The best sausages in Queenstown

The best sausages in Queenstown

We were in Queenstown during summer a few years ago. This was before I started my sausage blog. At a market I met a man selling sausages. As usual I talked to him, he was Argentinian and he told me the sausages should have been cooked over a charcoal barbecue, however today he was using gas. I know a good sausage when I see and smell it, and I enjoyed eating one of his tasty morsels. Last weekend I went back to Queenstown. I googled "Queenstown sausages" and the name Zamora came up.

I found this shop in an industrial part of Queenstown. It is a newly opened shop featuring quality meats and deli goods. I got talking to the guy behind the counter and he identified himself as Nicolas, the same Argentinian guy I had met a few years ago. We talked at length about his South American inspired butchery. The other butcher in the business is Uruguayan. As butchers trained in South America he says they often cut the animals differently to NZ butchers, following the line of the muscle. NZ butchers tend to cut more across the muscle. There is a very distinctive South American influence in the shop.

They also make a number of cured sausages which are left to dry for three months. We sampled some of these and a review will follow in due course for these. Needless to say if I did think they were top quality or I would not have purchased some to take home. Clearly I am not alone in the view as Nicolas told us that he also sells to Rata Dining, Josh Emett’s restaurant, which we sadly didn’t get to on this trip.

 

 

I brought some pimenton sausage, fresh chorizo, to take back to Wellington. Pimenton is Spanish for paprika. These were cooked as an aperitif prior to our dinner this evening of chicken risotto. This is course to medium ground sausage. The aroma of pimenton permeates prior to cooking, stimulating the taste buds in anticipation of a very nice pre dinner snack. This spice made from chilli peppers is the primary flavour in this sausage. This sausage succeeds because it gets the balance between the hotness of the spice, the meatiness of the pork, and subtle complexities of added spice. It is a medium to strong spiced sausage. In my view it is excellent.

 

 

My boys said they were, "Delicious," and, "Sooo good," my wife said, "We should have brought every packet they had in the shop." High praise indeed from the critical whanau. These sausages tasted great. If you are in Queenstown and appreciate quality sausages I would strongly recommend a visit to Zamora. You won’t find better.

The Zamora’s web site is currently "curing." However here is a link.

 

We went up past Glenorchy for a walk to Lake Sylvan. The majesty of Southern Mountains is awesome. I must return to spend time in these mountains.