Sourcing Thanksgiving Dinner in Colorado is a Rewarding Challenge

By Steve Graham

In the summer, many of us in Colorado live on our farmers’ market produce and deliveries from our community-supported agriculture farms.

But by Thanksgiving, it’s not so much farm-to-table as factory-to-table, as we typically hit our chain grocery store for a Butterball turkey and a can of Ocean Spray cranberry sauce.

To be sure, a locally sourced Thanksgiving dinner will take more effort (and may cost a little more), but it’s worth trying to get some Colorado products into your big holiday meal.

A fresh, local bird

Red Bird Farms is a Colorado company that sells fresh, all-natural turkeys through local butchers and grocery stores.

Several smaller turkey farms also are sprinkled around the state, offering a limited number of heritage turkeys or organic birds, but it’s too late to get most of those turkeys for this year. If you want a truly special local bird, start your research early for next year. For example, Black Forest Meadery in Colorado Springs offers one-stop shopping for both honey wines and turkey, but warns that turkeys sell out by July most years.

Freeze your beans

Speaking of planning ahead, we hope you flash-froze some green beans from your garden or your CSA share this summer. Fresh, local green beans are bountiful from July to September, but will be hard to come by this time of year. Green beans are easily frozen at home, and still taste great in a traditional green bean casserole, assuming you still make it. A recent Harris poll found green bean casserole is among the least popular Thanksgiving dishes.

Cranberries that are just peachy

The only less popular Thanksgiving food, according to the poll, is canned cranberry sauce. Keep those weird rings of red jelly off the table this year, and add Colorado peaches to your homemade cranberry sauce. Sure, you’ll have to import the cranberries from Wisconsin or Massachusetts, but cut the tart flavor with some frozen Palisade peaches and impress your guests.

One potato, two potato

Colorado potatoes are plentiful year-round at virtually every grocery store, so a local batch of mashed potatoes (with Colorado-made butter) should be easy to whip up. The San Luis Valley in south-central Colorado is the second largest region in the country for growing fresh potatoes.

Forage for your gravy

Whether you serve a turkey or a vegan loaf, mushroom gravy can be a great alternative to the traditional gravy, and it’s easy to find local mushrooms in November, either from the ubiquitous Rakhra Mushrooms in Alamosa or from smaller gourmet operations such as Mile High Fungi in Denver or Hazell Dell Mushrooms in Fort Collins.

Dig into dessert

Those frozen Palisade peaches will also make for a great pie to round out the Thanksgiving meal. Colorado apples are another good option. Of course, you can also let someone else do the baking, especially if you are near Boulder. Shamane’s Bake Shoppe was just named to the Thrillist list of the best pie shops in the country, and it has a long list of both savory and sweet pies for the Thanksgiving table.

Vegan alternatives

Another Colorado-riffic option is to order a full vegan Thanksgiving dinner or just get individual mains, sides and desserts from Watercourse Foods, a classic Denver vegan restaurant.

Dinner for two costs $40, with a vegan “turkey-style” roast and three sides, including white cheddar truffle mac, roasted root vegetable stuffing and cranberry sauce.

No matter how you put together your meal, happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Thirst Colorado.