TOOWOOMBA’s Westridge Meats took out top honours in the Australian Ham Awards with its boneless ham.
The awards, held as part of Australian Ham Week which run from today until December 10, launch the Christmas ham season and celebrate the best 100 per cent Australian ham.
Australian Pork Limited’s Mitch Edwards said Westridge Meats took out the Best Australian Ham title over 150 entries.
“Hams from across Australia were assessed by our three judges and were judged against a range of criteria, including appearance, texture, aroma and taste,” he said.
“These awards recognise the best traditional bone-in, boneless and nationally available hams made from 100pc home-grown ham and this year we were pleased to see top quality and flavour.”
This year’s judges were Fleischmeister Horst Schurger, who has a Master’s degree in Butchering and Smallgoods from the Master College in Monchengladbach, Germany, and chefs, Paul McDonald and Nick Whitehouse. They described the Westridge Meats ham as having perfect presentation and great smoky taste.
Rounding out the top three in Queensland’s boneless hams were Sunvalley Fine Foods, Warana, and Gilly’s Smallgoods, Clontarf.
Queensland also dominated in the Best Traditional Bone-in Ham category, with Noosa Meat Centre in Noosaville winning both the state and national titles. Judges said the ham had a great colour, perfect texture and excellent taste. Gold Coast Fresh Meat Centre, Burleigh Heads, took the state’s second place, with Barritt’s Butchery, Bundaberg, third.
The judges named the Bertocchi Brothers Triple Smoked Leg Ham the Best Nationally Available Ham. The judges said the ham was nicely presented, with a great smoky taste and aroma.
“Australian Ham Week celebrates hams made from 100pc home-grown pork,” Mr Edwards said.
“Most people are surprised to find out hams can be made from imported pork. To ensure your ham is 100pc Australian, and not made from imported pork, buy a bone-in ham of look for the pink square PorkMark logo.”
As part of Ham Week celebrations, Gerard’s Bistro in Fortitude Valley and Stokehouse Q in Southbank will be serving up special ham dishes.
Australian Ham Week runs from December 4 to 10.
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