Simple process proves worth for winning bacon

Kanmantoo Bacon and Quality Meats were crowned the 2019 Australian PorkMark Bacon Awards South Australian winner in the full rasher category while the title of SA best short cut bacon went to Schulz Butchers, owned by Barossa Fine Foods, in Edinburgh.

Dieter Knoll, Schulz Butchers and Barossa Fine Foods, who also placed second in the short cut category and third in the full rasher category said the process started with quality product from Australian pig producers.

"Australian pig farmers have done a great job in producing sustainable pork that meets our demands," he said.

"Size, fat cover and flavour play a huge part in the recognition of our bacon."

Mr Knoll said they kept their bacon-making process to the basics.

"Our Schulz bacon uses, most importantly, Australian pork, and we also use a very old Barossa-style brine to cure the bacon," he said.

"This has been in use for about 90 years - we don't change things much as we want to keep it as old school as possible.

"Bacon is one of those things that most people love so we keep ours as simple as possible.

"It is smoked to perfection, the flavour is fantastic, not too salty, not too smoky."

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Australian Pork Limited marketing communications manager Mitch Edwards said the competition shone a light on smallgoods makers who were using 100 per cent Australian pork to produce their bacon, which is great news for pig farmers and bacon-lovers.

"Bacon is an Aussie household staple but there's a high chance the family favourite that shoppers are selecting isn't made with Australian pork," he said.

"Many people are surprised to learn that 80 per cent of bacon sold in Australia is made using imported pork. Aussie bacon meets our high safety standards and celebrates fresh, quality, local ingredients.

"If you want to support Aussie pig farmers, by buying bacon made from 100pc Australian pork, look for either the pink Australian Pork logo or make sure the bar chart on the country of origin label has a percentage of over 90pc of Australian ingredients."

All entries were judged in their raw and cooked form by a panel of four passionate bacon connoisseurs - Fleischmeister Horst Schurger alongside chefs Simon Bestley, Adam Moore and Paul McDonald.

In the state's short cut category, Barossa Fine Foods took second place and Kanmantoo Bacon and Quality Meats, third.

St James Quality Meats, Adelaide came second in SA's full rasher, with Schulz Butchers coming in third.

Kanmantoo came third in the full rasher category last year, while Schulz Butchers won the short cut section.

In the national awards, the overall winner was Princi Smallgoods, Malaga, WA, which also won the full rasher award, while Southlands Quality Meats, Mawson, ACT won the short cut section.