the shape of the pot, and the time it takes for your water to reach the boiling point. If you have more water or if it boils slowly because of the shape of the pot or the amount of heat you use, then the eggs are spending more time in hot water before you turn the heat off. Because of this, they are cooking a little bit longer before you start that timer.
- The efficiency of your lid and how much heat it seals in.
Because of all these factors, each recipe you find online might be just slightly different and might have different cook times.
If you like your eggs cooked a very specific way, I recommend approaching this with the most nerdy and scientific way possible: MEASURE the amount of water you add and its temperature, and write down the egg size, number of eggs, and cook times so you can get this down to a science.
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Tips for hard boiled duck eggs
- For easy peeling, use older duck eggs instead of freshly-laid duck eggs. I typically check the sell-by date on the packaging and try to wait until closer to that date to boil the eggs. If I want scrambled eggs, then I use the fresher eggs. This is because the membrane in fresh eggs gets stuck to the egg white when it is cooked, making it so hard to peel the eggs cleanly.
- Don't skip the ice bath! Dunking cooked eggs into a bowl of ice water helps remove the shell.
- Some recipes recommend adding vinegar or baking soda to the cooking water to help remove the shell, but that's never worked consistently for me. The only thing that works for me pretty much every time is using older eggs.
Storing hard boiled duck eggs
I keep unpeeled hard-boiled duck eggs in the fridge for up to 5 days. Keep the eggs in a sealed container to make sure your fridge doesn't smell like eggs. I do not personally keep soft-boiled or jammy eggs in the fridge because I don't like the idea of uncooked egg yolks sitting around.
If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!
Boiled Duck Eggs (Runny, Soft, and Hard Boiled Duck Eggs)
Ingredients
- 4 duck eggs
Special equipment
- A medium (~2-quart) pot with a lid
- Bowl with ice and cold water
Instructions
- Gently place your duck eggs in a medium-sized pot, taking care not to crack the shells. Add enough cool water to cover the eggs.
- Bring the water to a rolling boil. As soon as the water is boiling, turn off the heat (or remove from heat, if using an electric stove), and cover with a lid.
- Set a timer for the amount of time listed below, depending on how you like your duck eggs:For really runny eggs: 4 minutesFor jammy eggs: 5 minutesFor soft eggs: 7 minutesFor medium-hard eggs, where the yolk is still softer but is pretty much fully cooked: 8 minutesFor hard boiled duck eggs: 11 minutes
- Once the timer goes off, remove the eggs with a spoon and immediately and place them into an ice bath for a few minutes. Peel, rinse with cool water to remove any shell bits, and enjoy!
- Store unpeeled hard-boiled cooked eggs in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days. I have not stored jammy eggs in the fridge, so I can't give you recommendations for those.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.