New Zealand's Top Bacon And Ham Announced

New Zealand’s top bacon and ham producers have been announced at an awards ceremony on the night of 24th July, with two butcheries taking out the top spot for their outstanding bacon and ham products. Supreme Winner in the bacon category was Cameron Harrison Butchery in Upper Hutt with their Honey Cured Streaky Bacon. The Supreme Award in the ham category went to Sam’s Butchery in Silverdale, Auckland for their Mini Champagne Ham.

Rob Cameron says he feels stoked and a bit overwhelmed at the win. “I was confident in the product that I put forward but was still surprised to win the Supreme Award. This particular streaky bacon I have been working on perfecting for the past twelve years.”

Ian Anderson from Sam’s Butchery says it's incredibly humbling for Sam and the team to receive this accolade. "It's a trifecta for us – we’ve previously won the Supreme Bacon and Supreme Sausage titles, and now we have the Supreme Ham. We are beyond thrilled and extremely happy."

Judging took place over three days, with a team of butchers and culinary experts inspecting and sampling our country’s finest bacon and ham products, all produced from 100% New Zealand born and raised New Zealand pork. Category champion, gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded in each of the seven bacon categories and the three ham categories. A category champion award is given to the top scoring product from each category. Immediately following category judging, all category champion winners were re-judged against each other to then find New Zealand’s supreme bacon and ham.

Chef judge, Jess Granada who is chef and owner of Nanam in Takapuna says she was looking for a balance of flavour in both the ham and bacon products.

“Overall, it was a very high standard of entries, and you could tell a lot of love had gone into making all the products,” says Granada. “I was looking for that harmony of flavour where I could taste the pork itself with a balance of sweet, salty and slight acidity – and this is what stood out for the winning products on the Supreme judging day.”

Todd Treadwell from Well Hung Butchery in Milford has been judging the competition for several years and has seen the standard of entries improving each year.

“Retailers are taking pride in what they are making which is great news for the public,” says Treadwell “The winning products had the best flavour with excellent moisture content which left you wanting more.”

Additionally, the New Zealand public were asked to judge their favourite bacon and ham retailer in the lead up to the final announcement via an online judging portal. With over 7,500 votes cast nationwide, The Aussie Butcher New Lynn in Auckland took out the People’s Choice winner for his tasty bacon and ham products.

When it comes to cooking and serving bacon and ham, Chef Jess Granada’s top tip for cooking the perfect bacon is to use a cast iron pan, ensuring it’s at the right temperature before you start cooking. As for ham, Todd Treadwell says there is nothing better than freshly sliced ham off the bone. Whichever way you choose to serve your bacon and ham, you can check out where all the medal winners are located here.

100% New Zealand Bacon and Ham Awards 2024 results:

2024 Supreme Award - Bacon
Cameron Harrison Butchery, Wellington
Honey Cured Streaky Bacon

2024 Supreme Award - Ham
Sam’s Butchery, Silverdale, Auckland
Mini Champagne Ham

2024 People’s Choice Bacon & Ham Winner
Aussie Butcher New Lynn, Auckland

Full medal table available here

© Scoop Media