Smoked Venison Salami

Some people really enjoy this salami and others just really dont get it. I guess its because it doesn't have the typical salami flavor and texture. 

It has the addition of dried cherries and when smoked it takes on a really unique flavour. It doesn't take smoke like say a summer sausage or smoked mortadella, both of which really seem to take smoke and keep it. The venison is different, it takes the smoke but it stays in the background, at the same time bringing out the flavour and sweetness from both the venison and cherries. The recipe is really straight forward and the only difference is grinding the cherries with the meat. A fellow cook forgot to grind them once and it was a horrible mistake.

the whole batch was riddled with gaps and holes as the meat and cherries dried out and we ended up having to throw most of the batch out. Live and learn i guess, but it was a big batch and he as well as I was sad to see it go. Originally, we would smoke it a few days after making it, but this batch i was too busy opening the charcuterie bar i didn't smoke it till a month and a 1/2 later. From my observation, it didn't make much of a difference  however maybe its just in my head, but i do think that the smoke is a little more apparent with the later smoking, which I guess makes complete sense.