Dove Recipes and Pigeon Recipes - How to Cook Doves

fried doves recipe — Photo by Holly A. Heyser

Dove recipes are a specialized thing: You can’t buy doves in a store. You must hunt them. But you can buy squab in stores, and wood pigeon in many European markets. And yes, you can eat the common pigeons you see everywhere — only I’d avoid those city birds…

For those of you who hunt doves, I get it: Most people just pop the breasts off, wrap them in bacon with a jalapeno and grill. The venerable dove popper, as this recipe is called, is fine food — but it isn’t the only thing you can do with a dove. This recipe page will help you with more ideas on how to cook dove.

Doves and pigeons are dark meat birds with very little fat on them. You can use small ducks such as teal with these recipes, but they will often have a layer of fat that a pigeon or dove will not. Ptarmigans, snipe and rails are excellent alternatives, though.

If you hunt your own doves and pigeons, I urge you to consider plucking them. They are the easiest birds to pluck, taking only seconds, once you get the hang of it.

In return for your efforts, you get a pretty little bird on the plate, the breast meat won’t overcook as easily, and you get those little legs, which are so very tasty! I tend to keep the first wing digit, the drumette, on the carcass because it helps protect the breast meat.

Plucking Doves and Pigeons

Here are step-by-step instructions on plucking game birds, including doves and pigeons.

Here’s a video on how to pluck a dove, done by my partner Holly Heyser.

One dove is a good portion for an appetizer, three to four for a main course. Pigeons are larger, so one pigeon makes a light dinner main course — two is a bit much because the meat is so dense. Squabs are the same as pigeons: One to two per person.

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You'll find everything you need to know to master upland game in Hank Shaw's cookbook Pheasant, Quail, Cottontail.

GRILLED or BARBECUED

Grilling is by far the best way to cook doves. It’s the only way to get the skin crispy without overcooking the breast meat, which should be eaten medium, i.e., still pink. Same goes for young pigeons. Older pigeons are better braised.

Grilled Doves a la Mancha

By far my favorite recipe for grilled doves. Stuffed with fresh herbs, painted with bacon fat and dusted with smoked paprika.

Hank’s Dove Poppers

I can’t really call myself a dove cook without a popper recipe, right? Here’s my take on the classic.

Dateland Dove Poppers

Here’s another take on a popper I came up with after hunting in Yuma, Arizona. Doves, a Middle Eastern marinade and a date, wrapped in bacon and grilled.

Barbecued Doves

Slow and low barbecued doves. Sticky, smoky, spicy, sweet. What’s not to love?

Huckleberry Grilled Doves

Doves basted with a huckleberry (or blueberry) BBQ sauce, then grilled until they are medium-rare. Serve it with grilled potatoes and a salad.

Grilled Pigeons Egyptian Style

The Egyptians love their pigeons, and this is a riff off a classic way they eat them, which is stuffed with a hearty green wheat stuffing. Do this with squab, doves or actual pigeons if you can find them.

Grilled Doves Desert Style

Doves grilled with a BBQ sauce made from prickly pears, tequila, agave nectar and chiles.

Cajun Grilled Doves

Doves rubbed with Cajun seasonings and grilled hot and fast.

Grilled Teriyaki Doves

Who doesn’t love teriyaki? In my version you make your own teriyaki sauce, which is a little less sweet and gloppy than the store-bought versions.

Here is another grilled dove recipe I wrote for my friend David Leite on his website: Grilled Doves, Portuguese Style.

ROASTED

When the weather cools, roasting is your next best bet for doves and pigeons. Get your oven hot for this one...

Roast Pigeon

The English eat a lot of pigeons, and this is a British-style recipe for roasted pigeon. Simple. Traditional. Lovely.

Turkish Roast Pigeon with Bulgur

Pigeons are also eaten a lot in the Middle East, so here is a Turkish roast pigeon, stuffed with bulgur wheat.

OTHER PIGEON and DOVE RECIPES

Here are some other ways to cook doves and pigeons.

Richard S says
September 2, 2016 at 2:10 pm
Hank – I see you talk about keeping the liver for doves, anything you do with the gizzards??
Hank Shaw says
September 3, 2016 at 9:32 am
Richard S: Nope, they are so small it’s hard to clean them.
Thomas says
September 4, 2016 at 6:59 pm
I think the Deep Fried Dove Link is broken. Look forward to trying that recipe. whenever you click on the picture or recipe it just goes to the picture. Lots of dove flying where I live
Dennis says
September 6, 2016 at 9:56 am
Hank – last year I tried plucking my doves for the first time. I rinsed the little guys in fresh water and roasted them in the oven to a golden brown. The most beautiful things I’d ever seen! But they tasted horrible – a very strong “liver” taste and a considerable amount of blood came out from deep within when cut. We were so disappointed. Were the birds perhaps spoiled, under-cooked, or not purged enough of their blood? Perhaps just a bad-tasting lot of birds? These all came from a cattle feed lot, and the birds were eating off of a huge grain pile used for the cattle.
Normally I brine my breasts and then marinate them before cooking. If I were to pluck them again, I think I’d let them brine for a few hours to draw any blood out. I could also marinate the birds whole, for that matter. I’ll give it a try again and see if my results are any better.
Hank Shaw says
September 6, 2016 at 10:05 am
Dennis: The liver taste actually comes from overcooked doves, normally. Lots blood? Maybe they were shot-up and that was hematoma (blood clots)? That really does taste nasty. I’d say if there was any shot in the bird, brine or marinate it. That will help a lot.

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Dove and Pigeon Recipes