13 places to buy your Christmas Ham this festive season

Posted on 27 November, 2018

Before you start getting the kids to compile their wishlists…

Before you try to figure out how you’ll fit your parents, both sets of grandparents and one great-aunt under the same roof, and before you even dare dust off your Michael Bublé playlist, you need to be thinking about ham.

We’ve rounded up the best purveyors of fine meat in Canberra (and beyond) so you can nail your Christmas lunch centrepiece (and cross one more thing off that festive to-do list).

FYSHWICK FRESH FOOD MARKETS

If you are looking for meat, Fyshwick Markets house five speciality butchers – all within rissole-throwing distance of each other.

Looking for ham that’s organic and nitrate-free? Head to Fyshwick Gourmet Organic, where they specialise in organic and free-range products.

12 Dalby Street, Fyshwick | 6295 6869 | fyshwickmarkets.com.au/shops/fyshwick-gourmet-organic

PIALLIGO ESTATE SMOKEHOUSE

Arguably one of Canberra’s best-known smokehouses, Pialligo Estate offers a bonafide feast of Christmas options.

You can get their traditional smoked ham, or upgrade to the ‘On the Table’ Christmas hamper and get your hands on a Christmas pudding and salted caramel and cranberry sauces. And not to forget the eventual Boxing Day grazing, they also offer a BBQ pack for the day after the big day.

18 Kallaroo Road, Pialligo | 6257 6060 | Monday–Friday 9 am–6 pm | pialligofarm.com.au

SOUTHLANDS QUALITY MEATS

Nestled in Mawson Shops, Southlands Quality Meats is a local favourite known for their award-winning sausages, bacon, and ham.

Proudly run by Alan Matthews and his team, you might just be able grab a delicious dessert while you’re there for your festive meats: last year they stocked Christmas puddings from Walsh’s Country in Boorowa.

Shop 1/93 Mawson Place, Mawson | 6286 2993 | Monday–Friday 7.30am–6.30pm, Saturday 7.30am–2.30pm | facebook.com/southlandsqualitymeats

JORDO’S CHOP SHOP

Starting with Whites Farm free-range pork, the butchers at locally-loved Jordo’s Chop Shop trim and shape the pork legs themselves before soaking them in brine for eight to 10 days and then cooking them in their own smokehouse.

If double-smoked ham tickles your festive fancy, the option is yours. All their hams are low in nitrate, and they also have wrapped chicken breast, boneless pork, quail, turkey and seafood available.

11/6 Sangster Place, Wanniassa | 6231 8755 | Monday–Friday 7 am–6 pm, Saturday 7 am–4 pm | jordoschopshop.com

ANDY’S OWN SPENCE BUTCHERY

Another butcher with a passion for doing everything himself in-store, Andy’s Own is an award-winning butchery located at Spence Shops. Beloved by many a Spence local – and even by those beyond the suburb’s borders – Andy’s is another excellent choice for Christmas pork on your fork.

Shop2, Glassey Place, Spence | 6258 4727 | Monday–Friday 6.30 am–6 pm, Saturday 6.30 am–1 pm | facebook.com/Andys-Own-Spence-Butchery

BALZANELLI’S SMALLGOODS

Located in Fyshwick, the family-owned Balzanelli’s Smallgoods business has been running since 1979. They also run Four Bee Meats in Queanbeyan, where you can find the same succulent local and imported charcuterie.

Thinking of adding a little international fare to the usual Christmas lunch? Try a traditional panettone, bresaola or alpine prosciutto alongside their smoked ham.

7 Isa Street, Fyshwick | 6280 5104 | Monday–Friday 8 am–4 pm | facebook.com/BalzanelliSmallgoods

THE BUTCHER SHOP

From Murrumbidgee to King Island, there’s a lot of good Australian produce celebrated at this Kaleen gem. Run since 2009 by Ian and Lyn Turner, The Butcher Shop’s Christmas catalogue will also be available at Dickson’s Boutique Charcuterie. All the ingredients used in their curing process are hand-crushed and free from colouring or artificial flavours. Put your order in for their Christmas ham, turkey, pork roasts and seafood now.

Shop 9 Maribyrnong Avenue, Kaleen | 6262 4686 | Monday–Friday 7 am–6 pm, Saturday 7 am–5 pm, Sunday 7 am–4 pm | the-butcher-shop.com.au

POACHERS PANTRY

Anyone who likes a good meal in Canberra has made the pilgrimage to Poachers Pantry at some point – and it’s worth it to get your hands one of their delicious hams for the big day. Whilst you’re at the homestead, take the chance to stock up on a few celebratory bottles from their Wily Trout Vineyard. 

431 Nanima Road, Springrange, NSW | 6230 2487 | Monday–Sunday 9.30 am–5 pm | poacherspantry.com.au  

MEATWAYS KAMBAH

Meatways Butcher in Kambah is a beloved local butchery that has all that your heart could desire for Christmas fare: free-range turkey, chicken, duck and spatchcock, pork loin, racks and roasts, beef fillets, legs, racks and shoulders of lamb, smoked salmon, trout and bacon, and three traditional stuffings.

If you’re really just after ham, they have that and then some: boneless plus whole and half legs on the bone. Phew.

Shop 4, Kambah Village, Marconi Crescent, Kambah | 6231 7258 | Tuesday–Friday 9 am–6.30 pm, Saturday 8.30 am–4 pm, Sunday 9 am–4 pm, Monday 10.30 am–6.30 pm | hkambahbutcher.com.au

BUNGENDORE COUNTRY BUTCHERY

A bit of a hike for a ham for sure, but one that we highly recommend – if not for a stroll around charming Bungendore. Locals put their orders in as early as the start of November; such is the demand for ham from Sue and Paul at Bungendore Country Butchery. Alongside their famous double smoked ham you can pick up rolled pork roast, turkey, prawns and an array of seafood.

17 Gibraltar Street, Bungendore, NSW | 6238 1240 | Monday–Saturday 6.30 am–5 pm | facebook.com/Bungendore-Country-Butchery

GRIFFITH BUTCHERY

The stalwarts of Griffith keep their pork organic and free from chemicals by sourcing it from a farm in Temora in southern New South Wales. The family-run Griffith Butchery is offering ham, pork, turkey and quiches amongst the usual array of butchery options, and even three different stuffings (one of which is gluten free). They’ve also been taking Christmas orders since October – so you know they’re serious about their Christmas meats.

10 Barker Street, Griffith | 6295 9781 | Monday–Friday 7.30 am–6.30 pm, Saturday 7.30 am–1.30 pm | griffithbutchery.com.au

BOXGUM GRAZING

Named for the eucalypt woodlands found on their Hilltops region farm in southern NSW, Boxgum Grazing pigs live on pasture and are routinely moved to new areas to help regenerate the landscape. The multi-generational team believes Christmas isn’t Christmas without a ham – and that’s why they offer half, whole or boneless options. Boxgum offers delivery on Saturday between 2–6pm and pickup from Capital Region Farmers’ Market at EPIC, their farm in Murringo or Telopea Park in Kingston on Saturday afternoons.

777 Murringo Flats Road, Murringo, NSW | 6384 6278 | boxgumgrazing.com.au

WAGGA FREE RANGE PORK

Found at many a market around Canberra, Wagga Free Range Pork is a family-run business advocating a paddock to plate approach: owners Steve and Leah raise their own free-range Berkshire pigs. This Christmas you can choose from ham or pork roasts, with nitrate-free options available as well as local sausages, bacon, cream, chorizo and cheese. Bonus: all their products are gluten-free. Order online here.

Holbrook Road, Mangoplah, NSW | 0488 102 835 | facebook.com/freerangeberkshiregoldpork

If animal welfare is also a priority for you when picking your Christmas ham, look for products that have come from pigs able to roam freely, forage and are provided with shelter and bedding for resting.

This generally means looking for free range, bred free range and RSPCA Approved. While sow-stall free is a positive first step, in these systems pigs can still be kept in barren pens and mother pigs can still be confined to farrowing crates for a couple weeks at a time.