My favourite butcher, Mr Hubbard, makes a fantastic variety of sausages but I couldn’t wait to cook these venison bad boys. Braised in the oven with shallots, mushrooms, herbs and a generous amount of red wine, the sausages are delicious and the gravy is amazing. Serve with a pile of buttery mash for autumn supper heaven!

Serves 4

• A dozen venison sausages (three per person)
• 1 tablespoon of light olive oil
• 25g butter
• 1 80g pack of pancetta or bacon lardons
• 1 large clove of garlic, grated
• 250g banana shallots (sliced lengthwise)
• 1 dessertspoon of juniper berries
• 300ml red wine
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon of chilli flakes
• 350g button mushrooms plus 20g of butter
• 2 teaspoons of plain flour
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1 tablespoon of redcurrant jelly
• Salt and freshly milled black pepper
• A tablespoon of freshly chopped parsley.

To make…

• Preheat the oven to 160°C.
• Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the sausages on all sides. Transfer them to a casserole dish.
• Add the pancetta/bacon and butter to the pan and allow the fat to render. Add the shallots and garlic and allow them to soften for 5 minutes or so. Sift the flour and mustard powder into the pan and cook the flour through for a few minutes.
• Pour in the red wine and stir into the onion mixture making sure it mixes together thoroughly.
• Add the bay, thyme and juniper berries.
• Transfer the mixture to the casserole dish and cover. Season lightly with salt and pepper at this stage, you can always adjust it at the end of the cooking stage.
• Cover and braise the sausages in the oven for 50 minutes. Add a little extra hot water if the sauce looks too thick – the gravy is an important part of the dish and you’ll want plenty of it.
• Sauté the mushrooms in butter until lightly browned. Remove the casserole from the oven, add the mushrooms and return to the oven for another 20 minutes.
• Remove from the oven, the sausages should be tender and the gravy well flavoured. Whisk in the redcurrant jelly and then check for seasoning – add a little more salt and pepper to taste. Remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Garnish with finely chopped parsley.
• Serve with creamy mash and your favourite greens.

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