Australian Ham Week will be taking place between the 10-17th November with the aim of showcasing Australia’s finest, home grown ham products.
It is reported that almost $10m of imported pork arrives on Australian shores every week, equating to over 2.7 million kilos, or around 52,000 pigs. In addition some 65-75 percent of the smallgoods consumed in Australia is made from imported pork from countries with different food preparation and health food standards to our own, and are often heavily subsidised by the exporting nations which creates an uneven playing field.
To raise awareness of the Australian pork industry, Australian Ham Week has launched a competition to find Australia’s best ham for 2013 and has already received 135 entries from ham producers using 100 percent Australian pork.
The Australian PorkMark Ham Awards for excellence is divided into two categories; Traditional Bon-In Leg and Boneless, with the key judging criteria including appearance, texture, aroma and taste.
The judges include Fleishmeister Horst Schurger, who has a Master’s degree in Butchering and Smallgoods from the Master College in Mönchengladbach Germany and two chefs, Paul McDonald and Simon Bestley. Between them, McDonald and Bestley have broad international experience working in Michelin starred restaurants, cruise liners and premier teaching institutions.
The competition is open to all butchers and smallgoods processors that make their ham from Australian grown pork and the official announcement of the winners will take place at a breakfast function on Monday 11 November at Warren Turnbull’s restaurant, Churburger.