It’s been another bumper year for Packington Free Range at the Great Taste Awards. The judges picked out four  standout products from our range, awarding stars to our Packington Pork Shoulder, Packington Pork Leg, Packington Free Range Bronze Turkey and Packington Free Range Cockerel.

Our Pork Leg topped the bill, bringing home a coveted two-star award. The Great Taste team say their two star awards mean a product is “Outstanding – Above and beyond delicious. Less than 10% of entries will achieve this rating.”

GREAT TASTE AWARDS – OUR WINNING PORK

Commenting specifically on our Pork Leg, the judges said:

“A large rolled joint of meat, with an abundance of crisp crackling. The rested meat cut well and the fat melted on the tongue and tasted fresh and sweet. The meat had been well cooked and had a mild pork flavour.”

“A lovely porky aroma which really sets the taste buds salivating. Plentiful fat keeps the lean meat moist and succulent and it tastes of a pig that has lived a good life. The crackling is excellent, light, crisp and very flavoursome with a deeply savoury note. A lovely piece of pork.”

“A handsome, well bronzed joint with light, crunchy crackling, a delightful level of flavour to the soft fat beneath, and really sound depth of porkiness as well as juiciness to the lean meat. A caramel sweetness, almost honeyed, permeates the meat, which feels almost brined in its savoury umami depth. Really delightful.”

“A generously sized joint which has retained a good moistness and has plenty of flavour. The crackling was light and crisp.”

Meanwhile, our one star Packington Pork Shoulder was praised for its, “Excellent crackling and high quality fat, which was creamy and full of flavour. The meat had retained its juices and was full of pork flavour.” Another judge commented: “An impressive looking joint of pork with a fantastic layer of crispy crackling. The meat itself was extremely moist and had great depth of flavour. The crackling was also delicious as was the fat. We would be very happy to have this as our Sunday roast.”

OUR AWARD-WINNING CHRISTMAS POULTRY

The Great Taste Awards are always a welcome boost for us ahead of what is a very busy period at Packington HQ. Our Christmas Shop has already got off to a flying start this year (if you’ll pardon the pun) and we sold more Christmas birds in our first week of opening than ever before. So, the news that our Cockerel and Bronze Turkey each won a Gold Star was the icing on the cake.

It’s the fourth year our fabulous Cockerels have been recognised. Here are the judges comments in full.

“The bird looks appealing, with a great colour to the skin and large amounts of meat. The skin had a robust flavour, with the leg meat gamey. What impressed most was the luscious golden fat between meat and skin, resulting in poultry that was big on flavour.”

“A most handsome, golden-skinned bird, enticingly aromatic. The flesh is firm, as anticipated, the brown meat pleasingly flavourful. We did enjoy the subcutaneous fat, which lubricated the gently flavoured white flesh nicely. A sound bird which would make a pleasing Sunday dinner or even festive centrepiece.”

“This cockerel looks great, with its crispy golden skin. The texture of the meat is moist without being watery, and has plenty of bite and chew without being tough. There is great depth of flavour, especially in the dark meat which also retained its moisture for longer than the breast meat.”

“We loved the golden appearance of this big bird and the skin had a pleasant crispiness. The flavour was beautiful and sweet and very moreish.”

And, the judges heaped praise on our Free Range Bronze Turkeys too.

“An impressive bird. The skin is beautifully golden and the breasts plump. We tasted both the breast and leg meat, and the skin, and found all had both good, moist texture and great depth of flavour.”

“We were in awe of this beautiful golden bird. It carved really smoothly and we were impressed with every piece of brown meat we tried, which was incredibly tasty, as well as the crispy skin.”

“Impressively large bird, with well proportioned legs and wings. The legs were moist and full of flavour.”

To order your Packington Christmas poultry, head to our shop now.