Last week, at the annual American Association of Meat Processors (AAMP) Convention in Des Moines, Iowa, more than 600 products were entered into the country’s largest nationwide cured meats competition. The American Cured Meat Championships (ACMC) awarded prizes to small meat processors across the country in nearly 30 different cured meats categories.
This year in Des Moines, a total of 623 products were entered into the ACMC. Forty-five volunteers, as well as AAMP staff members and ACMC coordinators, gave nearly 300 hours to select the winners of this year’s competition. This year’s winner of the Clarence Knebel Best of Show Memorial Award came from the Heavyweight Bacon category, from Bardine’s Country Smokehouse, in Crabtree, PA. Additionally, Dewig Meats of Haubstadt, Ind., won the Cured Meats Excellence Award. That award goes to the processor with the best overall performance in the ACMC.