I’ve only ever been to Gene’s once before, in 2010, during my first Rose City Motorcycle Club 250 ride. That was a toughie, but very rewarding. One of the stops during that long day (when I won the low-ball (don’t ask) plaque) was Silverton then Mehama and Gene’s Market. Always one to want to see new places and discover new spots I was thrilled to be part of the Rose City Motorcycle Club and participate in their organized rides. The 250s were very fun – although as early as they normally are they can sometimes be pretty cold (in 2011 I needed to drop out at about an hour in at Trask Mountain Outpost). This time however I just was in the neighborhood and though I’d visit Gene’s again.
Gene’s Meat Market is a little ways off the beaten track – the closest large town is Salem which is about twenty miles west, though Gene’s is actually within a small community called Mehama which is pretty nice. From Highway twenty-two Gene’s signage is very good, it’s nice and visible from the highway and hard to miss. The building is a single story structure and is a redwood color, not quite bright red but fairly red and again tough to miss. The exterior has a few picnic benches where families and others can enjoy a cold lunch from Gene’s. There is camp firewood in the front where folks who will be camping soon can purchase some good seasoned firewood.
Once inside there is a somewhat small area for the customer to browse – maybe ten feet wide by 20 feet long, but it is bordered on both sides by huge freezers that are absolutely filled with the most wonderful goods you can imagine. Upon entering on the right are all kinds of locally produced and packaged meat goods: high quality organic hamburger, organic grass-fed steaks, giant healthy roasts, local bacon and all kinds of other goods, plus many different kinds of seasonings and spices not he top of the freezers.
The center area has some low freezers that are filled with wrapped packages of Pork Steaks, Shoulder Roasts, Boneless Pork Loin Roast, Italian Roasts, Fresh Ground Beef, Rib Eyes, New York Steaks, Porterhouses, and T-Bones. There are also package deals at Gene’s Meat Market: thirty pound meat combination package for $127.35, twenty pound pork package for $62.50 or thirty pound beef package for $161.50.
The left area has a nice display area that has many different refrigerated products – there are quite a few varieties of different flavors of salmon and other interesting flavors of beef and chicken and other meats. There is jerky flavored with teriyaki, spicy pepper, sea salt and pepper, honey glazed, peppered beef. There’s also elk sausage and bison bites.
I ended up with some delicious sausages made by Gene’s. The first one is a Mediterranean Style Link Sausage. They were absolutely wonderful – cooked on a charcoal barbecue and paired with a little mustard and crispy onions on a French roll – just wonderful, the seasonings were perfect and the flavor was just indescribable. One of the best things about Gene’s products is that they list all of the ingredients on the packaging on the outside. For the mediterranean style link sausage the ingredients are: pork, beef, parmessian (I think they misspelled that one) cheese, dried tomatoes, salt, pine nuts, garlic, onions, spices, sugar, bread crumbs, and pepper. Pretty simple list of ingredients for such a wonderful sausage. The second is a bit simpler as far as the ingredients, though no less delicious. Called Wisconsin Recipe Fresh Bratwurst Grillers, these were also completely delicious when I cooked them on a charcoal barbecue and added a little stone ground mustard and grilled onions on a kaiser roll.
Overall I give Gene’s four and a half HeyWillamettes, there is ample parking in front, the selection is good and the products are excellent. The products made at Gene’s are natural and healthy. If you get some time to visit Silver Falls or Salem and feel like a quick side trip be sure to visit Gene’s Meat Market, I’m sure you’ll be impressed.
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