What would the holidays be without talk about food? And talk about “Great State of Texas” holiday food would be incomplete without the mention of Greenberg Turkeys.
So this morning, I am declaring Greenberg Turkeys to be one of the many things to like about Texas. However, I’m also well aware that most folks –even most folks in state– have never heard of them.
So, read. Learn. Salivate…
Delicious and delectable Greenberg Turkeys come from Tyler, Texas where the Greenberg family, led by current owner Sam Greenberg, has been smoking and selling them for sixty-seven years. The Greenberg family is serious about turkeys. Serious enough to get a web-address that fits them:
Texas is one of the great nexus-points for smoked meats on the face of the planet. You just have to try our barbeque once to know what I mean.(Sorry, Memphis and Carolina…) So, it’s no surprise that somebody in the state would perfect the art of the smoked turkey. Greenberg has.
It’s impossible, through the feeble words of a blog, to describe just how good a Greenberg Turkey is. Every bite of the bird oozes with spices and smoke. The smell surrounds you. The taste envelops you. It’s better than any turkey you’ve ever had in your life.
And those words right there? They just sound cheap and tawdry, compared to the culinary sensation it really is. I feel like I’ve just described a Maserati as a “decent car;” or the Hope Diamond as an “interesting rock.”
Through the years, lots of Texans began ordering Greenberg Turkeys in leu of cooking up their own Thanksgiving and Christmas birds. Cooking the turkey is the biggest hassle about a Thanksgiving/Christmas feast anyway. So –if somebody can do it far better than your own amaturish skills, and if they’ve been perfecting it for almost three quarters of a century– who are you to deny yourself the fruits of their labor?
Over the decades, Greenberg Turkeys became big stuff for those “in the know.” Then in 2003, Oprah Winfrey waved her magic wand of approval. She declared Greenberg Turkeys to be one of her “favorite things” for the holiday season. And, overnight, what had been an insider holiday tradition went nationwide.
Greenberg now ships turkeys (yep, through the mail, via UPS) to places all over the United States. In fact, a story from KLTV (Tyler, Longview, Jacksonville) sets the number at 200,000 birds shipped each year, and most of them to places far removed from East Texas.
Greenbergs have become a favorite holiday gift among coworkers and friends in offices across the nation. Not only has our family eaten a Greenberg for the last several holiday seasons, but Dennise and I have ordered them in the middle of the year, just to get another round of that incredible taste.
Since our family lake house is only a hop, skip, and jump from Tyler, Mom usually picks up the Thanksgiving and Christmas birds from Greenberg Turkey World Headquarters. It’s nice to be close and to be able to vouch for a company first hand.
But, trust me: you can be anywhere in the continental US, and enjoy a Greenberg. And you should. And although I realize that most of you have never had a Greenberg Turkey, I also know that if you tried it once you’d love it forever.
And I know that it would instantly become yet another thing to like about Texas.
WhenEFTalks 