Ham is not the most valuable player on Christmas Day. That title goes to turkey stuffing, gravy, a glass of sparkling red before noon, or a stolen nip of St Agnes before spiking the custard.
But over that magical period between Christmas Eve and New Year’s, when you don’t know what day of the week it is, let alone where you left your thongs, ham is vital. Elemental. Integral. It is the alpha and the omega and everything in between.
This is all to say, we take our ham seriously at Good Food, whether it’s glazed as a Christmas table centrepiece, tossed through a green bean salad and served with crusty bread on Boxing Day, or simply a lone slice nicked from the fridge while en route to the backyard.
While we always recommend buying from independent butchers, we also understand that the weeks leading up to Christmas are ferociously busy, and sometimes a supermarket mission is the most convenient ham option.
Cost-of-living is top of mind, too.
And while the supermarket has long been a hotbed of pig limbs injected with more chemicals than most public swimming pools, times are a changin’, and these days you can track down a fairly delicious ham if you missed the window for pre-orders at your local sausage supplier or farmers’ market.
Scoring pen in hand, three chefs, three Good Food editors and one butcher tasted 16 nationally available hams last week at Porcine in Paddington, Sydney (because there isn’t a restaurant in Australia that appreciates pig more).
Each entry was judged on appearance, texture, aroma and taste – especially taste – to arrive at a final average score. The hams were de-identified to keep the source unknown, but discussion was permitted throughout the tasting.
The panel
Joel Young, owner of 3J’s Butchers in Gippsland, VictoriaDanielle Alvarez, chef and author, and culinary director of Sydney Opera House eventsJunda Khoo, owner-chef of Ho Jiak, SydneyNik Hill, owner-chef at Porcine, PaddingtonSarah Norris, head of Good FoodCallan Boys, Good Food national restaurant editorBianca Hrovat, Good Food Sydney restaurant editor
Overall findings? A supermarket ham’s ingredient label gives few clues to its quality, with many listing the same mineral salts, acidity regulators and preservative 250 (also known as sodium nitrate), used to protect against food deterioration and give cured pork its pink hue.
There was a huge diversity across taste, texture and smoke aroma, and price is not a reliable indicator of standard.