Hazelnut Venison Sausage Stuffed Turkey Breast with Brandy Persimmon Sauce

     The flavors of this stuffed turkey recipe are nice!  This is a holiday season recipe that I created for those who like American wild game entrees.  People still hunt deer and turkey today with a rifle or shotgun, just like they did a few hundred years ago in the early American colonies.  In modern times, many people prefer to simply hunt for deer and turkey at a grocery store.
      Coworkers at the steel mill had already bagged their limit of deer this season and some of them gave me venison sausage and venison tenderloin steaks to cook a few recipes with.  The venison sausage was cured like salami.  Cured venison sausage is cooked or smoked, so it is a ready to eat product.  Venison sausage is very lean and mild in flavor.  Hazelnuts add a nice complimentary flavor to the venison sausage bread stuffing.
     Persimmons are an early to mid winter fruit.  There are many varieties of persimmons and I chose locally grown Indiana persimmons for this recipe.  The brandy persimmon sauce does not overpower the flavors of the stuffed turkey.  Persimmons have a very gentle flavor when they are ripe.  It can take more than two weeks to ripen persimmons.  Unripe persimmons are very hard and firm.  A persimmon is ripe when is becomes soft and the skin splits on a few places on the fruit.  The fastest way to ripen persimmons is to place them in a refrigerator and then forget about them for 1 to 2 weeks.  Unlike most fruits, persimmons ripen faster in cold air.
  
     Hazelnut Venison Sausage Stuffing: 
     Heat a saute pan over medium/medium low heat.
     Add 4 pats of unsalted butter.
     Add 1/2 cup of chopped onion.
     Add 1/2 cup of chopped celery.
     Saute till the vegetables start to become tender.
     Add 1/2 cup of finely chopped cured venison sausage.  (Remove the casing first.)
     Add 1 cup of light turkey broth or chicken broth.
     Simmer and reduce the liquid, till only a few tablespoons remain.
     Remove the pan from the heat.
     Place 1 3/4 cups of French bread that is cut into small cube shapes into a mixing bowl.
     Place the cooked vegetables, venison sausage and broth in the mixing bowl with the bread cubes.
     Add 1/4 cup of chopped toasted hazelnuts.
     Add sea salt and black pepper.
     Add 2 pinches of ground sage.
     Add 3 pinches of chopped parsley.
     Add 3 pinches of marjoram.
     Add just enough chicken broth to dampen the bread in the stuffing, while tossing.  Do not add too much, or the stuffing will be soggy!
     Add 1 whisked egg.
     Gently toss the ingredients together.
     Set the stuffing aside.
  
     Hazelnut Venison Sausage Stuffed Turkey Breast:
     This recipe makes 3 or 4 servings!  The stuffed turkey breast can be trussed, so it retains a round shape, or it can be cooked untrussed to create a presentation like the one in the pictures above.
     Select a small turkey breast or cut a piece of turkey breast that weighs 16 ounces to 20 ounces.
     Cut turkey breast filet off of the bone and leave the skin attached.
     Remove the tenderloin filet section and save it for another recipe.
     Trim any fat and excess skin from the breast.
     Place the turkey breast on a cutting board skin side down.
     Use a sharp chef's knife to slice and butterfly the breast, so it is an even thickness.  (About 1/2" to 3/4" thick is good.)
     Spread the stuffing on the turkey breast.
     Fold the turkey filet over the stuffing.
     Place the stuffed turkey breast on a baking pan that is brushed with oil, so the seam faces down and the skin faces upward.
     Brush the turkey with blended olive oil.
     Season lightly with sea salt and black pepper.
     Season with 1 pinch of sage.
     Season with 2 pinches of Herbes Du Provence.
     Add a splash of water to the pan.
     Slowly roast in a 300º oven, uncovered till the turkey becomes fully cooked and the skin becomes crispy golden brown.
     Allow the stuffed turkey breast to cool and rest for 5 minutes, before slicing.
   
     Brandy Persimmon Sauce Recipe:
     Boil two trimmed ripe persimmons in water till they become very soft.
     Let the persimmons cool to room temperature.
     Peel the persimmon skin off.
     Puree the persimmons in a food processor or with an electric puree wand.
     Place the persimmon puree into a sauce pot.
     Add 1 cup of water.
     Add 2 whole cloves.
     Add 1 pinch of allspice.
     Add 1 pinch of sea salt.
     Add 2 tablespoons of sugar.
     Add 1 cup of brandy.
     Simmer the persimmon sauce over medium low heat, till the flavors meld.
     Press the persimmon sauce through a fine mesh strainer into a second sauce pot.
     Place the persimmon puree sauce in the sauce pot over medium low heat.
     Simmer and reduce the sauce, till it becomes a very thin consistency.
     Add enough cornstarch and cold water slurry, while whisking, to thicken the brandy persimmon sauce to a thin sauce consistency.
   
     Hazelnut Venison Sausage Stuffed Turkey Breast with Brandy Persimmon Sauce:
     Pour a small amount of the brandy persimmon sauce on a plate as a bed for the stuffed turkey breast.
     Cut 3 thick slices hazelnut venison sausage stuffed turkey breast.
     Carefully use a long spatula to place the stuffed turkey slices on the sauce on the plate.
     Spoon a little bit more of the brandy persimmon sauce around the turkey slices on the plate.
   
     The flavor of this wild game recipe is very comforting and pleasant!  The persimmon sauce is very nice tasting with the venison and hazelnut stuffed turkey.  Yum!  ...  Shawna