Sunshine Meats in Milperra took home the Overall Winner and Best Australian Ham award at The Australian Ham Awards for its boneless ham.
The awards form part of Australian Ham Week, which this year runs from 30 November to 6 December, to celebrate and promote our Australia’s finest home-grown ham.
Australian Pork Limited’s Mitch Edwards said the week was developed in 2009 to raise awareness not all ham sold in Australia is made from our pork.
The Australian Ham Awards are key to the celebrations, with hams made from 100 per cent Australian pork put to the test by a team of specialist judges. 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 with international experience, Paul McDonald and Simon Bestley.
The judges independently assessed the 123 entries, with criteria including appearance, texture, aroma and taste, with awards for Best Traditional Bone-In Leg Ham, Best Boneless Ham and Best Nationally Available Ham.
The judges described Sunshine Meats’ boneless ham as perfect in appearance and texture, with a sweet and smoky aroma and great balance.
Full list of winners:
Overall Winner and Best Australian Ham
Sunshine Meats Milperra, NSW (02) 9974 5543
Traditional Bone-in Leg Ham
1st Master Meats Warana, Queensland (07) 5309 5797
2nd Pastoral Smallgoods Waterloo, NSW (02) 9319 7443
3rd Salume Amo O’Connor, Western Australia (08) 9314 2494
Boneless Ham
1st Sunshine Meats Milperra, NSW (02) 9974 5543
2nd Meatways Butchery Kambah, ACT (02) 6231 7258
3rd Gray’s Modern Meats Toowoomba, Queensland (07) 4635 1568
Best Nationally Available Ham
Bertocchi Brothers Triple Smoked Leg Ham