Venison Sausage

[Venison and Pork Sausage, Smoked Venison Sausage]

I insist on an equilibrium, a balance between both meat and leaf.   My intention has always been to amalgamate the omnivore with the veggie, harmoniously under one site.  One Whole Clove stands for the sweet and savory experiments of Quebec's kitchens.  Therefore it would only be typical that I follow a veggie creton post with one for venison sausage.

Larousse Gastronomique describes venison as the meat of any kind of deer.  In French, however, the term is not only used for deer meat but also for the meat of any large game animal (including the boar). 

In my French Canadian family, both bow and rifle hunting are practiced within designated regions in and around Quebec.   Deer hunting season normally starts in the fall, the exact weeks in the month varying from year to year.  Quite often it will commence in October or November as exclusively devoted to the rifle, September or October catering to the art of bow hunting.  Moose hunting lasts the month of November by method of the latter.

I was graciously given two types of wonderfully prepared venison sausage by my maternal family.  The first being a smoked pure venison, while the second, an uncooked sausage was a mix of both pork and deer meat.

[Smoked Venison Sausage]

A few of my uncles and cousins will clean and prepare the deer themselves alternately, shipping the meat to a trusted butcher for the final product where it is carefully ground, mixed with a blend of seasonings like mustard seed, garlic, onion and pepper and stuffed into casings.  In the "case" of the pure venison type, the links are smoked.  Venison sausage will keep in a freezer for up to 3 months, whereas the unprepared meat will keep frozen for longer.  It is therefore advised to estimate what will be consumed in this style within a three month timeframe.

It was highly suggested I cook both the smoked and uncooked sausages (undoubtedly), to give an added, toasty bite.  The smoked sausage, however could have been enjoyed as is.  I served a choice of both meats with a side of cashew pilaf.  I would have imagined a mushroom and wild rice or a dense cheese polenta would have also been an indulgence with the sharp taste of wild meat.

Wild meat has a unique and rather distinct taste.  An eclectic blend of spices only pronounce and enunciate the flavour further.  I love the possibility of some of these mixes:

-garlic powder, sage, Chinese five spice, cayenne pepper, fennel and crushed red pepper featured as the highlight to the blend of venison, pork loin and bacon

-black pepper, brown sugar, peppercorns and mustard seed combined with deer, pork and beef

-garlic powder, onion powder, coriander, black pepper, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, savory, cumin and hot sauce in a perfect union with ground venison and smoked bacon

Anise seeds, oregano leaf, cumin, thyme, chili powder, black pepper and sugar for a pepperoni with beef and pork match up.

You can explore more options here.

Comments

[Hungrydog]

I've had venison sausage and I love it.