The fact that this recipe uses ground meat from the freezer should tell you how my archery season has gone. I hope yours is going better!
My last college roommate introduced me to “popeye pancakes” or Dutch pancakes. He’d make a batch before we headed for the hills on Saturday mornings. They’ve become quite popular, lately, but it’s called a Dutch baby.
Basically, it’s an egg-rich dish baked in the oven. You can add powdered sugar and butter for a sweet breakfast, or make it savory style with sausage or bacon and other additions for a tasty meal any time.
The sausage is terrific on its own, and so simple. Use it with eggs or burritos or in spaghetti. I like to make it the day before so that the seasonings have time to penetrate the meat.
What You Need
Venison Sausage
- 1 lb ground meat. Use your deer, elk, bear, antelope, marmot, raccoon, or coyote.
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (could do 1 teaspoon if you prefer less salty sausage)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons Anise seeds
- 1/4 Cup water
- You can double the ingredients without trouble
Dutch Baby
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 Cup white flour
- 1/2 Cup milk
- 2 to 4 Tablespoons butter
- Add a little salt and a 1/2 teaspoon vanilla flavor for a sweet dutch baby without the sausage
- Optional: green onions, mushrooms, bacon crumble, shredded cheese
- Dutch oven (appropriate, right?), 10″ skillet, or 9×13 pan.
What You Do
Make the sausage. Defrost the ground meat completely so you can blend the spices into it. It’s good to mix the sausage altogether the day before so that the seasonings can saturate the meat, but you can do it before cooking, too. The water dissolves the salt and allows it to affect all the meat. Blend it all, and don’t be afraid to use your hands. If you let it sit overnight, make sure it’s in the fridge.
Preheat the oven to 425°F. If you use a 9×13 pan or a cast iron roaster like I did, put the pan in the oven to preheat.
If you use a Dutch oven or skillet, cook the sausage in that pan so it is preheated and ready.
While the sausage is cooking, make the batter. You can drop the ingredients in a blender and pulse for a few seconds and it will be good to go. Eggs vary in size, but you want the batter to be runny; it should coat a spoon but freely pour of it, too.
If you’re adding onions or mushrooms, remove the meat and saute them.
Add the butter to the pan with the meat and let it melt. For a big pan, pull it out of the oven and add the butter and the meat, then quickly add the batter and put it back in the oven.
Cook for 20 to 25 minutes. It will swell up like a balloon and the top of that balloon should be golden brown when it’s done. Don’t overcook. The balloon will mostly deflate after you remove it from the oven.
Slice and serve hot.