Sizzling hot bacon pieces in a cast iron skillet Photo: 123RF
The New Zealand Bacon and Ham Awards kicked off on Tuesday and Todd Treadwell, possibly the world's luckiest judge, joined First Up to give the low-down on all things salty, smoky and sizzling.
A good rasher should go easy on the brine, he said.
"You're looking for flavour, that it can crisp up. Making sure it's not over pumped with brine. If you're going for the brine-cured side, rather than the dry-cured."
Much the same with ham, he said.
"All hams are pumped with a brine solution, then are hung, smoked and cooked. So, making sure they're not over pumped, overcooked that they're nice and moist. A really good flavour and making sure you've got good pork to start with."
Process of judging the best bacon & ham in the motu
He would be blind judging between 40 and 60 pieces from butchers nation-wide.
"New Zealand's pretty good at this to be fair, most of the stuff it's butchers that have made in-house and have sent in to this competition, you've got the big manufacturers that send in as well.
"We don't know what we're judging or whose they are. So it's blind tasting."
His advice for spotting a good rasher?
"Look at it in the packet and to see how much moisture is in the packet to start with. If it's really sort of sloppy, and there's lots of sort of brine coming out of the bacon, personally, that's not what I like, I like a drier bacon. And I look for a bit of a bit of colour, not too dull looking."
The full results of the People's Choice and supreme winners will be announced at an award ceremony on Wednesday 24 July in Auckland.