The folks at Olson’s Meats and Smokehouse waltzed away with the silver platter for most champion awards at the annual Northwest Meat Processors convention in Portland Oregon in March.

The Enumclaw-based butcher shop is an annual contender, but the top prize has been elusive; not this year.

“That was our goal this year after finishing two points away last year,” owner Greg Olson said.

The NWMPA brings together more than 200 independent meat processing plans mostly from Washington and Oregon, with a few from Montana, Idaho and northern California.

This year’s smoked meats competition included 16 categories like bone-in and boneless ham, slab and speciality bacon and 12 other varieties of fresh, fermented and unfermented sausages, beef, pork and poultry.

Olson’s entered all 16 categories and brought home eight grand champion and champion awards.

The Olson’s crew won old-fashioned bone-in ham, rasher-style bacon, Cotto salami, unfermented beef summer sausage, fermented beef summer sausage, smoke andouille, fresh andouille and chicken Italian sausage.

“We perfect it each year until we get it,” Olson said. “We like to do different items each year until we win them.”