I know that for most, a page of dove recipes seems odd: Most people just pop the breasts off, wrap them in bacon with a jalapeno and grill. The venerable popper, as this recipe is called, is fine food — but it isn’t the only thing you can do with a dove.
Doves and pigeons (squab when you buy them in a store) deserve their own category because they are dark meat birds with very little fat on them. You can use small ducks such as bufflehead or teal with these recipes, but they will often have a layer of fat that a pigeon or dove will not. A sharp-tailed grouse is an excellent alternative, though.
If you hunt your own doves and pigeons, please – please – pluck them and keep them whole. They are the easiest birds to pluck, taking only seconds, once you get the hang of it.
You get in return for your efforts a beautiful presentation and those little legs, which are so very tasty! Remove the wings from a dove (you can throw them into the stockpot, however) and all but the first wing joint on a pigeon (this is the “drumette” piece).
Plucking Doves and Pigeons
Here are step-by-step instructions on plucking game birds, including doves and pigeons. When you are done plucking and gutting, save the livers for a ravioli recipe.
Here’s a video on how to pluck a dove, done by my girlfriend (and photographer) 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.
GRILLED
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.
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 wild prickly pears, tequila, agave nectar and chiles.
Cajun Grilled Doves
Doves rubbed with Cajun seasonings and grilled hot and fast.
Grilled Doves Teriyaki
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 DOVE AND PIGEON RECIPES
Here are some other ways to cook doves and pigeons.
Dove Green Chile Enchiladas
Oh yeah, baby. Got lots of dove breasts? Go all New Mexico on ’em.
Dove Chiles Rellenos
A classic Mexican picadillo, in this case spiced, ground dove or pigeon meat, served in a roasted pepper with a simple tomato sauce.
Dove Jagerschnitzel
Dove breasts pounded thin, dusted in flour and served with a mushroom gravy. A riff of the German classic jägerschnitzel.
Poached Dove Salad with Roasted Peppers
Gently poached skinless dove breasts, tossed into a Spanish-inspired main course salad with roasted red peppers, preserved garlic and pine nuts.
Pigeon or Dove Tortellini
Braised pigeon, squab or dove, ground into a rich ravioli filling and made into tortellini.
Deep Fried Doves
Doves, dusted with spices, and deep fried. Oh yeah, it’s awesome.
Fried Doves with a Sunflower Crust
Doves eat sunflowers, right? So a sunflower seed crust is the perfect coating for fried doves.
Hank – I see you talk about keeping the liver for doves, anything you do with the gizzards??
Richard S: Nope, they are so small it’s hard to clean them.
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
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.
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.