At the Markets - November 22 and 23, 2008

Here's what you'll find at Arlington and DuPont Circle farmers markets this weekend...

Let’s start with what’s on everyone’s mind this week, TURKEYS! If you pre-ordered a turkey, Bev and Bruce worked late into the night to get everyone’s bird labeled and loaded onto the truck. So when you come to market, just give your name and be patient while we find your bird. We tried very hard to get everyone the size you asked for and for the most part, we were successful in keeping within the requested range. If you did not pre-order, don’t fret as we’ll have close to 50 birds available for walk-up customers on a first come, first serve basis. These birds range in size from about 16 to 20 pounds. Also, we cut up some birds for those of you who don’t want the whole thing. We have boneless half breasts, full bone-in breasts, drumsticks (2 to a pack) and thighs in single packs. We also put together some Turkey Stock Pot packages for making broth for your gravy.

Moving on through the poultry department, we harvested chickens again this week so we have fresh whole chickens along with a good supply of frozen parts. The whole birds are small so if you’re a single person or small family, these would be great for you to have a couple in the freezer. We’re also bringing a good selection of chicken livers, both fresh and frozen. We also have frozen poussins to round out our poultry selection.

In the beef department we have a few more grass-fed, dry-aged beef steaks and a very limited supply of roasts. We also have a good supply of ground beef along with some beef livers, hearts and kidneys.

We have a few more whole and cut-up rabbits. In the pork department we have a few blade steaks, ham steaks and plenty of ground pork. We’ll have a couple of 4-5 bone whole racks too, so if you want to feed your out of town guests something besides turkey, this would be a great alternative. How about a nice meatloaf this week made with a mix of our ground pork and beef? Stacy likes to throw in a package of our Italian bulk sausage into hers for a little extra depth of flavor. As always, we’ll have a good selection of our pork sausages including hot and mild Italian and our breakfast. We should have most if not all of these in bulk packs and links. Remember to get some for your Thanksgiving stuffing mix.

And in the “What’s Extra Special Department” this week, We’re bringing some suckling pigs to market, at least one or two whole and several cut-ups. We had these about a month ago and those of you who we’re lucky enough to get some know just how outrageously good these young swine can be. There will be some saddles (bone-in, whole loins), whole hams and whole shoulders. These roast up beautifully and with a little fresh apple cider reduction for a glaze, what could be better?

Meanwhile, be thinking for an extra week, as we will not be at either Arlington or Dupont Circle next weekend so our staff can enjoy the holiday weekend with their families. See you this weekend!