My dad is a deer hunter. Every year he heads out to the
woods with his buddies, his brothers, my brother, etc. Very rarely does the
hunting season end with my dad empty handed. As far back as I can remember, he
has always had venison sausage squirrelled away in the freezer. I have always
loved the stuff too! My very favorite is the venison hot sticks. They are literally
a hot commodity when dad has them!
When my family was in town for Christmas a couple weeks ago,
my dad sent us home with a stick of venison sausage. Up until I opened said
stick of sausage, I had been very pleased with the summer sausage varieties
that our (now) local grocery store makes in house. But now, my tastes have been
reawakened to the salty, garlicy, yumminess that comes only from venison
sausage.
The first use for the sausage was to straight up slice and
eat it! My husband took it for lunch with cheese and crackers and my kids and I
snacked our way through a bunch of it as well. Then it inspired me to make
Bloody Mary’s for the first time in years. Bloody Mary’s were a pretty common
Sunday pass time for my husband and I before our first born came along but it's been so long, I nearly forgot how to make a good one! The
add-ins are my favorite part and none of them are quiet as satisfying as good
sausage.
Finally, there was not a lot of the venison left but once
you open it, you kind of have to use it up. So, I decided to try to use in a
way that was a little out of the box. Initially I was just going to use it in
place of breakfast sausage and toss it into some scrambled eggs. But I have
also had a serious craving for Eggs Benedict… *Lightbulb*
My affection for Eggs Benedict also stems back to my childhood.
My mom would make it fairly often on weekends and one of her sisters would come
over almost every time because she liked it so much. I can remember my mom
calling us into the kitchen to eat in shifts because a person can only poach so
many eggs at one time! She would lay out ham in Eggs Benedict portions and bake
it in the oven to free up the stove top for the hollandaise sauce and 2 pans
for poaching eggs. I also remember her telling me that you always make your
hollandaise first and then take it off the heat because it needs your full
attention while it slowly cooks. That is still how I do it today. Although, I
have learned that if your hollandaise curdles, you can simply add another egg
yolk to bring it back together.
Now, I’m going to let you in on a secret, I don’t poach eggs.
I love Eggs Benedict and I make it on a semi-regular basis but I have not even
attempted to poach eggs for years now. It’s a pain! And I don’t enjoy poached
eggs (especially when they are smothered in decadent hollandaise sauce) any
more than a fried egg. I save myself the frustration and time and I go right
for fried eggs, every time.
Just like regular Eggs Benedict, I sliced and toasted an English
muffin and then stacked it up. English muffin, sliced and warmed venison
sausage, fried eggs, hollandaise sauce and sprinkled with pepper. Delicious. I
could probably eat hollandaise with a spoon but it’s rich, smoothness really
compliments the unique flavor of the venison. Of course, the over-easy egg yolk
added move velvety goodness and that English muffin was the perfect tool for
soaking it all up!
I’m not positive, but I would guess that if you asked my dad
to try this, it would be a little too far-fetched for his tastes. Me on the
other hand, I can’t think of a better way to end a perfectly delicious stick of
venison sausage!
Venison Eggs Benedict
(4 servings)
4 English muffins
16 slices venison sausage
8 eggs
Hollandaise sauce (recipe follows)
Black pepper (optional)
Slice and toast English muffins, lightly. Place, open-faced, on plate.
Warm venison in single layer in a frying pan over medium low heat or on baking sheet in 275° oven.
Fry eggs to over easy.
Place 2 warmed slices of sausage on each side of each English muffin. Top with 1 fried egg per muffin side and top with a spoonful of hollandaise sauce. Sprinkle with pepper and serve immediately.
Hollandaise Sauce
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup firm butter
1 Tbs lemon juice
In small sauce pan, whisk together lemon juice and egg yolks. Add 1/4 cup of butter and place over medium low heat. Whisk almost constantly until butter has melted then add remaining 1/4 cup.
When all butter has melted, remove from heat. Sauce should be thick, indicating egg has cooked through. Heating to fast or over cooking will result in the egg yolk curdling.
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