Venison and wild duck sausage casserole

I totally eat venison all the time, you know...

There's a very good stall at Norwich market which provides a variety of sausages, and these caught my eye so I thought they'd be ideal for when my friend Alex came to visit. Braising them in red wine makes them very tender and the flavour of the bacon-infused gravy is great!

Ingredients:

• 8 venison and wild duck sausages (or just venison ones if you prefer)
• A couple of handfuls of mushrooms, chopped
• 4 shallots, diced
• 3 garlic cloves
• Generous handful of thyme sprigs
• 2 bay leaves
• Half a bottle of red wine
• About 800ml chicken stock
• 6 streaky bacon rashers
• 2 tbsps olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Mustard mash, to serve

Method:

1. Heat the olive oil in a casserole. Brown the sausages (in batches if necessary) for 10 minutes each, then remove them to a plate.
2. Chop up the bacon and fry it in the pan for a couple of minutes, then add the garlic, bay leaves, thyme sprigs, seasoning and shallots. Fry them gently until the shallots are transluscent, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.
3. Pour the wine into the pan, bring it to the boil, put the sausages back in and simmer until the wine has reduced by two thirds.
4. Pour the chicken stock in, add the mushrooms, bring it to the boil and simmer for another 20 minutes or so until the sausages are cooked through. Skim any scum off the surface with a spoon.
5. Discard the bay leaf and thyme sprigs and serve with creamy mustard mash!

NOTE: very small amounts of juniper berries are supposed to go very nicely with venison, as is braised cabbage.