REVEALED: The best supermarket hams in Australia for 2020 – and a $11.99 hock has taken out the top spot
- Australia’s best supermarket ham has been named by a team of experts
- Australian Pork judges compared hocks from five stores in a blind taste test
- The hams came from Coles, Woolworths, Costco, Aldi and IGA
- Aldi Australia’s $11.99 Triple Smoked Ham Half Leg was voted ‘Overall Favourite’
- Costco’s $7.99 Central Highlands Pork Ham on the Bone took ‘Best Overall Value’
Australia’s best supermarket ham has been named by a trio of experts – and one of the cheapest hocks came out on top.
Australian Pork commissioned its first-ever blind taste test of the festive family favourite, comparing cut-price hams starting from $8 per kilo with premium $20 joints.
Judges graded meat from Coles, Woolworths, Costco, Aldi and IGA on appearance, aroma, texture and taste to determine which is worth splashing cash on this holiday season.
And it was Aldi’s $11.99 Triple Smoked Ham Half Leg that took the coveted title of ‘Overall Favourite’, with judges describing it as a ‘good-looking, strong ham with a uniform colour and a long-lasting, smoky taste that isn’t overpowering’.
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Aldi’s $11.99 Triple Smoked Ham Half Leg took the coveted title of ‘Overall Favourite’ (stock image)
Costco’s $7.99 Central Highlands Pork Ham on the Bone was voted ‘Best Overall Value’ for its ‘well-balanced taste’ that borders between sweet and smoky.
Judges Margo Andrae, who is the CEO of Australian Pork Limited, Judy Croagh – a farmer from Western Plains Pork – and Clement Chauvin, owner and executive chef of Canberra restaurant Les Bistronomes, said it would make the ‘perfect baked ham’.
The cut is made with 100 percent Australian pork, bred outdoors.
Honourable mentions went to Coles $9 Triple Smoked Half Leg, Bertocchi’s $8 Semi-Boneless Shoulder Ham from Woolworths and IGA’s $9 Naturally Smoked Leg Ham.
A survey of 1,000 Australians by the Australian pork industry found roughly 68 percent of shoppers plan to buy their Christmas hams from a supermarket, rather than a butchers or delicatessen.
Just over 62 percent of those surveyed said they have become more focused on buying locally made meat and fresh produce in the past 12 months.
This shift is likely to have been triggered by the pandemic, which has wreaked untold financial hardship on small businesses and farms across the country.
‘Fortunately this Christmas, we’re seeing plenty of ham made using Australian pork in supermarkets across the country, making it affordable and accessible for families while also supporting our farmers and regional communities,’ CEO of Australian Pork Limited Margo Andrae told news.com.au.