AIBU...Burford Brown Eggs...what else compares?

[TwinsandTrifle]

Please help. We get through so many eggs and the only ones we've found and loved are the Burford Browns which are £4.50 for ten. We use at least a box a day (5 of us.) We've tried all local recommendations of "oh the most wonderful eggs from the farm shop/at the side of the road" and honestly, they've all been crap in comparison.

On the basis that (unless you live next door to us and don't want to give location away in case outing) local recommendations aren't really of any help, has anyone found nationally available eggs that are as good or surpass Burfords? Must be some way to get our eggs for less than £35 a week!

They do have very rich yolks, they feed them to be sure of that, have set up their own 'premium' egg. You can definitely taste the difference and the mouthfeel is richer too.

St Ewes sell themselves a richer yolks so I would expect them to have additional greens like alfalfa for the richness and fruit, veg for the colour in their diets too!

It's not new or rocket science. Backyard chickens have been fed on table scraps forever - even now when it is technically illegal to do so!

www.gov.uk/government/news/apha-warns-not-to-feed-kitchen-scraps-to-farm-animals-because-of-disease-risk

@CuriousaboutSamphire

Oh you are being partly sucked in by the marketing - thoe colour of the eggs and the yolk are very appealing.

But the difference is that they are probably clever enough to feed the marans lucerne, aka alfalfa, a green food used with all sorts of animals, easily available. We did that for a few years with our chickens, it makes a huge difference.

And I hate to tell you but they enhance the shell colour too!

Does alfalfa work better than, say, grass? Should I grow it for my hens?

@TheCountessofFitzdotterel It's just easily available as feed. It is widely used in cattle farming and can be bought as meal for chickens - probably only in large quantity though. Things like Lucie Bricks, a horse feed, is lucerne.

Just don't replace to much of the balanced pellets or you'll lose some eggs

We used to just throw seeds down in the 'resting' patches when we moved the chicken run. All sorts of lettuce, sorrel etc. Mustard and cress cos they grow really quickly. Anything green, let your dandelions grow freely

I feel I need to try these eggs now 😂😂

I vote for Cracklebarn

I feel a trip to Waitrose is due. Must try these eggs. We go through so many, also a family of 5, and really couldn't afford the amount you're spending per week op. I think, if they are as good as you say, we'll buy them for special occasions like Christmas morning poached eggs and smoked salmon on muffin breakfast.

Cracklebean!

Goes off to add Burford Browns to Tesco online order .....

Not the point but now I'm dreaming of the lovely Dishoom Bacon and Egg Naan roll they sell in their restaurants - they only use Burford Browns. You can buy a make at home kit but will need to supply the egg yourself!

I eat 3/4 eggs for lunch every day and my cholesterol is monitored (for other reasons) and is perfectly fine!

OK, inspired entirely by this thread to buy BB for the first time, here is my report:
Sainsbury's, £2.20 for 6, so slightly under your price point OP. However no large available, only medium or a box of 12 in "assorted sizes". Large not sold out,there was no shelf space where they would have been.

Poached 2 straight away for lunch. White coagulated beautifully around the yolks (I did use vinegar). Looked amazingly orange but the taste was a bit underwhelming. Although medium eggs, good yolk to white ratio.

I also bought some Hoad's farm, which say they have "golden yolks", for luxe egg comparison purposes.

[quote 2beesornot2beesthatisthehoney]**@itcouldhave* and @TwinsandTrifle*

Tricks for a brilliant poached egg.

1. Use as fresh an egg as possible, at room temperature.
2. Get the water to a rolling boil and add a squirt of lemon juice or white vinegar
3. Break the egg into the pan as close to the side as possible

4 cook for 2 min. ( if you like a hard egg cook for 3 min 5 use a slotted spoon to remove egg and put it in a bowl of cold water . 6 repeat 3-5 above for each egg needed . 7 keep the water simmering 8 . When just about ready to serve toast all buttered etc. Use the slotted spoon to return all the eggs to the pan and cook for a further minute. 9 use a slotted spoon to retrieve egg and rest spoon briefly on kitchen paper each time to drain excess water and serve . 10. Eat a perfect poached egg.[/quote] Thanks for this. I do find large orders a challenge. Interesting that you find you can re-use the water though.

I do prefer to crack my eggs into a teeny bowl first then slide gently into the water. This stops the water being spoiled if I accidentally break the yolk and it also find that the more gently I go in, the better the white coagulates.

[quote 2beesornot2beesthatisthehoney]**@itcouldhave* and @TwinsandTrifle*

Tricks for a brilliant poached egg.

1. Use as fresh an egg as possible, at room temperature.
2. Get the water to a rolling boil and add a squirt of lemon juice or white vinegar
3. Break the egg into the pan as close to the side as possible

4 cook for 2 min. ( if you like a hard egg cook for 3 min 5 use a slotted spoon to remove egg and put it in a bowl of cold water . 6 repeat 3-5 above for each egg needed . 7 keep the water simmering 8 . When just about ready to serve toast all buttered etc. Use the slotted spoon to return all the eggs to the pan and cook for a further minute. 9 use a slotted spoon to retrieve egg and rest spoon briefly on kitchen paper each time to drain excess water and serve . 10. Eat a perfect poached egg.[/quote] You do them one at a time? Interesting - I normally do all four in the pan at the same time, otherwise everything is the same as how you do it. I'll give it a go next time.

I had two, poached on toast, today.

[quote 2beesornot2beesthatisthehoney]**@itcouldhave* and @TwinsandTrifle*

Tricks for a brilliant poached egg.

1. Use as fresh an egg as possible, at room temperature.
2. Get the water to a rolling boil and add a squirt of lemon juice or white vinegar
3. Break the egg into the pan as close to the side as possible

4 cook for 2 min. ( if you like a hard egg cook for 3 min 5 use a slotted spoon to remove egg and put it in a bowl of cold water . 6 repeat 3-5 above for each egg needed . 7 keep the water simmering 8 . When just about ready to serve toast all buttered etc. Use the slotted spoon to return all the eggs to the pan and cook for a further minute. 9 use a slotted spoon to retrieve egg and rest spoon briefly on kitchen paper each time to drain excess water and serve . 10. Eat a perfect poached egg.[/quote] This is mostly what I do, except I use cider vinegar (in place of your lemon juice) and I do all the eggs at the same time, so no keeping in cold water.

I could never get the swirly water method to work, it just broke the whites up and I ended up with a weird watery scramble which looked like pureed brains.

Don't leave us hanging @HaveringWavering, what were the Hoads like?

I could never get the swirly water method to work, it just broke the whites up and I ended up with a weird watery scramble which looked like pureed brains
That's why putting them in a sieve works, it gets rid of a lot of that stuff, particularly if the eggs aren't that fresh. The less fresh, the more watery the white.

@Cookerhood So do you put the raw, just-cracked egg into a sieve? I saw your post upthread but I couldn't work out if you meant before or after cooking the egg!

I always swirl, a sieve would just mean extra washing up. The water needs to be at the barest simmer and you swirl the outside of the water then crack the egg into the inside.

Does nobody else microwave their eggs?
Crack large egg into a microwave poacher, prick yoke with fork, full blast for 30s and then 20s.
A cooked egg in less than a minute.
(No it doesn't have a runny yoke but it's a small price to pay for speed 😋)

[quote BIoodyStupidJohnson]@Cookerhood So do you put the raw, just-cracked egg into a sieve? I saw your post upthread but I couldn't work out if you meant before or after cooking the egg![/quote]
Before, it gets rid of the watery stuff. Honestly, it's a game changer.

Is it particularly nice to do them in the microwave? In terms of time, I have a teeny tiny saucepan which fits one egg in it, and it usually takes less than a minute or so.

The loveliest scrambled egg I've ever had in my life was a small plate of them at Daylesford farm in the Cotswold, where I would guess they use lashings of butter and milk etc. However I found out later it cost £8 or something

Ah, frying pan not saucepan. It's this one if anyone is interested and it's fab!

Tefal Ideal Mini One Egg Wonder non-stick frying pan

@Cookerhood Genius, thank you, I'm trying this tomorrow morning.

Do not microwave eggs, they have been some horrific injuries caused by this method.