Venison Sausage Casserole

Venison Sausage Casserole is a rich and comforting, hearty dish that’s full of flavour. Meaty sausages and whole mushrooms are cooked with bacon, vegetables, garlic, chestnuts, red wine, beef stock, and sage. The result is a special but easy and delicious stew that’s perfect for either a regular dinner or entertaining. So satisfying served with buttery mashed potatoes and green veg.

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I think that sausage stews and casseroles are a great dinner option during the colder months. Warming, comforting, and filling, you can cook them on top of the stove or in the oven. As well as being quicker than cooking chunks of meat, you can ring the changes by trying all the different flavours of sausage now available. Pork and apple, chorizo, caramelised onion, black pepper, or herby to name a few. But how about venison sausages?

While you might not easily find them in the supermarket, farm shops and quality butchers will often sell venison sausages, especially in autumn and winter. I got the ones you see in this post from the excellent Denstone Hall Farm Shop. If you’ve no objection to shooting, then venison is a good, ethical choice. Most of it in the UK is free range and not intensively farmed. With a good, meaty flavour without the strong taste of some game, if you haven’t tried venison before then eating it as sausages is a great way to start. Venison is a lean meat, so you’ll probably find that these sausages are firmer than those made with pork.

VENISON SAUSAGE CASSEROLE

Because I think that venison sausages are rather special, I wanted to lift my Venison Sausage Casserole out of the everyday. So I added a few extra ingredients which make it a dish suitable for entertaining as well as a regular dinner. As I hope you’ll agree though, that doesn’t mean it’s difficult.

You’ll find a detailed recipe card at the end with ingredient amounts and detailed instructions. But I recommend you read this whole post first for extra tips and step-by-step images.

INGREDIENTS

Besides salt, black pepper, and the venison sausages (around 500 grams for a casserole to serve 4 – 5 people), the other things you’ll need are as follows.

• Olive oil. For browning the sausages etc.
• Mushrooms. I’ve used chestnut mushrooms which are often just the right size to keep whole in casseroles.
• Pancetta or streaky bacon. This adds extra flavour plus the fat that venison lacks.
• Chestnuts. I love their earthiness and different texture they bring. I use a vacuum pack for ease of use. But feel free to roast and peel your own chestnuts if you really want to.

• Onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. Cut small, these form the base of the casserole.
• Flour. Plain white to thicken the sauce just a little.
• Red wine. For flavour. You only need 300ml, so make sure it’s a bottle you’re happy to drink the remainder of.
• Beef stock. Nothing fancy necessary: I used stock cubes reconstituted in boiling water.
• Balsamic vinegar or Worcestershire sauce. These do add a little extra depth of flavour but can be omitted if you don’t have either.
• Sage. I think this goes well with venison, or you could swap in rosemary if preferred.
• Parsley. For a little extra herby-ness plus contrasting colour when serving.

I’ve also included an ingredient that’s entirely optional. I think the rich and dark, meaty casserole benefits from a hint of sweet fruitiness so, near the end, I stir in a heaped tablespoon of Cumberland sauce or redcurrant jelly.

Traditionally served with game, ham and other cold meats, Cumberland sauce is based on redcurrant jelly and usually includes spices, orange, and port. I used this one but you could swap in redcurrant jelly or just leave out.

EASY VENISON SAUSAGE CASSEROLE

If you start by prepping all the ingredients (chopping the pancetta or bacon, dicing the vegetables, measuring out the stock and wine, etc.) you’ll find that this recipe goes even easier. Then brown the sausages all over in a frying pan with some olive oil. Do this in batches if necessary to avoid crowding the pan and creating too much steam. Transfer these to a plate, then brown the mushrooms in the fat left behind and move these to the plate too.

Now we switch to a big casserole dish and cook the pancetta or bacon in a little more olive oil, just until the fat is turning golden. Then the vegetables and garlic go in to cook for around 10 minutes, or until they’re starting to soften and colour. Next the flour is stirred in and cooked for a few minutes before we incorporate all the red wine. This should be added gradually and off the heat to avoid lumps. So that the Venison Sausage Casserole doesn’t have a bitter alcohol taste, it’s important to let it bubble for around 3 minutes.

When that’s done, stir in the Balsamic or Worcestershire sauce if using along with the stock. When everything’s bubbling again, add the browned sausages and mushrooms along with the chestnuts and half the sage leaves.

The casserole’s now cooked for 30 minutes with a lid on. If you want to do this on top of the stove then have the heat at moderately low and stir regularly to check nothing’s sticking to the bottom of the dish. Personally though, I think it’s simpler to do it the oven, preheated to the temperature shown in the recipe card.

FINISHING & SERVING VENISON SAUSAGE CASSEROLE

After thirty minutes, give the casserole a stir and a taste to check the seasoning. You can add the rest of the sage now, plus the parsley, saving a little for a garnish if you like. I also add the Cumberland sauce (or redcurrant jelly) at this point.

It’s likely that the sausages will now be cooked all the way through and the vegetables tender. But I like to bubble a little longer to get the gravy to the thickish consistency I want. Another 5 to 15 minutes, with the lid off this time, should do it.

The Venison Sausage Casserole is now ready to serve. In my case, that’s almost always with a pile of buttery mashed potato (sometimes with a spoon of wholegrain mustard stirred through) plus some green vegetables – here I sauteed parboiled cabbage and leeks with parsley.

Any uneaten casserole will be fine in the fridge for a couple of days. Being a smaller household, I usually freeze half of it anyway.

I think this easy dish is hearty, warming and truly delicious if you like bold, meaty flavour. If you’ve made it, I’d love to know what you thought so please leave a comment and rating.

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Venison Sausage Casserole

An easy, hearty casserole that's full of rich flavour and special enough to serve to guests: meaty venison sausages, chestnuts, mushrooms, bacon, garlic, sage and red wine. So satisfying served with buttery mashed potatoes and green veg.

Course Main Course, Stew

Cuisine British, European

Keyword game, sausages

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings 4 - 5

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 500 g venison sausages
• 250 g mushrooms wiped and cut into pieces if large
• salt and black pepper
• 125 g pancetta or smoked streaky bacon roughly chopped
• 1 large onion roughly chopped
• 1 large carrot finely diced
• 2 stalks celery finely diced
• 6 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1½ rounded tbsp plain flour
• 300 ml red wine
• 400 ml beef stock
• 1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar or Worcestershire sauce
• 180 g cooked chestnuts
• 1 small bunch sage (leaves only) chopped or finely shredded
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley

Optional

• 1 heaped tbsp Cumberland sauce OR redcurrant jelly see Recipe Notes

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C /160° Fan /Gas 4 /350° F.

   Alternatively, you can cook the casserole on top of the stove.

2. Put 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a frying pan over moderately high heat. When hot, put in the venison sausages and quickly brown all over: don't crowd the pan and cook in batches if necessary. Transfer the sausages to a plate when well browned.

3. Stir the mushrooms into the fat left in the pan and season with a little salt and pepper. Quickly brown them then transfer to the plate with the sausages.

4. Put a large casserole dish (it will need a lid later) over moderate heat and put in the remaining 1tbsp of olive oil.

   When hot, stir in the pancetta or bacon and cook until the fat is golden.

   Stir in the prepared onion, carrot, celery, and garlic along with a pinch of salt and a grind of pepper. Cook until the vegetables are starting to brown and soften a little (approx. 10 min.).

5. Quickly stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

   Take the casserole off the heat and stir in a little of the wine to incorporate it into the flour coated vegetables. Keep adding more wine and continue stirring to ensure no lumps until all the wine has been added.

   Put the casserole back on the heat and bring to a boil, stirring all the time. Bubble vigorously for 3 minutes.

   Stir the stock and Balsamic or Worcestershire sauce into the dish and let it bubble again for a few seconds.

6. Stir the browned sausages and mushrooms into the casserole dish along with the chestnuts and half the sage leaves. Bring back to a boil then put on a lid and transfer to the preheated oven. If cooking on top of the stove, turn the heat down to moderately low.

   Cook for 30 minutes.

7. Take the lid off the casserole dish, taste and add more salt or pepper if needed.

   Stir in the remaining sage and the parsley (reserve a little for garnish if liked) plus the Cumberland sauce or redcurrant jelly if using.

   Bubble for 5 - 15 minutes or until your preferred consistency is reached and serve.

8. Can be made in advance, cooled and stored for 2 - 3 days or frozen. Reheat slowly, stirring often.

Recipe Notes

Cumberland sauce is based on redcurrant jelly and is usually flavoured with spices, orange, and port. It's traditionally served with game, ham and other cold meats and can be bought in jars if you don't want to make your own. I used this one. Alternatively, use just redcurrant jelly or leave out.

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