Venison Sausage Creole Food

VENISON SAUSAGES WITH BAY AND GARLIC

Steps:

• Chop meat and fat into chunks that will for into your grinder. (Optional expert step: Mix the salt and curing salt - if using - with just the meat, grind very coarsely -- 10 mm or 12 mm plate -- and refrigerate overnight. If you don't have such a large plate, cut the meat a little finer and do the same thing. This will give you a tighter bind in the finished sausage, which is especially important, as this is a coarsely ground sausage.)
• Take out some hog casings and set in a bowl of warm water.
• When you are ready to grind, mix the meat and fat with all the herbs and spices. If you are using the dry milk powder, mix that in, too. I use it when I slow-smoke sausages; it helps them retain moisture and shrink less after they come out of the smoker. Make sure the meat and fat are 37°F or colder by putting the mixture in the freezer for an hour or so. Put the wine in the fridge.
• Grind through your meat grinder (you can use a food processor in a pinch, but you will not get a very good texture) using the coarse die (6 mm or 7 mm).
• Make sure your sausage is very cold, between 28°F and 32°F. When it's cold enough, take it out of the freezer and add the wine and water. Mix the sausage thoroughly either using a Kitchenaid on low for 60 to 90 seconds or with your (very clean) hands for 2 minutes. This is important to get the sausage to bind properly.
• Stuff the sausage into the casings. Twist off links by pinching the sausage down and twisting and spinning it, first in one direction, and then with the next link, in the other direction; this helps prevent them from unwinding. (Here's a quick video on making the links) Or you could tie them off with butcher's string. Make sure you pierce the links wherever there are air pockets; I use a needle sterilized in the flames of my stovetop. Gently squeeze the links to remove all air pockets.
• Hang the sausages in a cool place for up to a day (ideally hanging in a fridge, but even an hour at room temperature helps a lot). Once they have dried a bit, put in the fridge until needed. They will keep for at least a week refrigerated. If you are freezing the sausages, wait a day before doing so. This will tighten up the sausages and help them keep their shape in the deep-freeze.

BULK VENISON BREAKFAST SAUSAGE

Steps:

• In a very large bowl or plastic tub, sprinkle the venison and pork with the curing mixture, pepper, pepper flakes, sugar, and sage. Mix very well to evenly incorporate everything. When working with large quantities of sausage, cook a small piece to make sure the seasoning is exactly how you like it.
• Divide into 1 pound portions and freeze.

VENISON ROAST RECIPE

Steps:

• Generously season both sides of your thawed roast with kosher salt and cracked black pepper. Set it aside and turn on your oven to 250˚ F.
• Peel and chop the carrots, slice the onion and peel the garlic cloves. In a large stockpot on the stove using medium-high heat, pour in 1/4 cup olive oil. When the oil is hot, lay down your onion rings and garlic cloves. Cook for 2 minutes on each side or until the onions are translucent and crispy brown edges are formed. Remove the onions and garlic and set aside in a large bowl.
• Using the same method, sear your carrots for about two minutes per side. When the carrots start to show browning on both sides, pull them out and add them to your bowl of onions and garlic.
• Make sure you still have some oil at the bottom of the pan before laying down one side of the seasoned meat into the pan. Place the roast in the stockpot to brown for one minute on each side before removing it to rest one more time.
• Working quickly, whisk 1/3 cup of beef stock into the browned bits at the bottom of the stockpot and keep whisking until they are part of the stock. Turn off your heat.
• Layer the bottom of the stockpot with the onions, carrots and garlic and top with the browned roast. Split the rosemary sprig in two and lay it on top of the meat followed by one tablespoon of onion soup mix per pound of meat. Also add the fresh chopped parsley and 1 ½ cups of quality beef stock.
• Cover the pot and bake for 3 hours at 250˚ F.
• At three hours, slide the pot out and carefully add the potatoes around the edge of the meat and on top of the carrots, onions and stock. Move the rosemary from the top of the meat and poke it down into the juices. Slide the covered pot back into the oven and bake for an additional 3 hours at 250˚ F.
• When the six hours has ended, carefully remove the stockpot from the oven, take out the roast, and place it on a platter. Cover it with foil so it stays warm. Remove all of the vegetables and place them in a bowl and cover with foil. Strain the remaining stock using a fine mesh strainer or a gravy separator and pour it into a liquid measuring cup and set it aside.
• To make gravy, add the butter to the same pot and allow it to melt. Whisk in the flour and form a paste. Allow it to cook for 1 minute and then whisk in your reserved stock and drippings. Whisk just until it is thickened and turn off the heat.
• Shred the meat and serve with carrots, potatoes and gravy.

VENISON SAUSAGE CREOLE

Steps:

• Cook Sausage in skillet or dutch oven over med. heat, turning often until brown, about 10 minutes remove.
• Saute onion, garlic and green pepper in Olive Oil until tender and browned. Add tomatoes, seasonings and sauces. Blend well.
• Return sausage to skillet and bring mixture to a boil. Lower temperature.
• Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally for 15-18 or until mixture has reduced.
• Stir in cooked noodles, and serve.

EASY SMOKED SAUSAGE CREOLE

Steps:

• Sauté onion, bell pepper and celery in oil.
• Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan.
• Bring to a boil while stirring well. Cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 10-12 minutes.
• Remove from stove and let stand 5 minutes before serving.
• Variation: For a spicier Creole taste use a dash of tabasco Sauce.

SIMPLIFIED VENISON SAUSAGE & SHRIMP JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• In large (5 quart) Dutch oven or deep frying pan, melt the butter and add the crushed garlic. As soon as the garlic begins to get fragrant, add the chopped yellow onion and the white onion bottoms (from the green onion bunch) and sauté on medium-high heat until the onion is translucent. Add the rice and stir until evenly coated with butter. Add 5 cups of stock to rice (reserve the remaining 2 cups to finish cooking the rice; added as needed). Simmer on medium-low heat until rice softens.
• If the andouille sausage is fresh, you will need to grill it. Let it cool before slicing into bite-sized rounds. If the andouille is already smoked, slice the links into bite-sized rounds.
• Once rice is al dente, add the entire two cans of fire roasted tomatoes and their juice. Add the Tony Chachere's and Old Bay seasoning. Mix well, and continue to simmer until most of the standing juice is incorporated into the rice. Continue to stir. Bring heat back up to medium and add sliced andouille. Continue to cook. If the rice needs more stock to finish cooking, add 1/2 cup of stock at a time until all liquid is absorbed. Continue to add stock until the rice is fully cooked.
• Once rice is soft and the desired thickness of dish is achieved, add raw shrimp. Stir in shrimp and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. The shrimp will continue to cook even after it's removed from heat.
• Remove from heat and garnish with green onion tops. Serve with toasted french baguette.
• Feature image via Bryan Gregson

VENISON SAUSAGE

Steps:

• In a large metal bowl, mix sugar, mustard seed, garlic, salt, and pepper with pork and venison. When ingredients are well mixed, grind the meat mixture in a meat grinder. Put the ground meat into a mechanical sausage stuffer. Be sure to push all of the air out of stuffer so there are no air pockets in the sausages. Fill pork casing with ground meat. When casing is filled entirely, find the center of the sausage and fold and pinch in 1/2 on a table. Pinch and twist into sausage links 2 at a time, pulling the "leg" of the sausage through the center each time a twist is made.
• Hang sausage in a smoke house or put sausage in a smoker for approximately 8 to 12 hours.

VENISON SAUSAGE & MUSHROOM CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based casserole and add the sausages and brown in the oil for 5 minutes, turning occasionally, then transfer to a plate. Add the bacon lardons to the pan and fry for 5 minutes until crisp. Add the garlic, fry for a minute, then add the onions, celery, thyme and juniper berries. Cook for 4-5 minutes until soft then add the tomato purée. Fry for 2 minutes then pour in the wine.
• Bring the wine to the boil then simmer for 5 minutes. Add both the mushrooms and stock and bring to a simmer. Return the sausages to the pan, cover and cook gently for 30 minutes.
• For the mash, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the vegetables. Bring to the boil then simmer for 15-20 minutes until tender. Drain thoroughly then mash until smooth. Beat in the butter and mustard.
• Combine the cornflour with a tablespoon of water to make a smooth paste then pour into the casserole. Stir to combine, cook for a further 2 minutes and remove from the heat. Stir in the redcurrant jelly and serve with the mash.