Today marks a significant moment that many of us have been anxiously anticipating for months. It’s swiftly establishing itself as a pivotal day in Utah’s culinary calendar – Beltex Meats have just started accepting orders for their sought-after Thanksgiving turkeys. Think I’m exaggerating? Think again. Last year, the demand for Beltex’s turkeys was so high that they were nearly all snapped up within an intense 24-hour window.
Last year, I penned a piece on this poultry pandemonium, and by the next day? Those birds had completely taken flight off the shelves. My inbox transformed into a swarm of messages like, “Why the cluck didn’t you warn me?”, “My family’s gonna serve me up instead!” So without further fuss – head to beltexmeats.com/shop pronto.
It’s not hyperbole on my part when I say this is likely the best turkey you will ever taste. When you find yourself making the pictured sandwich in the days ahead – why are you settling for anything less than perfect?
Quality comes at a price of course. Beltex turkeys aren’t cheap and nor should they be. These are the antithesis of the frozen footballs you cram under your arm, free after spending $20 at your local barn-o-mart. Beltex Meats source the highest quality product from local and regional farms, and everything is raised humanely and sustainably. No GMO, no misery, no crap.
Beltex are offering this years crop at $12.75 per pound. The birds are landed from Natural Day Farms out of Marshall MN and as ever are free range and antibiotic free. The turkeys are brined in house at Beltex using a salt water/sugar solution for 72 hours. After that they’re rubbed with a blend of dried herbs and stuffed under the skin with garlic compound butter.
The gobblers are available in two sizes, 10-15lbs and 15-19lbs. I find about 13 mins per pound at 350F does the trick on the big day; though you can spend several weeks Googling for all manner of convoluted techniques if you’re so inclined. Should you be fretting over exactly how much you’ll need, the rough greasy rule of thumb is 1.25lbs per person. I’ll also remind you that leftover turkey freezes up a charm. You’ll be scraping every last morsel of meat from the brined bones with a serrated grapefruit spoon, trust me. From there, I find myself defrosting a container anytime I need to switch up a tacos or burrito. Pot pies, curries, sandwiches, larb, roof shingle, you name it.
As you read these words, the birds have gone on sale – October 9th – via the website only here. This year you’ll need to plonk down a $50 deposit, making the remainder of payment when you pick up in person. Trust me, it’s worth every last dollar.
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Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you! I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC. I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have written in myopic detail about the Salt Lake City dining scene for the better part of seventeen years.
I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV. Pause those credits, yep, that’s me! I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune. I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand. What they’re saying about me: “Not inaccurate”, “I thought he was older”, “I don’t share his feelings”.
Want to know more? This is why I am the way I am.
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Dang I’ll have to check these out. Thanks for the heads up!