An East Maitland butchery has proved it's a cut above the rest with its ham - and just in time for Christmas.
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Earlier this month, Hunter Valley Meat Emporium was named among the best in the country for their boneless ham.
The popular butchery took home two awards from the Australian PorkMark Ham Awards including second in the State and third in the country for its delicious product.
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Owner Steffan Harris, who has more than 30 years experience in the industry, said the store was thrilled by the news.
"There were a lot of entries in the competition ... We've beat over 130 entrants.
"We are stoked. It's been a great boost to the business," he said.
"We follow a procedure that we've tried over a number of years.
"It's been a combination of good product and good workmanship," Mr Harris said.
Judging of the Australian PorkMark Ham Awards took place earlier this year with a total of 140 entries being assessed on appearance, aroma, form and of course, the all-important taste test.
And award winning ham isn't the first accolade for the much-loved butchery.
This year, the business won three gold medals for its bone-in leg ham, boneless leg ham and chorizo at the Australian Meat Industry smallgoods competition for Newcastle and the Hunter Valley.
It also took home the silver medal for its kransky.
And if that's not all, the Emporium also placed second in the NSW short cut bacon section of the Australian PorkMark Bacon Award.
"We've had a really good year in regard to competitions," Mr Harris said.
"It's been a pretty successful year. We try to do things a little bit differently from the other butcher population."
The Mitchell Drive butchery is busy taking orders for their award winning Christmas ham now so don't miss out.
Mr Harris encouraged people to place their order now ahead of the festive season.
"We are starting to ramp up for Christmas. It's under a month," he said.