FIVE GOLD AWARDS
Traditional dry cured gammon crowned
'show champion'
at the North East BPEX Awards held at
Askham Bryan College, York on Wednesday 31st January.
BPEX is the British Pig Executive, responsible for pork promotion and marketing across all sectors in the UK. These events are held throughout the UK to evaluate meat products against specific classification criteria. The categories included sausage, ready meal, gammon and meat pies. The products are scored and awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze awards, with special awards for category winner and 'Best Product in Show'.
The pork used to make our gammon is produced on our own farm and then expertly cured by our butchers in the farm shop. A blend of salts and sugars are rubbed into the pork and this is then left to dry out or cure for seven days. The flavours of the cure are drawn into the meat and the colour alters from a pale pork colour to a deeper pink. Once the curing has taken place the pork, now called gammon, is rolled and prepared for sale.
 |
| The butchery team |
 |
| Dry cured gammon |
Our gammon is sold on the butchery counter as joints to steam or roast, as sliced steaks for grilling and the same cure is also used to produce our bacon. On the delicatessen counter the gammon is sold as cooked ham with a variety of glazes to choose from.
We were also lucky enough to win four other gold awards at the event for our pork sausage, pork and chive sausage, lasagne ready meal and pork casserole with cider and prunes.
Edward Garthwaite says,"We are delighted with the results! We have a dedicated team aiming to produce the highest quality meats, its fantastic to receive the recognition for our efforts. Half of the credit must go to the rest of my family on the farm and our other local producers for all their hard work."
