Tara Walker's Venison Sausages braised in Red Wine, Shallots & Button Mushrooms Recipe

Venison Sausages braised in Red Wine, Shallots & Button Mushrooms

1 lb (450 g) venison sausages

About 10 Shallots, peeled but left whole

About 10 button mushrooms, cleaned off and left whole

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon of flour

1 tablespoon mustard powder

1 teaspoon tomato puree

A knob of butter

10 fl oz (275 ml) red wine

A plug of Rapeseed oil

1 teaspoon Juniper berries

2 bay leaves

Optional Garnish : Fresh thyme and parsley, chopped

Method:

Heat the oil in the casserole then, with the heat at medium, brown the sausages evenly all over.

Remove them to a plate while you brown shallots with a pinch of salt. This takes a few minutes on a medium heat, covered. When the shallots are golden, add the mushrooms and the knob of butter. Brown the mushrooms for a couple of minutes, then add the garlic. After another moment or so, add the tomato puree, flour and mustard powder, stirring.

Now crush the juniper berries very slightly without breaking them – just enough to release their flavour and add them to the casserole.

Return the sausages to the casserole, pour in the wine and add the bay leaves. Now season lightly, bring it all up to a gentle simmer, put a lid on the casserole and place in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the sauce has reduced slightly. You might want to add a cup or two of water to ensure the liquid half covers the sausages.

Garnish with the fresh herbs and serve with mashed potato.

Venison Tagliata
(Serves 2)
I really love this recipe as the venison is so tasty but low in fat so it feels indulgent but isn’t really!

Ingredients:

2 venison steaks

1 clove of garlic

10 juniper berries

A good glug of rapeseed oil

A large handful of Rocket Leaves, washes

French dressing to drizzle.
Method:

1. Place the juniper berries and garlic in a pestle & mortar and bash until combined, then pour the olive oil in
2. Place the venison steaks on a plate and rub the rapeseed  oil mixture in to the meat
3. Heat a griddle pan until very hot and place the venison steaks on it
4. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of the steaks and the level of doneness you like. Venison really is served rare or at least medium rare.
5. Place on a warmed dish to rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing very thinly.
6. Place the rocket leaves on a large shallow plate and drizzle the dressing over.
7. Lay the slices on the rocket leaves and serve.