Same thing my Mom would do to every egg she cooked HDR. She worked at a chicken farm when my father was overseas fighting in WW2. I do the same and when I did it here, as my Russians preferred my Canadian BLIN CHIK KEE, over their usual fare (more like a crepe) they got all excited and I heard Babu along with a stream of fast Russian. When I asked them to slow down I understood that I had reminded them all what their grandmothers did.
I agree with the fear rant 100% No need to be unhygienic but no need to live in a PURELL world either.
African Egg story.
...We are given special permission to land in Maputo Mozambique. I had a very special visa at that time and we had a medical emergency onboard. Four actually, lol. So while the lads are at the hospital I go looking for lunch as we'd been in the bush for a month. I find a little cafe not far from the medical center, sit outside, because I stink, and order a coffee. The menu is in Portuguese, with no pictures. I recognize burger and do the price buy. The price buy is the most expensive should be the best burger the joint sells. It works most of the time. I point at the order when the waiter returns, and to my surprise he says in English; "Do you want fries with that?"
"You can speak English?"
"A little."
"Can I get a strawberry milkshake too?"
"Sure I'll send someone out for strawberries."
My Iridium block starts making noise and it is my number two, Sunday, telling me that two of the lads have to stay the night and the local government types are looking for me and suggest I call the Embassy. I tell Sunday to tell the locals where I am and to bring the number for the embassy when they come. The Special Police do me a favor and call the Canadian Embassy in Maputo and tell them where I am and head off to do what they do, leaving me alone in my cafe. My burger arrives and it is a marvel. Two patties, two colors of cheese, a hotdog and two fried eggs on top. A ranchers burger, straight out of vegas, in Mozambique. After a month of bushmeat and rice this is heaven. I chow into this banquet of gooey greatness and manage to get two thirds of it eaten. The milkshake came about halfway through the meal and it was fresh heaven.
The embassy man arrived halfway through my after dinner cigar. I knew it was "an embassy" guy for the same reasons everyone can tell an embassy guy. They just ain't right. He walks onto the deck and my waiter intercepts him. They have a brief discussion and then my waiter comes over and announces him and asks if I want him to wait till I am finished eating. I laughed and said it was ok to send him over.
He had several questions (official) that aren't part of this story. During these questions he keeps looking at the remains of my burger. So much so I feel I need to offer him.
"Are you hungry? I can get Sam (the waiter) to bring you a burger, they are very good."
"What, no I am fine. You ate that?"
"Ah yeah, well most of it."
"You are fucking crazy. The meat is still red, the eggs runny, and hotdogs are lips and assholes in the best countries. Was that a milkshake?" He said pointing to my empty pink glass.
"Yeah. It was good fresh strawberries from the market."
"Mr. Covey (I had told him Scott was fine but... Embassy type) they do not pasteurize or sterilize the milk in this country. That is a hamburger so they used ground PORK, not beef, and the eggs need to be cooked hard or hard boiled to be safe. You are going to get very sick."
Sam was standing nearby and rolled his eyes at the statement.
"Sam could you get me a glass of water, tap is fine." I said, and turned back to the Embassy guy. "Did you need anything else from me?"
He left shaking his head. To be honest I did get a little queasy, and the undercooked pork did come to mind, but it also could of been the rich diet after the bush. I didn't get ill, and I didn't die.
Here in Russia the eggs come unwashed. Still a little poopy are the types I buy. They are the freshest and sell out the fastest. But they are a day or two out of the chicken. The processed "clean eggs" are a week at most out of the chicken. At home in Canada the Vancouver Organic specialist brag about being only a week old. Safeway employee friend said the eggs are around three weeks old. Pork is killed Sunday and sold by Friday, outside of big cities. I think what gets introduced intravenously, or in the feed is of more of a concern than how long the eggs stays in the ambient temperature air.
But I still water test them....