# I bought an ostrich egg. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 1, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-an-ostrich-egg/580400 "2011-05-01T19:29:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![xoferew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/e9a140/32.png) [@xoferew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xoferew)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-an-ostrich-egg/580400/1 "2011-05-01T19:29:04Z")
I am going to cook it. Any tips from those who have tread before me? The guy at the Union Square farmer’s market who sold it to me said to sit it in a roll of duct tape or similar to hold it steady while drilling the other end with a hand drill. Then poke a straw in to break up the yolk, turn it upside down, stick the straw way up inside to the top, and blow, to force the egg out the hole in the bottom. This sounds like a good way to get a face full of raw ostrich egg, and the hole would have to be fairly large to accommodate a straw AND let the egg out. I have experience with blowing chicken eggs, and that stuff does not always like to come out. If successful, I will have a nice shell with only one hole, and if I soak the inside in bleach water for awhile it should last indefinitely. As for the actual cooking, I just planned to scramble it like normal chicken eggs, and the guy seemed to think that was fine. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-an-ostrich-egg/580400/2 "2011-05-01T19:44:32Z")
Dude, how can you not boil that thing? ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-an-ostrich-egg/580400/3 "2011-05-01T19:49:22Z")
I don’t think you have to blow in the straw, just use it as a way to allow air to get into the egg, breaking the vacuum. ---
**Author:** ![xoferew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/e9a140/32.png) [@xoferew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xoferew)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-an-ostrich-egg/580400/4 "2011-05-01T19:52:40Z")
Snarky\_Kong: I’d have to wreck the shell then! And it cost $30 so I’m not wrecking it. Plus I have a class of 20 preschoolers who will be served the egg. Scrambled is a lot easier for that. But I agree it would be cool to sit down to a boiled egg nearly the size of a football, and just casually eat it in public somewhere, like on a park bench. Sprinkling on a little salt… I hope it tastes good. I also hope it doesn’t contain some malformed, blood-encased ostrich fetus. sitchensis: Have you ever done it? Because that’s what I was thinking, but the guy said to blow. But he was kind of odd and smirky. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-an-ostrich-egg/580400/5 "2011-05-01T20:02:59Z")
Mixing yolk with white is a crime to me. I love a runny yolk, but I don’t require one. I would be tempted to soft boil it. Other wise, over easy sounds fantastic. But I would be most tempted to make a gigantic scotch egg. I’m salivating just thinking of that right now. ETA: ostrich scotch eggs have been done before, and google has pictures. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-an-ostrich-egg/580400/6 "2011-05-01T20:19:43Z")
> [@xoferew](#): > > sitchensis: Have you ever done it? Because that’s what I was thinking, but the guy said to blow. But he was kind of odd and smirky. I’ve only seen it done and they didn’t use a straw, they used a wooden shish kabob stick and kind of scrambled/whipped the egg as they poured. The hole they had was as big as a quarter so with the whipping action and a slow pour, air was able to enter the egg. Maybe try a bendable straw, to keep your face away from the action. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-an-ostrich-egg/580400/7 "2011-05-01T20:35:12Z")
The more I think about it, the more I want to strongly discourage you from scrambling that gigantic egg. I mean, you’ll just end up with a big batch of scrambled egg! Big woop. I imagine, if I did that, I’d be eating them while try to discern any appreciably flavor difference and all-the-while thinking, “I could have just scrambled a dozen hen’s eggs. Damn it.” Choose something that preserves the humongous yolk, even if you must cook it solid. The novelty is at least half the enjoyment of an ostrich eggs, and it strikes me that it would be entirely lost in a trucker-sized scramble. ---
**Author:** ![xoferew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/e9a140/32.png) [@xoferew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xoferew)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-an-ostrich-egg/580400/8 "2011-05-01T20:41:29Z")
I am also bringing quail eggs to school, which I do every year when the kids are learning about birds, and I have hard boiled those. So there’s that novelty. sitchensis: the guy who was selling the ostrich eggs also sold just the empty shells, and the holes he’d made were much smaller than a quarter. I’m thinking the smaller the hole, the more structurally sound the empty shell will be. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-an-ostrich-egg/580400/9 "2011-05-01T20:45:29Z")
Ah, I initially glossed over the part where you chiefly want to keep the shell - contents be damned. Our priorities in this manner are inarguably at odds. Youtube has a video of a man using a cordless drill for the job. Best of luck. I suppose culinary crimes are best justified in the names of science and learning. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-an-ostrich-egg/580400/10 "2011-05-01T20:47:00Z")
Are you going to do something with the empty shell? I would think it just screams for something clever and crafty. ---
**Author:** ![xoferew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/e9a140/32.png) [@xoferew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xoferew)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-an-ostrich-egg/580400/11 "2011-05-01T20:52:41Z")
Well, my preschool class studies birds every spring, so I had planned to keep in on the science shelf. Hint: That way I can expense it to the school! (I won’t really, but I could.) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-an-ostrich-egg/580400/12 "2011-05-01T21:08:00Z")
> [@](#): > > And it cost $30 so I’m not wrecking it Wow, I thought $30 was kind of pricey, but that’s what they go for at [Hadley’s in Cabazon](https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2hGr3i-mqehAQeYi0YjeTQ?feat=directlink). Emu eggs are slightly cheaper; only $23.95. ---
**Author:** ![xoferew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/e9a140/32.png) [@xoferew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xoferew)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-an-ostrich-egg/580400/13 "2011-05-01T23:01:45Z")
The same guy was selling emu eggs for $20. I plan to get one and eat it next year. Their shells were really beautiful, a deep dark green, and some of the eggs were covered with tiny bumps while others were smooth. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-an-ostrich-egg/580400/14 "2011-05-01T23:10:53Z")
If you drill a hole in the egg, won’t you get shell grit in the scrambled egg? Is there a way to avoid that that I’m not seeing? Because: ick. ---
**Author:** ![xoferew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/e9a140/32.png) [@xoferew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xoferew)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-an-ostrich-egg/580400/15 "2011-05-01T23:15:52Z")
Ah, it’s calcium, right? I routinely eat stuff made by small children, including chicken soup they got potting soil in. Their scrambled eggs often tend to be a bit crunchy. (But when I see fingers go in noses I march them to the bathroom to wash their hands before they poke in the food anymore.) ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-an-ostrich-egg/580400/16 "2011-05-02T01:07:27Z")
I’m kind of weird about eggshells in eggs. Somehow that texture is just completely intolerable to me, even thinking about it makes me shiver. Strange. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-an-ostrich-egg/580400/17 "2011-05-02T01:13:44Z")
> [@singular1](#): > > Are you going to do something with the empty shell? I would think it just screams for something clever and crafty. My mom makes [pysanky](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pysanka) out of them - gave us one as a wedding present. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-an-ostrich-egg/580400/18 "2011-05-02T01:25:21Z")
Wow - that’s really gorgeous. We have a couple emu eggs, just waiting for time and inspiration. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-an-ostrich-egg/580400/19 "2011-05-02T01:28:04Z")
> [@xoferew](#): > > I routinely eat stuff made by small children, including chicken soup they got potting soil in. True grit! ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2011, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-an-ostrich-egg/580400/20 "2011-05-02T01:36:27Z")
> [@xoferew](#): > > I am also bringing quail eggs to school, which I do every year when the kids are learning about birds, and I have hard boiled those. So there’s that novelty. > > sitchensis: the guy who was selling the ostrich eggs also sold just the empty shells, and the holes he’d made were much smaller than a quarter. I’m thinking the smaller the hole, the more structurally sound the empty shell will be. Oh, seriously, don’t worry about the structural soundness of the egg! It will be sound, even if you do drill a quarter sized hole. We regularly toss one around as a football, drop it, even kick it and it’s never cracked. Those suckers are **solid** , and the shells are 1/4 inch thick. One guy I know who sells them has put a molly screw into the hole of one and tied a cord to it - he throws the eggshell at people to make them scream and freak out, the molly screw snaps tight at the hole and he laughs his ass off while drawing the egg back to himself. So it’s not only strong from the outside, it’s strong from the _inside_. Makes me realize I do NOT want to fuck with a baby ostrich strong enough to break out of that thing! The shell-throwing guy sells carved ostrich eggs[like this](http://www.google.com/search?q=carved+ostrich+eggs&hl=en&prmd=ivns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=3Ai-TdHXHoLq0gH0rtTsBQ&sqi=2&ved=0CDcQsAQ&biw=1229&bih=518) on open shelves at our local Ren Faire. Inevitably, they take a tumble, and you just pick 'em up, brush 'em off and put them back on the shelf. They \*look \*delicate and lacy, but they’re nearly as sturdy as bone. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-bought-an-ostrich-egg/580400.md?page=2)