Duck egg Meyer lemon curd is a simple but incredibly delicious dessert recipe that you can eat as-is or as an ingredient in tarts, cakes, and other recipes.
We don’t eat a lot of desserts, but when we do, they’re homemade and worth the extra calories. This lemon curd recipe definitely falls into the “worth it” category.
If you follow this website, you know that we’re backyard and pet duck evangelists. We also grow a ridiculous amount of potted citrus.
This combination of interests means we often have a pile of duck eggs and organic citrus to play with in the kitchen. Duck eggs are larger, more nutritious, and more flavorful than chicken eggs. (We’ve written all about the virtues of ducks eggs vs chicken eggs elsewhere.)
That’s why most gourmet chefs and bakers you talk to swoon for duck eggs. In our opinion, duck eggs also make for a superior fruit curd due to their creamier, richer flavor.
What is fruit curd?
This duck egg Meyer lemon curd is topped with homegrown, homemade Buddha’s hand citron candy.
Fruit curd is a thick, pudding-like English dessert usually made with citrus or other acidic fruit. Curd is either eaten as-is like pudding (although it’s richer and more flavorful than pudding), or used as a filling to make tarts, spreads, shortbread dips, and more.
Ripe Meyer lemons plus fresh duck eggs = time for curd
In late winter, our ducks begin laying more eggs and our Meyer lemons are so ripe they’re nearly orange in color and sweet enough to eat whole like an apple, skin and all. This time window is also known as lemon curd season in our home.
Super ripe late season Meyer lemons (in early March).
Lemon curd is a simple recipe that only uses six ingredients… Notice we didn’t say “easy.”
That’s because lemon curd is a very easy recipe to mess up. If you don’t utilize certain techniques (which we’ll detail below), you can end up with chunky, runny, or off-flavored lemon curd. Timing and technique are everything to nailing this lemon curd recipe!
Step-by-step: tips and process photos for making duck egg Meyer lemon curd
As an aid to the steps in the recipe card below, here are some process photos with tips to help guide you on your path to making the perfect lemon curd:
Zest in, out, or strained?
The higher quality citrus and eggs you use, the better this recipe will taste. These perfectly ripe, organically grown Meyer lemons are 10 minutes removed from the tree. The zest adds a wonderful flavor punch to the curd, however some people object to the texture and strain it out at the end. (We don’t mind it, so we leave the zest in our curd.) Either way, be sure to zest your lemons before you juice them.
2. Cut the butter into chunks
Before getting started on the stovetop, you’ll want to cut your butter into chunks so that you can add it slowly, 1-2 pieces at a time.
3. Whisk, whisk, whisk
This is NOT a recipe you’ll want to leave on the stove and come back to minutes later. You’ll want to whisk it the entire time you’re cooking to get the best, smoothest consistency possible. That means have all your ingredients ready and within arms’ length!
4. Cool then serve
You’ll want to cool your Meyer lemon curd in the fridge before serving it. We pour ours directly into pint jars. This recipe yields two full pint jars of lemon curd, a little over 4 cups.
Recipe: Duck egg Meyer lemon curd
Duck egg Meyer lemon curd
A deliciously sweet and tart duck egg Meyer lemon curd recipe. With a few simple ingredients and a bit of technique, you'll be blown away by the amazing flavor of this lemon curd.
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice (4 large lemons)
- 1/4 cup fresh organic lemon zest (from 4 lemons) This ingredient helps, but is optional. If you don't want small bits of zest in your final curd and you don't want to strain the zest out at the end, just leave it out entirely.
- 4 duck eggs from happy healthy ducks
- 1 cup organic cane sugar
- 2 sticks unsalted organic grass-fed butter (1 cup), cut into cubes *you can reduce total butter to 1 stick (1/2 cup) for a lighter, lower calorie curd
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions
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Prep all ingredients and place them within arms length of your stovetop. Whisk eggs and sugar together in cold saucepan, then place over medium low heat (4 on our stove) continuing to whisk until smooth, about 3 minutes.
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Slowly add the lemon juice and zest, whisking constantly.
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Add salt, then begin adding a couple of chunks of butter at a time, whisking until melted and incorporated. Then add a couple more chunks of butter, repeating until all butter is added and incorporated. Continue whisking as mixture cooks and thickens, about 10 minutes.
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Remove from heat. Strain out zest (through sieve) if desired. (We just leave our zest in.) Pour warm curd into jars and refrigerate before serving.
Lemon curd perfection!
We hope you love this lemon curd as much as we do! If there’s a better way to use lots of duck eggs and tree-ripened lemons, we don’t know what it is.
KIGI,
More zesty articles from Tyrant Farms:
- How to grow citrus in pots in any climate zone
- Potted citrus garden video tour
- Easiest way to zest lemons, oranges, and other citrus
- Recipe: fresh guava and Meyer lemon ice cream
- Recipe: calamondin marmalade with baby ginger
- Buddha’s hand citron: make tea, candy, and simple syrup from the same recipe
- How to grow and make lemon blossom tea
- Recipe: Meyer lemon bars with rosemary browned butter shortbread crust
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4 Comments
Kristy Nicole Touchton
February 27, 2023 at 1:55 pmThis looks amazing! I’m just curious if it can be canned for gifts?
Aaron von Frank
February 27, 2023 at 2:26 pmYes, you could can and gift this Meyer lemon curd. Some folks are comfortable recommending water bath canning but given the ingredients, we’d recommend using a pressure canner instead to eliminate any risks.
BeebsM
August 17, 2020 at 9:05 amMade this today, and it is delicious! One neighbour gave me a dozen duck eggs (he can’t keep up with his prolific layers!), and another gave me a bag of lemons from their overburdened tree. I make lemon curd on a regular basis (I mean who doesn’t?!), but I’ve never used duck eggs in it before. I didn’t want to direct substitute the duck eggs into my recipe, as I wasn’t sure how that would work, so I found this recipe on an internet search. I’m so glad I did! Very easy to make. My recipe has a bit more sugar and a bit less butter, but you know after tasting this I may just be converted!! It was a bit more tart, and more creamy in texture, so I’m totally sold on it, lol! And I’m with you re leaving the zest in. Don’t notice the texture at all, and why use a strainer, that sounds like effort! I didn’t change anything about the recipe, though I did change to a wooden spoon (instead of the whisk) when adding the butter. I just find I can tell when it’s ready better that way, once it starts to coat the back of the spoon. I didn’t quite get 4 cups (maybe smaller eggs?) Hopefully my neighbours will continue to oblige with the duck eggs and the lemons! Thanks so much for a great recipe.
Aaron von Frank
August 17, 2020 at 10:32 amGlad you enjoyed our duck egg Meyer lemon curd recipe — and thanks for the feedback! To your point, there is definitely going to be slight variability between duck egg sizes (and perhaps even flavor) based on the particular duck breed. There will also be variability between lemon cultivars. But this recipe should be a good foundation/starting point that you can tweak as-needed depending on your unique ingredients. Good neighbors you’ve got there! Maybe you should grow lemons and get ducks of your own, too! 😉