Since eggs come from poultry, doesn't it make sense to cook them in a poultry fat?

[c oliver]

Usually I cook eggs in butter or bacon drippings or duck fat. Duck fat less often cause it seems like such a splurge. 'Course it's really not since a small container seems to last me for ages. This morning it was duck fat and it was so good. I got to thinking that it probably makes sense that cooking an egg in chicken or duck fat would play up the egg/poultry flavor whereas cooking it in butter brings in the "cow" component and bacon brings in the "pig." I'm sure I'm being way over-analytical but.... If I'm adding other flavors, like onions, peppers, cheese, whatever, I think the "lipid of choice" (a Batali expression that always makes me smile) matters less and I'd be unlikely to "waste" my duck fat. But for a perfectly fried or scrambled egg or a plain omelette, duck fat just makes it taste more like an egg. Does anyone else clutter up their big beautiful brains with questions like this??? Does it have any validity?

[BobB]

While I have nothing against cooking eggs in poultry fat, the fact that they come from the same animal is really just incidental. Sometimes it works - carnitas cooked in anything other than lard just aren't the same - but I wouldn't recommend you only cook beef in rendered suet, and I DEFINITELY wouldn't want to eat cod cooked in cod liver oil!

[c oliver]

Well, I haven't cluttered up my brain to the extent that I'm considering this a "rule." :) I just thought that, with the mild flavor of an egg, using a poultry fat might enhance its flavor while others might mask some of it. Shiver re the cod liver oil!

[jvanderh]

I cooked a duck egg tortilla in some duck fat by chance, but my neurotic little brain liked the concordance. It WAS really delicious.

Three cheers for Bob B!!

[c oliver]

I'm definitely going to look for duck eggs. And, yes, BobB is one of my heroes. He really does get it, doesn't he?

[normalheightsfoodie]

Let me call my MD and double my LIPITOR,

[BobB]

Check your facts before you call your doctor. Duck and goose fat are high in monounsaturated fats and linoleic acid - they're actually closer in chemical composition to olive oil than to butter or lard.

[c oliver]

BobB, you have just made my day!

[The Professor]

Duck or Chicken fat is definitely a must for making proper matzo brei.
But you're right...any other egg dish is enhanced by poultry fats.

[Jemon]

I agree! When I read the title of this post, I was going to mention duck fat. Even better is to cook duck eggs in duck fat. DELICIOUS! On many occasions, I have seasoned my eggs with either salt only, or chicken bouillon and cooked them in chicken fat. This is a wonderful experience!