Bayside Meats & Deli win best ham in NSW

Bayside Meats & Deli won first place in the state for their boneless leg ham in the annual competition after winning the southern NSW region award for the third consecutive year.

Co-owner Jason Funnell said the success was a team effort and the result of years of honing the best recipe and process.

"Anyone can produce a ham, but to do it well is another thing," Mr Funnell said.

"You can have the world's best recipe, but if it's not processed, cured and cooked properly, it's all out the window.

"This is about everyone who works here."

Mr Funnell has been a butcher for 31 years and has been making his own hams for 20 years, always honing the process to create the best quality meats.

Mr Funnell said creating the best hams was a five day task, including processing the pork, curing the meat, cooking it, and letting it rest.

For Mr Funnell, it starts with the freshest ingredients, including 100 per cent Australian pork and locally-sourced honey.

"From start to finish there is a lot of elements that can go wrong," he said.

"You never stop learning, there is always things to tweak.

"You're always looking at your process to make sure that it's spot on all the time."

Bayside Meats & Deli was crowned champion by a judging panel of industry leaders and food critiques.

Mr Funnell said they score everything about the meat - texture, appearance, aroma, taste, flavour, saltiness and after taste.

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The award caps off a fantastic 18 months for the butcher. They won a Bronze and Silver medal at the 2021 Royal Easter Show for their meats. They will now progress to the nationals for their boneless ham in South Australia in February, competing against the best hams from across Australia.

"I won't stop until I get the big one - gold at the Easter Show," Mr Funnell said.

While he sees the award as deserved recognition for the hard work of his team, for Mr Funnell, the greatest delight comes from knowing people love his products.

Every week he sells roughly 40 hams.

"My satisfaction is knowing it's a good product and people come back for it," he said.

And people do come back for them. He already has 1000 orders for half hams for this Christmas.