Venison Stuffed Shells with Apple and Butternut Squash Sauce

I love the combination of squash and apples. The melded flavors are comforting, warm, savory, and just a little bit sweet. I think when the duo is mentioned many people think of a pie, a sweet and rich auburn pie served for Thanksgiving. But squash and apples don’t always have to be a dessert. They can create a rustic, homey dish like this Venison Stuffed Shells with Apple and Squash Sauce.

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This dish takes a little bit of time to pull together, but the end result is worth the effort. To start, cook a medium sized butternut squash in oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes. I cut the squash in half and place the squash cut side down on a large baking sheet. You can also line the sheet with aluminum for easier clean-up, as sometimes the squash weeps a little when roasting.

Remove the squash from the oven and let cool slightly before handling. I like to play Russian roulette with the squash and try to pick it up before it has properly cooled, usually resulting in burned hands, but that’s just me.

While the squash is cooling, prepare the venison sausage for stuffing the shells with. In a large skillet over medium heat, add some cooking oil, I like to use olive oil for this particular recipe but work with what you have. Once the oil is heated, add a medium diced onion and cook for five to seven minutes, or until the onion is soft. Next, add in the venison Italian sausage.

I make my own sausage. I grind the venison with bacon ends at a ratio of 80% meat to 20% bacon ends. This gives the sausage a nice fat content that isn’t overly greasy or fatty, but keeps the sausage moist when cooking. I season the sausage with salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper flake, Italian seasoning, allspice, garlic and onion powder, and plenty of fennel seed. I also add touch of brown sugar to sweeten it up a bit.

This recipe requires a pound of venison Italian sausage. Add the sausage to the onions and cook thoroughly, about five to seven minutes again. Once the sausage is cooked through, add a half cup of chopped pecans, a tablespoon of fresh minced sage, and a tablespoon of fresh minced rosemary. Stir together, turn off the heat, and set aside to cool.

While the sausage mixture is cooling, cook your pasta shells. I used jumbo pasta shells for this recipe, but you could also use manicotti. If you are really ambitious, you could make these into raviolis as well. Cook the shells to al dente, where they are soft but not falling apart.

Drain the shells and set aside to cool. As with the butternut squash, I played Russian roulette with the shells and tried to stuff them before they were cool enough for handling. It didn’t feel great.

Wow there are a lot of steps here, but bear with me, it is going to be worth it. Return to the cooled sausage mixture and mix in a container of ricotta cheese. Set that aside.

Back the squash! Scoop the squash guts into a blender and add a little salt and pepper for flavor and half cup to three quarters of a cup of stock. I used a vegetable stock. You could use chicken too if that is what you have on hand. If you were really fancy, this would also be a perfect opportunity to throw in some homemade bone broth.

Blend the butternut squash into a smooth puree. It should still hold together, so add the liquid slowly until you reach a consistency similar to the applesauce. Add the butternut squash puree to a large skillet with a cup of unsweet apple sauce. Turn the heat on medium low and stir until the sauces are combined. Slowly drizzle in a quarter cup of heavy cream and stir until a smooth, creamy, orange sauce forms. Add a cup of parmesan cheese and mix until completely melted.

Stuff the shells with the sausage mixture. Spoon a quarter of the apple and butternut squash sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Set the stuffed shells on top of the sauce. Once all the shells are set, pour the remaining apple and butternut squash sauce over the top and then sprinkle on a layer of mozzarella cheese. Bake in a 350 degree Fahrenheit preheated oven for 30 minutes, until the cheese is gooey and the sauce is bubbling!

And now! Time to enjoy! This dish is creamy, rich, and savory. It has hints of squash and apple layered with cheesy goodness and fresh herbs. It is one of my favorite dishes to serve for a crowd because it is easy to make large batches and is incredibly filling.

Happy Hunting!

Yield: 6

Author: a 12 Gauge Girl

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Venison Stuffed Shells in Apple and Butternut Squash Sauce

Perfect for serving a crowd, this venison stuffed shells dish has herbaceous homemade Italian venison sausage stuffed in giant shells and smothered in a savory and rich apple and butternut squash sauce. It's topped with melty mozzarella cheese.

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 1 H & 30 MTotal time: 1 H & 45 M

Ingredients

Venison Stuffed Shells

• Pound venison Italian sausage
• 12 oz Jumbo pasta shells
• Medium butternut squash
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup stock, vegetable or chicken
• 1 cup unsweet applesauce
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup shredded parmesan
• 15 oz container ricotta cheese
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese

Homemade Italian Venison Sausage

• 1 pound ground venison
• 3 ounces bacon ends
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flake
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning spice
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1/4 teaspoon brown sugar

Instructions

To Make Venison Italian sausage

1. Run the venison and fat through a grinder at a coarse grind, such as an 8mm plate.
2. Make sure fat and venison are thoroughly incorporated then add seasonings.
3. Sprinkle all the seasonings including salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper, Italian seasoning, allspice, garlic and onion powders, fennel and brown sugar over the top of the meat. Use hands to thoroughly mix spices into meat.
4. Run the sausage through a second plate grind with a smaller grind, such as a 4.5mm plate.
5. Sausage is ready to use, or switch grinding accessories to stuffing equipment and fill pound freezer bags with sausage. Can be kept frozen for easily up to a year.

To Make Venison Sausage Stuffed Shells with Apple and Butternut Squash Sauce

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Slice butternut squash in half, place face down on baking sheet. For easier clean up, line baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
3. Roast butternut squash for 45 minutes.
4. Set aside to cool completely.
5. While squash is roasting, prepare venison sausage for shells. In a large skillet, preheat olive oil over medium heat. Add diced onion and cook five to seven minutes, until onion is soft and translucent.
6. Add venison Italian sausage to onions and cook five to seven minutes, until sausage is cooked through.
7. To skillet, add the pecans, fresh minced sage, and fresh minced rosemary. Cook two to three minutes, stir thoroughly, remove from heat and let cool.
8. Cook jumbo pasta shells to al dente, according to the box. Drain and set aside.
9. For the apple and butternut squash sauce, remove meat from butternut squash, discarding seeds, and place in a blender.
10. Add 1/2 cup of stock to the blender and pulse until smooth.
11. Add pureed squash to the skillet sausage was cooked in. Turn to medium heat and add the cup of unsweet applesauce. Stir until smooth.
12. Add heavy cream and mix until a light orange sauce is formed. Turn off heat. Add cup of shredded parmesan and stir.
13. Too cooled venison sausage mixture add the container of ricotta cheese and then stuff shells.
14. Place quarter of apple and butternut squash sauce in a 9x13 baking dish. Set stuffed jumbo shells into dish. Cover the shells with the remaining sauce and top with mozzarella cheese.
15. Bake dish in preheated oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. Cheese should be melted and sauce bubbling.

Recommended Products:

Jumbo Pasta Shells

Unsweet Apple Sauce

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