Spring’s longer days and increased sunlight hasten egg-laying in all manner of fowl, but don’t expect to see turkey’s ovoid output on grocery shelves anytime soon. Raising the birds for their eggs isn’t commercially viable: Compared with hens, turkeys require more space, begin laying later in life, and lay fewer eggs overall—not to mention that a turkey egg is far more valuable as a potential turkey than it is as a breakfast scramble. Your best bet for sourcing is a farmers’ market, where the exotic-egg variety is widest this time of year. To sample their rich, robust flavor, swap in some of the speckled beauts for the chicken eggs Parish Hall chef Evan Hanczor uses in this zesty riff on deviled eggs.
Evan Hanczor’s Dressed Eggs
1 dozen turkey eggs, to yield 2 cups sieved yolk (available at Union Square Greenmarket’s Violet Hill Farm and Quattro Game Farm stands)
4 tbs. mayonnaise
2 tbs. pickled hot-pepper brine
2 tbs. water
1 tsp. whole-grain mustard
1 tbs. butternut-squash-seed oil
2 tsp. diced pickled cucumber
2 tsp. diced pickled beans (such as Rick’s Picks)
2 tsp. diced spring onion, plus more for garnish
1 tsp. minced green garlic
1/2 tsp. minced marjoram
1 tsp. minced parsley
Salt to taste
Pickled hot pepper for garnish, julienned
(1) Hard-boil eggs. (2) Peel, halve lengthwise, and remove yolk. Put yolk through sieve. Using a rubber spatula, mix with remaining ingredients (excluding garnish) until smooth. Season to taste, and add more water if mixture is too dry. (3) Fill whites with yolk mixture and garnish with julienne of hot pepper and spring-onion rounds cut on the bias. (As an option, Hanczor suggests serving with beet chips. Fry thin slices of beets in vegetable oil, remove, and salt to taste.) Serves 6.
*This article originally appeared in the April 22, 2013 issue of New York Magazine.
