Oliver Hagen, co-owner of Hagen’s organic butcher, makes a few thousand hams for his customers at Christmas every year. When it comes to picking your pork, he’s a big advocate for choosing what’s right for your family – citing size, breed, colour and smokiness as key considerations.
Size
Hagen’s first tip is to get a sense of your guest list before deciding on the size of your Christmas ham. “Understand how many people you’re feeding and ask, do you want to have just enough ham for Christmas, or do you want enough for leftovers?” As a rough guide, he recommends approximately half a ham for 15 people – if you want it all gone that day. But for those who know they want Christmas leftovers, he suggests ordering two half hams.
Breed
Across the board, Australian, free-range, female pork is considered the gold standard. “Try to buy regenerative or pasture-raised pork if possible,” Hagen suggests, “something that’s outside all the time.” He says that any kind of Berkshire pig – an older, black pig – is “top-tier” because they’re pasture-raised, “so you know you’re going to get a really rich flavour and beautiful fat content.” If you can’t get your hands on Berkshire pig, don’t fret – just look for pork that’s free-range as this is when you get more fat marbling and a fuller, slightly sweeter taste.
Colour and smokiness
Finally, when it comes to appearances, Hagen recommends choosing a ham that is darker in colour “so you know it’s been smoked well.” Andrew Vourvahakis from Andrew’s Choice Smokehouse in Melbourne supports this theory, suggesting we look for hams that are a “golden brown to rich dark brown colour, and maybe a bit lighter towards the hock end.” Vourvahakis advises that there should also be no cracks in the skin, and that “the hock shouldn’t be hollow or it’s been cooked wrong.”
Haven’t got your Christmas ham in the bag yet? These are some of the best hams in Australia to buy for the 2026 festive season. But get in quick, they’re already selling out fast.
Best Christmas hams and where to get them this year
Victor Churchill
VICTORIA AND NEW SOUTH WALES
Once described by Anthony Bourdain as “the most beautiful butcher shop in the world”, Victor Churchill’s Sydney and Melbourne locations are an experience in and of themselves. Here, each Christmas ham is hand-selected from a rare breed of Kurobuta Berkshire pigs raised exclusively for Victor Churchill and smoked over beechwood, giving it mouthwatering levels of marbling and a delicate texture. Hams start from $305 for a 6kg full leg of ham with bone in, and each full leg comes with a complimentary Victor Churchill Ham Bag for safe storage. Order online from 30 October and before 13 December for delivery between 20 and 23 December. Pick up is also available from late November from select locations.
Feather and Bone
NEW SOUTH WALES
Black-haired, heritage breed and pasture-raised pigs from regeneratively-managed New South Wales and Victorian farms are the focal point of these Marrickville and Waverley butcheries. The product? Pork that tastes distinctly like pork, with a deeply savoury flavour, richer marbling and a meatier texture. All hams are available as either full bone-in or easy-carve options, and are lightly brined and then smoked to showcase the pork’s flavour. Whole hams start from $246 and weigh between 5-9kgs for a leg with bone in. Easy-carve leg and shoulder hams are also available, alongside pastured turkeys, Emden-cross goose and Christmas porchetta, if ham isn’t up your alley. All hams can be purchased or delivered with the skin removed and scored. You can also add on an optional Malfroy’s Gold honey and Wildflower ale-fuelled glaze.
Pre-order online from Monday 23 November and before 12 December. All hams are available for delivery all over Sydney, up to the Central Coast, the Blue Mountains, down to Nowra and Wollongong and to Canberra.
Hagen’s
VICTORIA
This family-run organic butcher in Melbourne started at Prahran Market in 1999, run by Royce and Sue Hagen. These days, it’s been taken over by siblings Ruby and Oliver Hagen and has grown to six thriving Melbourne stores. This festive season, it’s offering four hams, all hand-cured and smoked over wood in its Richmond kitchen. Sourcing pork from its family-owned farm in Queensland, each pig is certified free range and carbon neutral. Raised without hormones or synthetic chemicals, Hagen’s hams have a delicate taste and texture. A whole ham on the bone with traditional cure (cured the traditional way, meaning a deeper colour and the familiar flavour we’ve grown up with) starts from $290 and can weigh between 7-8kgs, while boneless hams start from $70, varying by cure (traditional or natural, which means no preservatives or nitrates and makes for a paler colour and a more subtle flavour). Hagen’s tip? Bone-in ham sells out before the cut-off every year, so place your orders quick smart!
Pre-orders open 4 November and close 13 December. Order online or in store at Bentleigh, Beaumaris, Prahran Market, South Melbourne Market, Queen Victoria Market and East Brunswick Village. Collect from any of the six locations, or opt for delivery Victoria-wide.
Australian Meat Emporium
NEW SOUTH WALES
Alexandria’s butcher shop-cool room hybrid is Sydney’s largest fresh meat market, family owned and run since 2019. With an extensive range of high quality meat products, plus everything you’d need for a barbecue (charcoal, woodchips and barbecue accessories), it’s your one-stop shop for all things meat. Specialising in Sweet Bangalow ham, double wood-smoked over Australian Beechwood chips for 12 hours, the pork is antibiotic-free, with no added hormones, and features a maple-spiked cure for a subtle sweet finish. All ham is unscored and unglazed, ready to prepare at home. But a house made glaze is available for $9.99. Ham prices start at $15.99/kg for half (5-6kgs) and whole hams (10-12kgs), with the festive favourites available in store from 4 November until 24 December, subject to availability. To secure your ham early, pre-orders can be placed from 1 November, with deliveries available until the 18 December and click and collect until Christmas Eve.
Peter Bouchier
VICTORIA
Female, free-range pork that’s been traditionally cured and smoked over beechwood is the name of the game at this Victorian butcher, who took home gold at last year’s Australian Food Awards. Offering one of the most extensive selections of Christmas hams in Victoria, customers can choose the option that best suits their specific household, occasion and level of preparation.
Select between whole leg, half leg and boneless options, each available traditionally smoked, prepared for glazing (skin removed and fat scored) or fully glazed and ready to serve. There are also easy-carve hams, smaller ham nuggets and double-smoked boneless numbers to whet your appetite. Their award-winning whole-leg hams on the bone start from $237 for a traditional-style ham without the glaze, weighing 7-9kgs.
Pre-order online, in store or over the phone for in-store pickup from Toorak before the 13 December. Walk-in purchases are also welcome from the Toorak and Malvern stores this year, subject to availability, while select hams will be available for home delivery across Melbourne. You’ll be asked to pay a 25% deposit to secure your ham, with the remainder due on collection.
Black Forest Smokehouse
New South Wales
Fans of this Marrickville smokehouse know that you have to get in early to secure one of these free-range, traditionally cured and naturally wood-smoked hocks made with an old family recipe. Choose between free-range whole or half hams on the bone – selecting either the shank or the chump end – plus, boneless portions and an award-winning gypsy ham that’s tunnel boned and hand-cured before it’s smoked for a charred, delicate flavour.
You can also opt for one of its hampers, which includes a small suckling shoulder ham that’s been locally farmed in New South Wales, a citrusy ham glaze and Christmas pudding for $110. Or opt for a boneless double-smoked ham portion with a spiced orange glaze, alongside free-range prosciutto, air-dried Wagyu bresaola, cheddar, plum pudding and a brandy butterscotch sauce for the same price. Pre-order online from 14 December.
Meatsmith
Victoria
Andrew McConnell and Troy Wheeler’s meat providore brines rare breed Victorian pork for 48 hours then smokes it over smouldering German woodchips. You have the option to have your hock glazed with a very special Meatsmith ham glaze or for the ambitious, choose to glaze it yourself. Prices start from $170 for a half leg bone-in ham, with boneless hams also available from $240 and delivery offered across Victoria. For the ham devotees, whole, raw hams on the bone come ready to be cooked to your own liking, starting from $220. After something slightly left field? A Lincolnshire pork shoulder filled with parsley, leeks, confit garlic, mustard and fresh lemon zest inspired by the English countryside may just be calling your name, available for home delivery or click and collect. Designed to be sliced cold for charcuterie boards and festive platters, it’s an easy way to up your Christmas game this season. Order all online from 30 October for collection or delivery across Victoria between 16 and 24 December.
Gleneden Farm
Queensland
Ethically and organically farmed, Gleneden Farm’s traditionally wood-smoked ham is sure to impress your guests at Christmas. Bred from Wessex Saddleback pigs, pasture born and organically raised, the quality of ham from Gleneden Farm is tough to beat. Soaked in a simple homemade nitrate-free brine before being hot smoked in hardwood smoke, the result is a beautifully coloured ham with a traditionally ham flavour and texture. Their whole, bone-in leg hams are roughly 4-8kg and start at $38 per kilo. Delivery extends to Brisbane, Ipswich, Toowoomba, Warwick and places in between.
Order via email (morris@glenedenfarm.com.au) or phone (07) 46661273 to place your order and pay a $50 deposit to secure your ham, with the balance paid on delivery.
Sunshine Meats
New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, Queensland and Australian Capital Territory
Voted among Australia’s best artisan ham by the Australian Pork Corporation and the Sydney Royal Fine Food Show, Sunshine Meats knows how to put on a good ham. Made only using Australian pork sourced largely from central Queensland and southern Victoria, their maple-infused ham is marinated in a secret blend of spices and then double-smoked over Australian beechwood for 12 hours. Just add your own glaze, and Christmas is in the bag. Half hams start at $29 per kilo. Order online before 1 December for pick-up from the Milperra (New South Wales) store or to have your ham delivered.
Vic’s
New South Wales AND VICTORIA
Founded by Anthony Puharich (Victor Churchill) and his father Vic, “the chef’s butcher” prides itself on its exceptional produce – supplying some of Australia’s most respected restaurants (including Firedoor, Sixpenny and Bennelong) with the finest meat, and providing restaurant-quality produce for those cooking along at home. And festive season is no exception. Hand selected from Australian-grown baby pigs exclusively reserved for Vic’s customers and expertly smoked over Beechwood for 12 hours, its Christmas hams are succulent and lean classic in style and flavour. For hosts who don’t want to have to deal with the leftovers, the whole baby leg (6-7kgs) allows you to comfortably feed 8-12 guests, without excess, starting from $265. Half baby legs start from $150.
Online pre-orders open 30 October and close 13 December, with delivery available across the country, excluding Western Australian and Northern Territory, between 20 and 23 December. From late November, the Christmas collection will also be available in-store at Vic’s New South Wales locations (Bondi Junction, Chatswood and an outlet in Mascot), as well as Chadstone in Melbourne – with selections varying by location.
Pattemore’s Meats
Queensland
Daryl Pattemore has been sourcing pork from the Darling Downs region, and curing and smoking it using traditional methods for over 40 years. His skill shows in these top-grade hams. A whole leg, generally weighing 9kgs, gets the traditional cure then slow wood-smoked treatment, priced at $170. Gluten-free half leg, boneless options are also available. Pre-order online now or call (07) 3824 0576.
Andrew’s Choice Smokehouse
Victoria
Celebrating 20 years, this family-run smokehouse in Victoria is responsible for delivering some of the best hams in Australia. Naturally smoked, brined with herbs and spices and consistently voted Victoria’s Best Ham, these plump beauties made from 100 per cent Australian female pigs are a work of art. And for founder Andrew Vourvahakis, they’re less of a seasonal product than a craft he has devoted many years to perfecting.
This year, you can order their 7kg traditional ham on the bone for $210, as well as easy-carve boneless or semi-boneless options, made with just as much pride and care. There are also half serves available for half the price. Hams can be ordered online for delivery or picked up from the Smokehouse in Laverton North,
Bos Taurus Butchery
South Australia
Hailing from four generations of boss drovers, stockmen and butchers, Norwood Place’s award-winning butchery proudly supplies the best meat they can get their hands on. Free-range, beechwood-smoked South Australian hams, their Christmas ham on the bone starts from $21 per kilo, ranging from 7-9kgs in size. They also sell free-range roasting geese from The Broody Goose Farm in the Murray River region. All orders are taken in store and close 17 December, with their main pick-up dates listed as: 22, 23 and 24 December.
G.McBean Family Butcher
Victoria
Gary McBean, owner and head butcher at G.McBean is not interested in what butchery can do for himself, but the cuts and chops over the years has made him and everyone at G.McBean Family Butcher interested in what it can do for everyone else. And this festive season, he’s personally concerned with getting the best quality ham onto your table. A half leg of free-range ham from the shank end is cured and smoked in-house at the Prahran Market, and starts at $220, excluding scoring and cloving which can be done for an additional $20. Each ham comes in a bespoke ham bag with a cooking and glazing guide. Pre-orders close 13 December and are pick-up only.
Re & Sons
Western Australia
The Re family have owned this premium smallgoods business since 1953, with Umberto Re’s son Joseph Re and his sons, Eric and Jon Paul continuing his legacy at their butcher in Malaga in North Perth. Head to the website this summer to order their handcrafted, German beechwood-smoked hams made from 100% Australian female pork that’s trimmed, boned and shaped by hand before being cured and left to rest. The double-smoking process allows the hams to develop a richer flavour, with just the right level of smokiness to compliment the natural flavour of the pork.
With a range of hams to suit everyone, you can opt for its award-winning traditional leg ham (bone-in) that’s ready to slice and serve, or glaze and heat yourself with your favourite seasonal flavours. Then, there’s boneless options – naturally double-smoked with a sweet, honey-infused flavour – that are just as good, but if you’re looking to shave down some time and effort on the carving, there’s also easy-carve, semi-boneless options too. Pre-order all via the online form or call (08) 9249 4990 before 8 December for pick up from the factory direct Monday – Friday from 7:30am-3:30pm.
