Venison Sausage Casserole with Red Wine, Juniper Berries, Redcurrant Jelly and Fresh Thyme

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Venison Sausage Casserole with Red Wine, Juniper Berries, Redcurrant Jelly and Fresh Thyme is a rich, luscious casserole loaded with meaty sausages, lashings of thick gravy bursting with layers of flavour from slow cooking and, of course, a fine range of ingredients. Smart enough for a dinner party, supper with friends or simply treat your family one night.

If you are entertaining, make a large batch! Not only will people come back for second helpings, it keeps really well over night and arguably tastes even better the following day.

Sticky Bits!

It is important to take the time to brown the sausages and vegetables as described in the recipe. Preparing the casserole in this way adds a lot of flavour from the caramelisation process and the sticky bits that develop on the base of the pan. These sticky bits are very important; they act like a flavour bomb and add a wonderful depth to the casserole.

Top tip – buy the best sausages you can find. I get mine from my fabulous local butchers but farmers markets can be a great place to find wonderful sausages as well.

How to makeVenison Sausage Casserole with Red Wine, Juniper Berries, Redcurrant Jelly and Fresh Thyme

Collect all your ingredients together:

• olive oil
• venison sausages
• smoked streaky bacon cut into small pieces
• unsalted butter
• red onions, peeled and sliced or finely chopped
• juniper berries, crushed
• garlic, peeled and crushed
• plain/all-purpose flour
• mustard powder
• red wine
• beef stock
• fresh thyme
• bay leaves
• fine salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• redcurrant jelly
• brown sugar (optional)
• button mushrooms (See below)

Start making this a couple of hours before you want to serve it. Here’s how you do it:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil over a moderately high temperature and brown the sausages on all sides. Remove from the pan. Do not overcrowd the pan – you may need to do this in batches.
2. As the sausages brown, cut the bacon into small pieces and slice or finely chop the onions.
3. Add the bacon and cook until lightly browned and crispy. Remove from the pan.
4. Turn the heat down to moderate, add the butter and chopped onion and cook until very soft and caramelised – around 15 minutes. Stir from time to time, scraping up the wonderful, flavourful sticky bits left from the sausages and bacon. Keep an eye on it; you may need to turn the heat down as the onions cook.
5. Add the garlic and juniper berries and cook for a further 5 minutes. You will create more sticky bits!
6. Add around 4 tablespoons red wine to de-glaze the pan. Stir well and scrape up those all important sticky bits.
7. When the wine has evaporated, add the flour and mustard powder and cook stirring for 2 minutes.
8. Add the remaining red wine, stirring well and bring to the boil. Cook for 2 – 3 minutes.
9. Add the half the stock and bring to a simmer.
10. Now add the sausages, bacon, rosemary, bay leaves, ½ teaspoon salt and pepper to the pan. Add more stock if necessary. Cover and simmer gently for 50 – 60 minutes.
11. Add the redcurrant jelly, to taste, and any any more stock as desired. Adjust seasoning, if necessary – you may wish to add the sugar and more salt.

To serve:

Delicious served with potatoes, either roast, creamy, mashed or mashed sweet potatoes, some pan-fried mushrooms (see below) and some green vegetables of your choice. We also love some Yorkshire Puddings on the side.

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Mushrooms:

So here’s the thing about mushrooms. Charlotte and I love them and Andrew and Emma don’t. I prefer mushrooms pan-fried in butter with herbs, which are golden and slightly caramelised, rather than mushrooms cooked in the casserole. Therefore, I cook some mushrooms in a pan before `I serve the casserole and serve them as a side dish. If you prefer, they can be stirred into the casserole at the last minute. Or simply add them to the casserole when you return the sausages to the pan.

1. Simply melt around 50g unsalted butter in a frying pan over a moderately high temperature and add 250g sliced mushrooms and some fresh thyme and a grinding of some salt and pepper.
2. Cook, stirring from time to time, for around 5 minutes until browned and lightly caramelised.
3. Serve as a side dish or stir through the casserole before you serve.

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Made this recipe?

If you make this recipe, do please tag me on instagram @daffodil_kitchen. You could also leave a comment in the box directly below the recipe.