Easter eggers, the poser chicken

'Tis the season for sticky-middled Cadbury eggs, crunchy malted milk eggs, Reese's peanut butter eggs and cloying, but adorable Peep's eggs. This weekend astringent vinegar will tickle noses as brightly colored lozenges transform water into technicolor dyes. Fingertips will turn grapey purple and yellow-orange as the flimsy wire dipping hook is discarded in favor of impatient egg grabbing. 

Though I don't celebrate Easter with any sense of religiosity, unless it includes too many jelly beans and the excuse to eat my weight in lamb chops, I have invested in my own set of Easter eggs. While doing a Saturday round of the Union Square market, I stopped for a cup of apple cider at the same table as a stack of cartons with tri-colored eggs peeking out— light green-blue, cream and peachy brown. 'Araucana 7' was scrawled across the top in permanent marker and I inquired what this meant with the stand's bearded proprietor.

"Araucana," drawled the man, "is the chicken. Funny fellers. Got about a hundred of 'em runnin' around the farm." (Araucanas are 'rumpless' and have fluffy little mutton chop tufts encircling their gullets.) Mr. Chicken Farmer continued, "Their eggs're more expensive, but once you eat 'em, you won't go back. Hell, sometimes I cut the white off just to get at the yolk."

I handed over $7 and toted them home with a slab of bacon. Once the belly was fried, I cracked two eggs into the rendered fat and watched the oversized yolks gel into bright orange quivering orbs.  I dipped a wedge of toasty bread into the middle and took a weird bit of pleasure in watching the vivid core burst onto my fork. It was rich and creamy— more deep and eggy than the average large brown omega-3 enriched egg. Perhaps the bright color fooled me into extra-sensory eggyness, but regardless they were delicious alongside a Yuengling and some salty pork.

I'm not sure I'd never go back to regular eggs, especially at the hefty price tag and because after a bit of research I found the Araucana breed, which originates from Chile, should lay only blue eggs. Mine are probably from chickens advertised as such, but are really a mixed breed generally called "Easter Eggers," or any chicken that produces colored eggs. Appropriate for the season and covers my bit of Easter participation, but what would the Araucana Club of America think? Blasphemy.