• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Subscribe
Subscribe by email Connect on Facebook Connect on Pinterest Follow Me on Instagram

Hunter Angler Gardener Cook

Finding the Forgotten Feast

  • Shop
  • Video Course
  • Stories
  • About
    • Public Events
    • Privacy Policy
  • Wild Game
    • Venison Recipes
    • Duck Recipes and Goose Recipes
    • Rabbits, Hares and Squirrels
    • Pheasants, Turkey, Quail
    • Dove Recipes
    • Wild Pig and Bear Recipes
    • My Best Taco Recipes
    • Wild Game Sauces
  • Charcuterie
    • Homemade Sausage Recipes
    • Smoker Recipes
    • Bacon, Jerky, Hams, etc
    • Salami Recipes
    • Confit, Pate, Terrines
  • Fish
    • General Fish Recipes
    • Salmon Recipes
    • Snapper Recipes
    • Crabs, Shellfish and Squid
    • Little Fish and Oddballs
  • Gathering
    • Preservation Recipes
    • Mushrooms
    • Sweet Things
    • Wild Greens and Herbs
    • Acorns, Nuts, Starches
  • Podcast
Home » Wild Game » Barbecued Doves

Barbecued Doves

By Hank Shaw on August 27, 2018, Updated June 16, 2020 - 6 Comments

Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe Comment
4.75 from 8 votes
Putting sauce on BBQ doves
Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Slow barbecued doves on a platter.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

I’ve said for years that grilling doves is the best way to cook them. I might be wrong. Slow and low barbecued doves may just be better.

For many, the Labor Day weekend means dove hunting and doves cooked outdoors. September 1 is the traditional opening of dove season everywhere there is one, and grilled doves or dove poppers are traditional fare.

But slow and low, real-deal barbecue? Even I never thought of it, until recently.

What got me thinking is the new smoker I have been using. It’s less of a grill and more of a smoker and barbecue pit extraordinaire. I’ve been slow barbecuing all kinds of thing on it, and I love how easy it is to get really good results. So why not doves?

Why not indeed. The technique is stupid easy: Salt your doves as they come out of the fridge, paint once with the barbecue sauce of your choice, then stick them in a covered grill away from direct heat. Cover the grill and shoot for a temperature of about 200°F. Hold this for about an hour to 90 minutes. Paint with your BBQ sauce several times in this process.

Take your barbecued doves out, slather once more and get after it!

What sauce to use? Really any barbecue sauce you want. I used a Korean BBQ sauce here, and it works really well. It has a couple semi-unusual ingredients, but nothing I can’t find at my local supermarket. The “weirdest” thing is the gochujang, the Korean chile paste. You can buy gochujang online, however.

Painting sauce on BBQ doves
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

The biggest difference between barbecued doves and grilled ones is tenderness. The slow and low technique produces the most tender birds I’ve ever eaten. And if you cook them slow enough, you get that cool smoke ring you see in barbecued brisket. Tender, smokey, sticky-spicy-sweet. You will absolutely eat more doves than you think possible with this recipe.

I guarantee it.

OTHER GREAT DOVE RECIPES

I have 25 dove recipes here on Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, ranging from bacon-wrapped doves to dove enchiladas. Some great Labor Day grilling or barbecue options include:

  • Doves la Mancha. An irresistible Spanish preparation that has become one of my signature dishes.
  • Grilled doves Cajun style. Super easy with a Louisiana flair.
  • Smoked doves bathed in a Mexican guajillo sauce. Rich and only moderately spicy.
  • Grilled doves with an Arizona desert inspired barbecue sauce.

If you liked this recipe, please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and a comment below; I’d love to hear how everything went. If you’re on Instagram, share a picture and tag me at huntgathercook.

Putting sauce on BBQ doves
Print Recipe
4.75 from 8 votes

Barbecued Doves with Korean BBQ Sauce

This is a recipe for slow barbecued doves with Korean BBQ sauce. This is not a grilled doves recipe; if you want that, try this recipe. That said, this barbecue sauce is good on all sorts of foods, from beef to chicken to salmon. Feel free to use whatever your favorite barbecue sauce happens to be.
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time1 hr 20 mins
Total Time1 hr 40 mins
Course: Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine: American, Korean
Servings: 4 people
Author: Hank Shaw

Ingredients

  • 16 to 20 doves, preferably whole and plucked
  • Salt

KOREAN BBQ SAUCE

  • 1/4 cup Korean gochujang chile paste
  • 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
  • 3 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 3 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup lime juice or rice vinegar

Instructions

  • Mix all the ingredients for the barbecue sauce together in a blender and puree until smooth. This can be made up to a week in advance. You might want to double the recipe, as it's amazing and goes well on any grilled or barbecued food.
  • Salt the doves well, inside and out. Paint with the BBQ sauce. Get your grill ready, making a spot where there are no coals so you can cook over indirect heat. You want a smokey fire, so have some wood chips handy. If you're using a smoker, set it to 200F. 
  • Set the doves breast side up in the grill, cover it and cook slowly until the legs will come off easily when pulled, anywhere from 1 hour to 90 minutes. Paint with the BBQ sauce every 30 minutes or so. 

Notes

If you are not used to plucking your doves, here's a video we made on how to pluck a dove.
Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @HuntGatherCook or tag #HankShaw!

Thanks for Sharing This!

706 shares

Filed Under: Asian, Featured, Recipe, Wild Game

Avatar for Hank Shaw

Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet's largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Avatar for Tobias ChapmanTobias Chapman says

    September 5, 2018 at 8:31 am

    Made these last night and they were delicious. Used some store bought bbq sauce as we got back from our bike ride late and I didn’t have time to make any.
    Looking forward to leftovers and next years season

    Reply
  2. Avatar for JaredJared says

    August 27, 2018 at 2:47 pm

    This will happen in the Capay Valley this Saturday afternoon. Guarantee it. Thanks, Hank.

    Reply
  3. Avatar for NN says

    August 27, 2018 at 1:18 pm

    This is an amazing website! Thanks for the news ideas!

    Reply
  4. Avatar for Tony BurgessTony Burgess says

    August 27, 2018 at 12:33 pm

    I’ve only hunted dove once before, and I can attest that plucking them is easy-peasy. I disapprove of breasting-out, whether doves, ducks, or turkeys, it’s wasteful and borderline unethical IMO. I say if you kill the animal you gotta do the work to make yourself worthy of the life you’ve taken. That means eating/using as much of it as possible. So even if they were harder to pluck, I would. But they’re easy.

    Reply
  5. Avatar for Daryl SalayardsDaryl Salayards says

    August 27, 2018 at 5:15 am

    Hank, I am in awe of your skills and recipes, not to mention your shooting skills looking at that harvest – not a pellet in the meat! But c’mon man, you don’t really expect us to pluck a mourning dove do you?

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      August 27, 2018 at 8:20 am

      Daryl: I can and I do! It is SUPER easy! Here’s the video we do on it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APetMMb1Z7M Seriously, once you get your groove on it takes only about 90 seconds to pick one. Drink a swig of beer, pick a dove. Drink another swig of beer, pick another. That’s how I do it!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Hank Shaw holding a rod and reel in the American River

Hi, my name is Hank Shaw; I’m a James Beard Award-winning author and chef. I started this site back in 2007 to help you get the most out of all things wild: fish, game, edible wild plants and mushrooms. I also write cookbooks, have a website dedicated to the intersection of food and nature, and do a podcast, too. If it’s wild, you’ll find it here. Hope you enjoy the site!

More about Hank...

Featured Recipes

Closeup of sliced, smoked venison backstrap on a platter
Venison 101: How to Cook Venison
Stinging nettles growing in Northern California
Harvesting and Cooking Nettles
Braised turkey wings recipe on a plate
Braised Turkey Wings
Fiddlehead stir fry
Fiddleheads Stir Fry with Pork
A bunch of ramps ready to cook.
13 Ramps Recipes to Try This Spring
turkey leg stew recipe
Turkey Leg Stew

As Seen In

As seen on CNN, New York Times, Simply Recipes, Martha Stewart, Food and Wine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Field and Stream, Outdoor Life, and The Splendid Table

Never Miss a Recipe

Receive recipes direct to your inbox.

 

 

Back to Top
  • Home
  • Shop
  • Video Course
  • About
  • Podcast
  • Stories
  • Wild Game
  • Charcuterie
  • Fish
  • Gathering
Subscribe by email Connect on Facebook Connect on Pinterest Follow Me on Instagram

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

© 2023 Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, All Rights Reserved.

Site built by: Site by Status Forward

706 shares
  • Print
  • Pinterest
  • 520Facebook
  • WhatsApp
  • Save
  • Email
706 shares
  • 520