Week’s cold start got you thinking warming stews or other hearty and meaty meals? Pick your protein at area farmers market this week—and through the end of the year!
East Fork Farm (Asheville City Market, Montford Farmers Market, North Asheville Tailgate Market) offers chicken, duck, lamb, turkey, and rabbit now. They’ve also begun taking reservations for Thanksgiving turkeys and Christmas geese; Which Came First Farm (French Broad Food Co-op Wednesday Tailgate Market, Oakley Farmers Market) is taking early holiday turkey reservations, too. Hickory Nut Gap Farm (Asheville City Market, North Asheville Tailgate Market, West Asheville Tailgate Market) also offers a wide variety of meats, including cured options like beef jerky, salami, and sweet sopressata. Even find goat from vendors like Beulah Farm (FBFC Wednesday Tailgate Market, Leicester Farmers Market).
Seeking steak? Consider Carolina Bison’s (North Asheville Tailgate Market, West Asheville Tailgate Market) Tomahawk steak. It has been selling out fast, likely thanks to its impressive thickness. It’s approximately two inches and comparable to a ribeye, but with the bone left in for flavor.
You can find local seafood now, too. Carolina Wild Seafood (find them at lots of area markets) typically offers shrimp, tuna, and flounder all caught by family fishermen on the Outer Banks. New to their roster? Mahi-mahi!
Even though chillier temperatures have arrived, produce remains. Look for root veggies like colorful beets, carrots and radishes, including the watermelon radish, which looks like—you guessed it—a watermelon once sliced open. Also look for cabbage (expect a true abundance soon) and a stout member of the cabbage family: kohlrabi. New varieties of winter squash arrive weekly; candy roasters were spotted this past weekend. And more vendors have pumpkins now that Halloween is just around the corner.
New varieties of apples are also arriving from many vendors. Recently, Creasman Farms (Asheville City Market, Montford Farmers Market) offered up Jonagold, Rome, Arkansas Black, Mutsu, Gala, and McIntosh.
The Jackson County Farmers Market has just announced they now accept SNAP, or EBT, on Saturday mornings. Not sure if your neighborhood tailgate does? Just ask! Most markets will continue through the end of this month, with many into November, December, and beyond as special winter markets. Stay tuned to future reports for more details.
For market events and to find a market schedule, visit our farmers market calendar or browse our online Local Food Guide.
Fresh at Farmers Markets This Week
