If you have never tried our venison sausages, this recipe is a good way to start. They are acknowledged as some of the best and this is a marvellous way of cooking them.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 lb + Venison sausages (ours are usually just over 1lb per pack)
- 8 oz finely diced streaky bacon or pancetta if you prefer
- 6 peeled shallots
- 1 jar of mixed wild mushrooms (fresh are perhaps better but much more expensive, and you can always use ordinary mushrooms)
- 1 clove crushed garlic
- ¾ bottle of red wine
- ½ pint game or chicken stock
- 8oz Crème Fraîche
- 2oz butter
- chopped thyme
- chopped parsley
- 10 juniper berries
- salt & freshly ground black pepper
Method
- Take a heavy casserole and brown the sausages all over in a little olive oil.
- Remove the sausages from the pan and fry your bacon, garlic and mushrooms, sprinkled with parsley.
- For the sauce, put the shallots and red wine in a saucepan and reduce over a low heat until there is only about two to three inches remaining.
- Add the juniper berries, stock and the Crème Fraîche and reduce again for a further 7 or 8 minutes.
- Add the partly cooked sausages, the bacon, garlic and mushrooms and cook for 20 minutes.
- Just before serving, strain the sauce through a sieve, allowing the liquid to run into a heavy saucepan, placing the sausages and other things back in the original pan.
- Place the sauce back on a low heat.
- Cut the butter into knobs and add, whisking as you go with a hand whisk.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- The resulting sauce will be a pretty plum colour and taste divine!
- Pour back over the sausages, sprinkle with chopped parsley and a little thyme and serve with creamy mashed potato and crusty bread to wipe up any extra sauce!