Ostrich Egg Party

photos by leslie duss

As I make my way through my life list, I imagine there will be things I do for the first time that become new passions and others that I strike through and never try again. 

Let's put cooking an ostrich egg in that last category. 

A friend warned weeks ago that ostrich eggs "taste like ass." They certainly smelllike it. 

Every time I write about ostrich eggs, someone asks where I found them. So, let me get that out of the way first. Our local Whole Foods sells them along with other specialty eggs in the produce section. When I first saw them, I reacted the same way the kids did. 

"Wow!" we all said. "What are those?"

We walked by them on several different visits before I screwed up the courage to pick one up. They're massive - they weigh about three pounds and look as big as a baby's head. And they're rock hard. The kids stood around me the first time and knocked their fists in wonder, fearful to tap too much. 

Every time we passed the eggs, the kids pointed and asked what people do with them. "I don't know," I'd say. 

The same conversation played out every week as we wound our way past apples and avocados. 

"Look, Mama," they'd say. 

"I wonder what they taste like," I'd reply.

And so, when Kent and I schemed and dreamed on the long ride to Maine, cooking an ostrich egg landed at #66 on the life list. That's the beauty of making the list: it pulls you out of your complacency and prods you on to paths you wondered about but never felt compelled to explore. 

I simply would not have made an ostrich egg without this list. I know it. I'm certain that I would have continued to walk past the interesting display, curious but content.

Once I set the intention, it was just a matter of making it happen. I got inspired to action when a neighbor posted a note to Facebook that her family had just cooked one. Random, right? 

Lucky for me, though, because she unlocked the secret to opening the egg. Do a Google search on how to cook an ostrich egg and you'll find a number of home videos of people cracking the eggs with hammers and chisels or drilling holes into them. We opted for the drilling tactic and, based on our friend's advice, Kent picked a powerful drill bit. 

There's a reason the Flintstones used wooden clubs to beat open their eggs. 

We also gathered friends for our "Ostrich Egg Party" because one egg is the equivalent of two dozen chicken eggs. We weren't gonna finish it ourselves. Plus, it was more fun to share the wacky adventure.

Kent donned safety goggles for the egg assault - remember, supreme dork - and the kids and adults encircled the counter to watch. The kids covered their ears as the drill bore down and Kent pierced the shell in no time. 

He flipped it over, made a second hole then BLEW!

The egg innards twirled, plopped and dripped into the bowl in a revolting, oozing heap. "Ewwwww!" we all yelled. I don't know, maybe I was the only one. But it makes me shiver now to remember. 

I found the smell as disturbing as the extraction but, surprisingly, I didn't think the egg tasted bad. Not great but definitely not terrible. Ostrich eggs have a different consistency than chicken eggs - more watery to start with then, once scrambled, more mealy. I seasoned it heavily with sea salt and pepper and threw in a healthy helping of grated cheddar cheese. The