Photo: RNZ Cosmo Kentish-Barnes
Chris Thorn turned his passion for hunting and curing wild meats into a business that produces venison salami from locally shot deer.
Gathered Game was established by Chris and his wife Sally in 2015.
The deer are shot in the Fiordland area by licenced hunters and, for traceability, there is a code on each pack of salami so consumers can find out when and where the deer was killed, the hunter who shot it and the gun they used.
It took a year-and-a-half of full-time trialling with meat, herbs and spices until Chris found the right recipe for the cured sausage.
Chris makes the salami by hand at an MPI-approved factory in Lumsden, then hangs it for weeks in a drying room.
White mould quickly grows all over the outer skin.
"It stops any bad mould from forming and adds an awesome flavour, like a brie cheese sort of flavour, to the salami. It stops the meat from drying out too quickly, as well."
Gathered Game salami is sold in specialty food stores around New Zealand.
