Easy & Flavourful Caramelized Onion Venison Sausage Rolls

Appetizer and grazing food is some of the best parts of holiday season and these Caramelized Onion Venison Sausage Rolls are an absolute must make! They are easy to make with a flaky puff pastry, filled with a rich caramelized onion venison sausage and soft cranberry cheese.

If you are doing any hosting this holiday season and need some delicious ways to use your wild game meat, you are in the right place! The first game recipe I am sharing for the holidays are the Caramelized Onion Venison Sausage Rolls. They are the most perfect appetizer you could make that everyone will love.

These sausage rolls start with your favourite store bought puff pastry (to keep it simple for you ;)). They are then filled with a flavourful venison sausage mixture, caramelized onions and cranberry Boursin cheese. Roll them up, bake until tender and flaky, and enjoy as is or dipped in cranberry sauce.

What I love about these venison sausage rolls for the holidays is that they can be made in advance. You have a couple options. Either make the rolls up, and freeze them before baking. Or you can bake them, and freeze them fully baked. Either way, all you have to do is pop them in the oven before serving and then enjoy!

Tips for Making Perfect Caramelized onion Venison Sausage Rolls

1. Use ground venison or other game meat that has at least 10% pork or beef fat added. Sausage rolls are typically quite greasy, and while using wild game is great because it is so lean, you want a bit of fat in there to keep the meat tender and juicy. Our ideal blend is 15% pork shoulder added to our ground meat for a bit of fat but still keeping it lean.
2. Make sure your puff pastry is still a bit firm when using it. I recommend thawing it for about an hour or so before using it. This will make it playable but still prevent it from getting too sticky and hard to work with.
3. You don’t want to over fill the rolls. Using enough meat but not too much, ensures you can get a tight seal on the edges and prevents them from splitting open while baking.

Caramelized Onion venison Sausage Roll Ingredients

Puff Pastry– You can use store bought or homemade whichever you prefer. I use store-bought to keep things easier around the holidays and it turns out perfect.

Ground Venison– This can be ground venison or any other ground game meat you have in your freezer. As mentioned above you want it to have at least 10% pork or beef fat in it.

Onion– Use a white or yellow onion for this recipe.

Balsamic Vinegar– This is added to the caramelized onion for a subtle sweetness and deeper flavor.

Egg– You need an egg in the sausage filling to help bind it together.

Garlic– Fresh garlic is always essential. Opt for fresh over pre minced from the store.

Sage– Adding fresh sage to the venison sausage gives that classic, warm sausage flavor profile.

Rosemary– A touch of fresh rosemary is added for a little extra holiday feel.

Cranberry Boursin Cheese– This is a soft spreadable cheese to can find at most grocery stores. They come in several flavours, but I love the combination of the Cranberry Black Pepper flavor in these rolls. You can also sub with a soft cheese like Brie if you prefer.

The Steps

Make the Sausage Mixture

1. Start by preheating your oven to 400F and lining a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Then, add the thinly sliced onion to a skillet with a couple tbsp of butter and cook over medium low heat until caramelized about 10 minutes.
3. Once the onions are almost fully caramelized, season with a dsh of salt & pepper, then pour in 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar. Remove from heat.
4. While the onions are cooking, mix together all of the remaining sausage filling ingredients in a mixing bowl.
5. Add the caramelized onions to the sausage mixture and stir until well combined.

Fill and Cut

1. Then you are going to take your thawed puff pastry, place it on a flat surface and cut each piece in half. Most frozen puff pastries come with a couple pieces, You essentially just want to cut each piece lengthwise into about 4 inch wide pieces (see pictures below).
2. Take a big handful of the meat mixture and lay it lengthwise on one of the sheets of puff pastry.
3. Cut the cranberry boursin cheese into pieces and lay it on top of the sausage meat.

1. Next, whisk together the 1 egg and 1 tbsp of milk, and brush it along the edges of the pastry.
2. Fold the pastry over the sausage mixture and seal it closed using a fork to press along the edge.
3. Repeat these steps will all of the puff pastry, then slice the sausage rolls into bit sized rolls. It should make about 24 rolls.

1. Place the rolls on the prepared baking sheet and brush the tops of each one with a bit more of the egg wash. I like to make a small diagonal cut in the top of each roll for looks but this is optional!
2. Bake the sausage rolls for about 20 minutes or until golden on top and the meat is cooked to 165F in the center.
3. Remove from the oven, and serve warm as is or with cranberry sauce for dipping. Enjoy!

If you give this recipe a try, leave a comment or recipe review below 🙂

Looking for more Venison recipes to try?

https://cmbarndominium.com/the-best-venison-shepherds-pie/

https://cmbarndominium.com/quick-and-easy-venison-greek-gyros-on-sourdough-naan/

https://cmbarndominium.com/balsamic-seared-venison-steak-with-rosemary-garlic-butter/

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