Christmas Wild Venison Sausage Roll Wreath
A sharing wreath of crisp pastry filled with wild venison sausage, apple and sage for the Christmas table.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Total
- 1 hr 10 min
- Serves
- 8
- Difficulty
- Moderate
Species: Muntjac, Chinese Water Deer, Roe Deer, Fallow Deer, Red Deer
Ingredients
- 600 g wild venison sausages, skins removed
- 100 g eating apple, coarsely grated and squeezed dry
- 30 g dried breadcrumbs
- 8 sage leaves, finely chopped
- 500 g puff pastry
- 1 egg, beaten
- 10 g sesame seeds
- 100 g cranberry sauce, to serve
The cut for this recipe
Wild Venison Sausages
Method
Heat the oven to 200°C, or 180°C fan, and line a large baking tray. Keep the pastry chilled while you mix the sausage filling, apple, breadcrumbs and sage.
Roll the pastry into a rectangle about 60 × 18 cm, joining sheets with a little beaten egg if necessary. Arrange the filling in an even sausage along the centre, leaving clear pastry edges.
Brush one long edge with egg, fold the pastry over the filling and seal. Place seam-side down on the tray, curve into a ring and seal the ends together with egg.
Cut the outside of the ring into 12 sections, leaving the inner edge joined. Turn each section slightly outward. Brush the pastry with egg and scatter with sesame seeds.
Bake for 40–45 minutes until deeply golden. Probe the middle of several thick filling sections with a clean thermometer: the sausage must reach 70°C for 2 minutes, be piping hot and have no pink. Cover loosely with foil and cook longer if needed.
Transfer to a serving platter using two broad spatulas. Serve warm with the cranberry sauce in a separate bowl, cutting through the joined inner edge to share.
Storage
Cool in shallow portions and refrigerate within 1–2 hours at 5°C or below. Eat within 48 hours. Freeze promptly for up to 3 months for best quality. Thaw in the fridge and use within 24 hours. Reheat only once until piping hot throughout.
