10.30.2005

Another Saturday Meat Fieldtrip



I got kicked out of the house Saturday…no, I’m not kidding! Tony needed a quiet morning so that he could get his writing done, so he informed me Friday night that I would be taking the offspring and getting the hell out of Dodge (for at least 4 hours).

Now I could have wandered about aimlessly as I am want to do, but I had a hankerin’ for some meat. Not just any meat, but something smoky and salty..damn, this is starting to sound pornographic. So I went in search for something to satisfy my meat cravings now that my man had done kicked me out.

On my way to Schuman’s meats, I passed Thurn’s Specialty Meats. Now, you have to realize, I have passed Thurn’s for about 35 years. I have never gone in. I was always in a hurry, or they weren’t open, or the moon was in the wrong phase…excuses, excuses. There were no excuses this time. I was at liberty, I had money burning a hole in my pocket, it was a beautiful day and I had a meat jones on.

Thurn’s is only open 3 days a week. Yup. 3 days. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. And Saturday is only a half day. So I cruise into a mostly empty parking lot at 11:30 am, and was kinda worried…was there a reason it was empty? Did I miss the meat? Annie and I walked up to the door and entered.

If there is one thing I am sorry about, it is that the internet does not have smell. If I could have captured the smell that hit my nose when I walked in that door, I would be rich. It was the perfect smell for a meat shop. Smoke… rich, palpable, almost tangible. It made both of us take an extra deep breath. And then, I almost started drooling. Hell I did drool. I am drooling now just thinking about it. Dammit, now I have to go get a snack..be right back.

Have I mentioned how good their garlic bologna is? (I just ate a big chunk!) And their smoked braunschweiger…oh god. Now I need a sandwich of that…yummm.

The great thing about Thurn’s is that everything is made on site using family recipes. Smoked, cured, ground, or whatever needs to be done…right there. No vacuum sealed packages needed. Having been around over 100 years, they have it down pat.

My only regret – I did not get more. I picked up a pound of bacon, a small German bologna (about 2/3 of a pound), a pound of braunschweiger and a ½ pound of ham. I wanted to get some tongue, but they were out. (When informed they were out, a voice behind me piped up, “Damn, that is what I came for!”)

Now notice that in the picture that there is no ham. That’s because only two slices made it home. Annie unwrapped it in the car and we ate it right out of the package – no bread, no nothing. Only our love for Tony and shear willpower saved those two slices. Those disappeared as soon as we handed over the goods. And about half the bologna as well.

The bacon… bacon, bacon, bacon, bacon. I feel like that dog in the commercial. Moments after the above picture was taken, those lovely smoky strips of porcine flesh were sizzling in the pan. The odor of smoke filled the house as it cooked up. Eaten with the last of the tomatoes from my vines, it made a glorious “farewell to summer” lunch.

I can not wait until I have a chance to go down on a Thursday morning. Maybe I can get a little more – no, make that a lot more - of their quality products.

Here is just a partial list of what you can pick up – if you are lucky!

  • Bratwurst – 6 different kinds
  • Knockwursts
  • Bockwursts
  • Jagdwurst
  • Thuringer
  • Baked Ham
  • Pepperloaf
  • Honey Loaf
  • Souse
  • Head Cheese
  • Blood Sausage

plus tons more…

Thurn’s Specialty Meats

530 Greenlawn Ave.

Columbus, Ohio 43223

614-443-1449


1 comment:

Glenna said...

I just noticed your "People who'd want to be seen talking to me"...I don't know. Maybe in a trenchcoat and sunglasses. I have a feeling if you and I got together, our highjinx and smartass attitudes would get us so high on the "bad" list we'd be kicked out of polite society and excommunicated from churches we don't even belong to! Oh wait. Polite society already doesn't claim us. They're a-holes anyway. Okay, yeah. I'd love to be seen talking to you!