To help celebrate Australian Ham Week, the winners of the Australian Ham Awards have been announced, recognising the best traditional bone-in, boneless and nationally available hams.
The awards are organised by Australian Pork, and this year’s judges were Fleischmeister Horst Schurger, who has a Masters degree in Butchering and Smallgoods from the Master College in Monchengladbach, Germany; and chefs Paul McDonald and Nick Whitehouse.
More than 150 entries were assessed against a range of criteria including appearance, texture, aroma and taste.
The Best Australian Ham and Best Boneless Ham were awarded to Westridge Meats, Toowoomba, Queensland.
The Best Traditional Bone-In Ham was awarded to the Noosa Meat Centre in Noosaville, Queensland, and the judges named the Bertocchi Brothers Triple Smoked Leg Ham the Best Nationally Available Ham.
- Overall Winner and Best Artisan Ham
Westridge Meats, Toowoomba, Qld
- Traditional Bone-in Leg Ham
1st – Noosa Meat Centre, Noosaville, Qld
2nd – Campbell’s Superior Meats, West Pymble, NSW
3rd – Wattle City Meats, Maryborough, Vic
- Boneless Ham
1st – Westridge Meats, Toowoomba, Qld
2nd – Sunshine Meats, Milperra, NSW
3rd – Andrew’s Choice, Melbourne, Vic
- Best Nationally Available Ham
Bertocchi Brothers Triple Smoked Leg Ham