How can I use up a large quantity of egg? [closed]

Question

(This is not a recipe request, as I will try to make clear.)

It's Easter egg season in our household, and my 5 ½-year-old niece is going for quantity, not quality. This means that we have an even-larger-than-usual quantity of the blown-out innards of all the eggs we've dyed with food-safe dyes.¹

So, we're talking whole eggs, not fully scrambled, but not exactly in a separable condition, either, and with the occasional streak of purple or pink.²

At this point, we're all deathly sick of scrambled eggs and omelets. We've even gotten tired of the Hungarian harbringer of spring, tojásos nokedli, which is basically spätzle with a scrambled-egg sauce.

What other types of things could we look into cooking that would most efficiently use up all these eggs? By "efficient", I mean things that don't require a whole lot of other ingredients. Obviously, I've eliminated the most efficient use, i.e. just cook the eggs (=scrambled eggs), but there's got to be other things we could do.

_{¹ We try to stick to food-safe dyes around kids, because they're not terribly good at not sticking their hands straight in the dye, and from thence in their mouth.
² e.g. if an egg was accidentally left in the dye overnight, which never happens, no sir, not here, never. :)}

Answer 1

Perhaps some breakfast strata would do the trick. I don't know how many ingredients you're looking for, but the basic recipes would (in addition to eggs) include bread, butter, cheese, milk or half-and-half, and a few meats, vegetables, and/or herbs. I've seen variations that use potatoes and rosemary, some that use bacon and scallions, some that use spinach or asparagus. Quite a variety.

My favorite ones are behind a paywall, but if you subscribe: http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/506-breakfast-strata-with-sausage-mushrooms-and-monterey-jack (Cooks Country also has a strata-inspired recipe called Featherbed Eggs that I love.)

Otherwise, you can find strata recipes anywhere: http://www.food.com/recipe/ham-asparagus-strata-85885

Another one I quite enjoy is called Eggs Piperade, which is essentially scrambled eggs with a stir-fry of peppers, onions, and tomatoes.

Answer 2

One of my family's Easter traditions is pizza rustica -- it's a pie with a quiche-like center, but there's enough sausage and other stuff in it that it's not as blatantly eggy as a quiche. (unless you also add hard boiled eggs into the mix).

Another high egg count dish we serve for Easter (that doesn't require hard boiling, or separating the eggs) is Italian cheesecake (aka. 'ricotta pie'), made with citrus zest to lighten it up. (and sometimes wheat berries & citron, but I'm not a fan of that variation)

Answer 3

If you're willing to occasionally toss in a few eggs in separable condition, you might think about making baked custards.

Cakes may be another good option, if you can stand all the sugar and fat (a.k.a. "where the flavor's at!").

It's also pretty hard to go wrong with a quiche (I don't think you need to toss in an egg yolk to get a yummy quiche), IMHO, and there's nothing wrong with the odd fritata every now and then!

If you've got a taste for southwestern or latin cuisine, might I recommend chilaquiles or migas?

Gato's Scrambled Eggs may provide you with an interesting twist on the notion of a scrambled egg.

ALSO! If you're willing and able to get a bit technical, you might think about hacking together your very own water oven and setting the yolks around 70 deg.C (). The still-runny whites will then perhaps be separable from the ever-so-creamy yolk. Saucy notion, eh?

Answer 4

A Dutch Baby is a kind of pancake. It is prepared very simply in a blender from eggs, flour, milk, a little sugar, and seasonings such as cinnamon or nutmeg. It takes about 5 minutes to prepare (yay blender!) and 25 minutes to cook. It being a fairly eggy batter is what makes it a candidate for using up your eggs.

Here is one recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/6648-dutch-baby

Unlike many breads that don't like being overworked, a Dutch Baby is quite happy if you blend the heck out of it. The air bubbles introduced during blending help it to rise, which it does despite having no leavening.

While preparing the batter, you preheat a cast iron pan in your oven. After melting butter in the pan you pour in the batter. Then bake until it's puffed up. I say baked, but the bottom of the pancake is fried in all that butter, while the top is baked in the hot oven. The contrast in textures adds to the Dutch Baby's appeal.

Unlike the traditional American pancake, which is sweet, the dutch baby is more savory, getting its sweetness from its topping. A fruit compote works. Jams and jellies are great. And as with any pancake, maple syrup is delicious.

Answer 5

Egg breads, some of which are even traditional Easter foods. You can, in fact, simply replace all the liquid in a yeast bread recipe with eggs (it will, of course, be quite different than with other liquids or a mixture of egg and other liquids) - but it will be bread, and since the point is to use it up in some manner that is not scrambled/omlet, there you go. Then you can take that when it goes stale and dip it more egg (and a little milk) for french toast.

Custard would be another approach.

Answer 6

A solution for a different place in the process: why do you only color blown-out eggs? I know that they have some advantages, but you also end up with a lot of raw egg at once.

My family always colors hard boiled eggs only. That way

• colored eggs get disposed of, instead of staying around for months and taking up space
• the person who breaks an egg usually eats the contents, no reason to make tons of eggy dishes three days before a feast
• when somebody has had enough of eating eggs, they don't go on breaking more eggs. The (whole, boiled) colored eggs can stay for weeks in the fridge and wait for your appetite, or a day of egg salad.

You don't have to switch to boiled eggs only, but a mixture of both will reduce the amount of raw egg contents on Maundy Thursday.

If you still end up with tons of egg contents: Easter breads have a very high egg content, make one of those. They are very tasty and keep for a long while, my grandma used to start with 3 kg of flour for a family gathering of 6 adults and 3 children. You can also start making French toast with them if you haven't eaten them within the first 4-5 days, although the egg contents won't keep that long out of the shell - you should make a separate question about the suitability of frozen eggs for French toast (they are no good for other stuff such as custard).