Our Waitaki Bacon cooks beautifully – no watery pans, no shrinkage, a light Manuka Honey smoke and not too salty. It has been described as tasting the way “good old fashioned bacon use to”. The ham is light and totally divine – we have a Cumberland Sauce designed for our Ham by Chef Jenny Dodd of Christchurch. Jenny has also created a Waitaki Pork Terrine which is available for order only. For further cooking tips, please visit this website

Designed by Lauraine Jacobs for Waitaki Bacon & Ham

A really effective yet drop dead simple salad for lunch or to serve as an entrée, as the only effort required is to cook the bacon until it’s crisp. Make sure you choose the best quality products you can.
Wine match: Mt Michael Chardonnay

12 rashers of Waitaki streaky bacon
12 fresh or dried figs
250g Te Mata sheep feta
2 large handfuls of fresh rocket leaves
1 tablespoon Alpine honey
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
4 tablespoons Village Press extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Remove any rind from the bacon. In a non-stick frying pan cook the bacon until it is crispy. (It is probably even better grilled if you have an efficient grill.) Cut the figs into halves and cut the cheese into small nuggets. Wash the rocket leaves and pick them over, removing any thick stalks. Make the dressing by combining in a small jar the honey, sherry vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Shake well. To serve, mix the figs, cheese and rocket leaves in a bowl and toss with the dressing. Divide among 6 plates. Top with warm crispy bacon and serve at once. Serves 6.

This recipe is adapted from ‘The Confident Cook’ by Lauraine Jacobs, published by Random House

Designed by Lauraine Jacobs of Cuisine Magazine for Waitaki Bacon & Ham

This special crumbed method of cooking pork will keep the meat beautifully moist and when served with the mushroom ragout, it will make an excellent main course idea for dinner. The panko crumbs are a light Japanese bread crumb and available form a good supermarket.
Wine match: Mt Michael Bessie’s Block Pinot Noir 2006

For the pork:
8 pieces of thinly cut Waitaki pork schnitzel (the shoulder cut is perfect)
4 tablespoons flour
2 eggs
Salt and pepper
1 cup Panko crumbs
4 tablespoons Village Press extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter

For the mushrooms:
1 small packet dried porcini, soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes
2 tablespoons Village Press extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
8 spring onions, finely chopped
150g tiny button white mushrooms, thinly sliced
A few sprigs of chopped thyme
½ cup white wine
Salt and pepper to taste.

Prepare the pork first. Dust the pork on all sides lightly. Beat the eggs in a bowl with salt and pepper. Place the panko crumbs into a shallow dish. Dip the floured meat into the egg mixture and then into the crumbs to cover completely. Set aside on a sheet of baking paper until ready to cook but do not overlap the pieces of meat as they will stick together. Just before serving, heat the oil and butter together in a large heavy bottomed frying pan and when hot cook the meat gently until golden and crisp on both sides. This should be about 3 minutes each side. For the mushroom sauce, drain the soaked porcini and keep the water. Melt the butter in the olive oil and add the spring onions, cooking very gently until soft and golden. Add the sliced mushrooms and the soaked porcini and stir well over gentle heat. When the mushrooms are soft and cooked, turn the heat up and add the thyme, porcini water and wine. Continue to cook for at least 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the liquid is reduced by half. Season to taste and serve over the pork, accompanied by the following red pepper mixture and steamed basmati or long-grain rice dusted with parsley. Serves 4

Designed by Michael lee Richards for Waitaki Bacon & Ham

This is a quick and simple appetizer made by wilting a variety of greens in vinaigrette and then rolling them up in thin slices of Waitaki ham. Any green that is sturdy but not tough is suitable for wilting. Those that quickly go limp and heavy, such as spinach, should not be used. You will find it easiest to wilt the greens directly over the flame in a large stainless steel bowl or wok. The size of the bowl will make it easy to turn the greens without spilling them and you will be able to better control the brief cooking – the wilted greens can be more easily moved from the hot base of a bowl to the cooler sides. A pair of V-shaped tongs is a great help tossing the greens.

Ideally, the greens should be rolled up in the Waitaki ham whole they are still warm; the steam they release will cause the Waitaki ham to soften and the flavors’ to meld.

For the Vinaigrette
1/4 t salt
2T red wine vinegar
1 large shallot, finely diced
1 glove garlic, mashed in a mortar
Freshly ground pepper
4T extra virgin olive oil
3 large handfuls greens (about 9 ounces; see above), wash and dried
12 very thin slices of Waitaki ham
Prepare the vinaigrette: Dissolve the salt in the vinegar. Stir in the shallot and garlic, add pepper to taste, and stir in the olive oil. Put the vinaigrette in a stainless steel bowl or wok large to hold the greens comfortably, and warm it over a direct flame.

Add the greens and toss them continually with a pair of tongs for about 1 minute, until they are slightly wilted but have not gone entirely limp. Remove the bowl or wok from the stove. Working directly from the bowl, place a small mixture of greens loosely on each Waitaki ham slice and roll up the slice. Serve while still warm.

Created by Margaret Cotton

Pineapple and Ham Loaf
150g cooked minced ham or bacon
300g uncooked minced belly of Pork
50g rolled oats
8 slices stuffed olives
1 egg lightly beaten
30g brown sugar
2 Tablesp milk
1 Tablesp mustard
Salt & Pepper
1 Tablesp white vinegar
8 small rings pineapple

Method
1. Mix the minced ham or bacon and pork thoroughly together
2. Add the rolled oats, beaten egg and milk and mix well adding a little salt if necessary and pepper.
3. Arrange the pineapple rings against the sides of the greased loaf tin - two on base and each side and one each end.
4. Cut a circle of stuffed olive and place in centre of pineapple rings
5. Mix the brown sugar, dry mustard, and vinegar together and sprinkle half of this mixture over the pineapple in the base of the tin.
6. Put in the meat and pack carefully between pineapple rings.
7. Pour over the rest of the liquid.
8. Cover the top loosely with a piece of greaseproof paper and bake the loaf just above the centre of a moderately hot oven, for an hour.
9. If serving the loaf cold - let it get cold in the tin then turn out.