BARTH’S Market
41 South Street |New Providence, NJ 07974
908-464-8555
A couple of years ago, Barth’s “Bacon-101” Facebook post prompted Barth’s bacon enthusiasts to post photos of their egg and bacon breakfast platters, videos of their bacon sizzling on the skillet, and comments about THE..BEST..BACON…EVER. What is the secret to the rage behind Barth’s bacon and the cravings that are induced by the sight of their homemade bratwurst, hams, and cold cuts?
The not-so-secret truth is that it starts with top-quality ingredients, perfectly seasoned according to family recipes that have been handed down from one Barth generation to the next. But, the true secret to the delicious taste may be the small-batch processes in which these products are made. While a lot of seemingly niche brands out-source commercially mass-produced meats and then put a private label on them, Barth’s products are all prepared in-house and then cured and smoked on the premises.
Owner of Barth’s Market, Jim Barth has worked for 50 years to perfect his craft. “There are years of knowledge that go into making a simple hot dog,” he explained, adding that the smoking process may need to be adjusted based on atmospheric temperature and humidity in order to provide a consistent product all year long. “It also helps that we don’t take shortcuts and we are always investing in the best equipment to help us make delicious high-quality products.” In the case of Barth’s smoked and cured meats, that equipment includes three state-of-the-art smokehouses, which gently waft the savory aroma of specialty hams, turkeys, bratwurst, and Polish kielbasa into the parking lot of Barth’s.
So what is the process of bringing Barth’s artisan ham to your table? The honey-glazed ham begins as a fresh ham that spends a week curing in honey brine and then proceeds to 8 stages of cooking and curing in the smokehouse. These stages include a smoking stage, a heating stage, and a cooling stage. With careful attention to detail, Barth’s hams are prepared in small batches –about 50 at a time for honey hams. This curing and smoking process yields a high-quality natural juice ham. (Compare this to many other hams that have “water added” on their label- meaning that up to 35% of their product is added water weight.) Barth’s Westphalia and Hot Capicola hams are made in even smaller batches (five or less per batch); each of these hams starts with a 30-day dry salt cure followed by a lower-temperature smoking process. Similar to their hams, Barth’s sausages, cold cuts, and smoked turkeys all have their own stories of being crafted with care.
Next time you are in the neighborhood, stop by Barth’s and have the butcher slice you a sample of their honey-cured or Black Forest ham. And while you’re there, you’ll probably want to grab some of their other craft specialties, including bacon, bologna, and brats.