Venison Rost Bratwurst

I went into Park Avenue Quality Meats today. It was near the end of the day and the shop was humming as customers bought meat, much of which I suspect was going to be cooked that evening. Some customers asked for a particular cut, and the meat was cut to the specified size and thickness. The adage that quality service matched with a quality product means that punters will come was evident during my time in the shop.

Gordon the chief sausage maker identified for me that he had a new product in the cabinet. This was a venison rost bratwurst. This sausage is 50% venison and 50% pork, a modicum of pepper has been added and a small pinch of chilli. This sausage is being made for Café L’affare in College St, Wellington and the chef is using them to create a dish for Wellington on a Plate.

I took the sausages home and cooked them on the barbecue. I also brought some kolbaz, see review, and the old standby kabonosy, see review. The sausages were accompanied by new potatoes with pepper and olive oil, a tomato and feta salad, and lettuce salad, along with raw capsicum, spring onion and cucumber. Easy to whip up on a summer evening when you get home from work.

The venison rost bratwurst is interesting. I would not have picked it as venison sausage. The sweetness of the pork dominates the gaminess of the venison. The mixture of flavours makes for a different tasting meat sausage. It is a great taste. The pepper is present on the palate, but is not strong. The chilli subtly kicks in as an aftertaste. It is very mild. This is a top quality sausage.

Those of you have read previous reviews will know that I do not usually enjoy venison sausage, however this sausage is very good. The whanau reacted positively too. My daughter said it was a five star sausage and I should buy this again, my wife also liked the sausage a lot and said it was very nice.

So congratulations have to go to Gordon for his continued creativity with sausages. I must go to Café L’affare when Wellington on Plate is on and taste how they create a dish using this sausage.

Cost per kilo: $17.99