The American Association of Meat Processors is announcing the winners of its annual American Cured Meat Championships. The competition took place during AAMP’s 86th American Convention of Meat Processors & Suppliers’ Exhibition, July 24-26, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. This year’s competition was one of its largest. A total of 76 meat companies submitted 873 products across 30 different classes, making it the largest ACMC since 2012.

Louie’s Finer Meats, of Cumberland, Wisc., was this year’s top winner, as the company won both of the ACMC’s top awards. Not only did Louie’s win the Cured Meats Excellence Award for the best overall performance in the ACMC, but it also won the coveted Clarence Knebel Memorial Award for Best of Show. This year’s overall top product was a pepperoni that was named as the Grand Champion in the Old World Dried Fermented Sausage Class.

Louis Muench of Louie's Finer Meats holds his Clarence Knebel Memorial Award for Best of Show and Cured Meats Excellence Award.

This year’s ACMC also marked the debut of an experimental fresh class. The intent was to explore member interest in offering a fresh class or classes for future ACMCs. This year’s fresh class was a Fresh Gourmet/Flavored Patty, and the Grand Champion went to The Country Butcher, Tolland, Conn., for a Sausage, Peppers & Onion Patty.

The Grand Champion for each of the 30 classes in this year’s competition is below. The next ACMC will take place during AAMP’s 2026 Convention, July 9-11 in Milwaukee, Wisc.

2025 Grand Champions

Andouille Sausage - Paradise Locker Meats, Trimble, Mo.

Bacon - Heavyweight - McDonald's Meats, Clear Lake, Minn.

Bacon - Lightweight - Stroots Meat Locker, Goddard, Kan.

Braunschweiger - Louie's Finer Meats, Cumberland, Wisc.

Country Bacon - Dry Cured - Tulare Meat Locker & Sausage Co., Tulare, Calif.

Cured Specialty Meat Products - Gehring's Meat Market, Hartford, Wisc.

Dried Beef - Eickman's Processing, Seward, Ill.

Frankfurters/Wieners - Coarse Ground - Lake Geneva Country Meats, Lake Geneva, Wisc.

Frankfurters/Wieners - Emulsified - Bardine's Country Smoke House, Crabtree, Pa.

Ham, Bone-In - Heavyweight - Alex Froelich Packing Co., Johnstown, Pa.

Ham, Bone-in - Lightweight - Eickman's Processing, Seward, Ill.

Ham, Boneless - Commercial - Northwoods Locker, Clayton, Wisc.

Ham, Boneless - Traditional - Tulare Meat Locker & Sausage Co., Tulare, Calif.

Ham, Semi-Boneless - The Country Butcher, Tolland, Conn.

Jerky - Restructured - Tulare Meat Locker & Sausage Co., Tulare, Calif.

Jerky - Whole Muscle - Strick's Specialty Meats, Hattiesburg, Miss.

Luncheon Meat - Large Diameter - Country Meat Shop, Moberly, Mo.

Meat Snack Sticks - The Country Butcher, Tolland, Conn.

Meat Snack Sticks, Flavored - Gehring's Meat Market, Hartford, Wisc.

Old World Dried Fermented Sausage - Louie's Finer Meats, Cumberland, Wisc.

Ring Bologna - Cooked - Merindorf's Meats, Mason, Mich.

Semi-Dried Sausage - Cooked, Non-Fermented - Timber Creek Meats, Parsons, Kan.

Small Diameter Hot Link Sausage - Strick's Specialty Meats, Hattiesburg, Miss.

Small Diameter Smoked & Cooked Sausage - Newswanger Meats, Shiloh, Ohio

Small Diameter Smoked & Cooked Sausage - Specialty Flavor - Alex Froelich Packing Co., Johnstown, Pa.

Smoked Turkey - Bardine's Country Smoke House, Crabtree, Pa.

Specialty Game Meats - Karl's Country Market, Menomonee Falls, Wisc.

Summer Sausage - Cooked - Louie's Finer Meats, Cumberland, Wisc.

2025 Featured Class: Smoked and Cooked Poultry Sausage - Gentert Packing, Holstein, Neb.

2025 Experimental Fresh Class: Fresh Gourmet/Flavored Patty - The Country Butcher, Tolland, Conn.

Source: American Association of Meat Processors