Venison Sausage 'Toad in the Hole'

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Venison Sausage 'Toad in the Hole'

Recipe from Loose Birds and Game by Andrew Pern. To order a copy go to www.loosebirdsandgame.co.uk

Serves four

Preparation time: 40 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the Yorkshire Pudding batter
3 eggs
200g plain flour, sieved
200ml milk
pinch of dried herbs
seasoning
For the braised cabbage
1 small pineapple, peeled and diced in 1cm cubes
1 large red cabbage, finely shredded
100ml white wine vinegar
200g light brown sugar
500ml red wine
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 tbsp redcurrant jelly
For the Sausages
25g natural sausage skins, soaked in cold water for 4 hours
500g venison, minced
zest of 2 oranges
2 level tbsp mixed spice
1 clove garlic, grated
100g breadcrumbs
1 egg
a little cooking oil
for the Gravy
2 large white onions, sliced
1/2 litre veal jus

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.

To make the Yorkshire Pudding batter:
First break the eggs into a bowl and whisk, then add the sieved flour and the milk, and whisk again until smooth. Pass through a sieve to ensure there are no lumps. Add the dried herbs and seasoning and leave to ‘rest’ in the refrigerator.

To make the braised cabbage:
Place all of the ingredients, with the exception of the pineapple, into a pan and bring to the boil. Then, reduce the heat to medium and cook for a further 20 to 25 minutes, until the cabbage is tender and the liquid has reduced to a syrupy consistency. Remove from the heat, add the diced pineapple and keep warm.

Next, if making your own sausages, combine the ingredients and pipe into sausage skins. Brown the sausages in a little oil, in whichever tray or pan the Toad in the Hole is to be cooked. Once browned, pour the Yorkshire Pudding batter over the hot sausages and place in a the preheated oven for around 25 minutes, until the Yorkshire Pudding is crisp and golden brown, and the sausages are cooked through.

Meanwhile, sweat off the sliced onions for the Gravy in a little oil without colouring, heat the jus separately and combine shortly before serving.

Serve the Toad in the Hole with a good amount of the pickled red cabbage, and pour over the gravy immediately before serving. Add mashed potato, to the dish, if you wish.