Wild Venison Sausage and Cranberry Plait
A braided pastry centrepiece filled with wild venison sausage, spinach and a ribbon of cranberry sauce.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 50 min
- Total
- 1 hr 15 min
- Serves
- 6
- Difficulty
- Moderate
Species: Muntjac, Chinese Water Deer, Roe Deer, Fallow Deer, Red Deer
Ingredients
- 600 g wild venison sausages, skins removed
- 100 g baby spinach, washed
- 40 g fresh breadcrumbs
- 70 g cranberry sauce
- 375 g ready-rolled puff pastry
- 1 egg, beaten
- 5 g fresh thyme leaves
The cut for this recipe
Wild Venison Sausages
Method
Heat the oven to 200°C, or 180°C fan. Wilt the spinach in a saucepan with 15 ml water for 2 minutes. Cool briefly, squeeze it very dry and chop.
Mix the sausage filling with the spinach, breadcrumbs and thyme. Keep the pastry on its baking paper and place it on a large tray.
Spread the cranberry sauce in a narrow strip down the pastry centre, leaving 3 cm clear at each short end. Shape the sausage mixture over it in an even log.
Cut diagonal strips in the exposed pastry on both sides. Fold the short ends over the filling, then alternate the side strips across the top to make a plait. Brush with egg.
Bake for 40–45 minutes until golden. Test the thickest middle section with a clean food thermometer: it must reach 70°C for 2 minutes, be piping hot and have no pink. Cover with foil if the pastry browns before the filling is cooked.
Use a broad spatula to move the plait onto a board. Slice with a serrated knife and serve warm.
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.
