Wild Game owners Varnnah and Jordan Hamilton-Bicknell. Photo / Warren Buckland
Wild Game owners Varnnah and Jordan Hamilton-Bicknell. Photo / Warren Buckland
The owner of a local boutique butcher is: “stoked, blown off his feet and chuffed about our achievement”.
And rightly so.
Wild Game owners Jordan and Varnnah Hamilton-Bicknell were named Supreme Winner in both bacon and ham categories of the 100% New Zealand Bacon & Ham Awards.
Wild Game in Camberley Hastings took out New Zealand’s top bacon award with their middle eye/loin entry and New Zealand’s best ham award for their boneless ham.
Pretty impressive considering they have only owned the business for 12 months.
However, Jordan has a wealth of experience behind him and has been weilding a butcher’s knife since he started in the trade at 15 years old in Woodville;
He worked for six years for the previous owners of Wild Game before he and his wife decided to take the plunge and buy the business.
He says the awards are a recognition that what they are doing is working.
“Some of the recipes were created while I worked here, some I have tweaked and some are new.”
When I spoke with Jordan he and his wife were at the NZ Pork Conference in Christchurch. The invitation to the conference was part of the reward for winning the awards.
“Our products are on display along with others from around the country. We are really enjoying being a part of it all.”
Jordan grew up on a farm and is a “mad keen hunter” and says it has helped him with his business.
“Knowing where your meat comes from has taught me a lot about paddock to plate.”
He says the secret to good bacon and ham is keeping it simple. “We use quality local pork then just keep it simple. Not too much sugar and the right amount of salt.”
Wild Game specialises in small goods such as black pudding, salami and beer sticks. They are also home-kill experts.
Wild Game specialises in small goods. Photo / Warren Buckland
“Home kill is a good way to fill the freezer with good quality meat and you also get to choose what cuts you like.
“These days customers have moved away from cuts such as rolled rib roast and were instead choosing short ribs or barbecue slab. That’s the beauty of homekill, you get to decide exactly what you want to suit your family.”
Judging at the awards took place over three days, with a team of butchers and culinary experts inspecting and sampling the country’s finest bacon and ham products, all produced from 100% New Zealand-born and raised pork.
Judge and food writer, Ginny Grant, said the judging panel was looking for great flavour, good salt levels, subtle smokiness and a nice even distribution of fat.
“It’s important to get those attributes right to allow the flavour of the pork to shine through,” she said.
“The Supreme Bacon winner was a great piece of bacon with a lovely balance of flavour. Smoke didn’t dominate and most importantly it tasted of pork.
“The winning ham was a beautiful piece of meat – it looked and tasted amazing with a lovely texture.”
It’s the first time Jordan has entered these competitions and he’s “just blown away”.
