Wood Pigeon is a very undervalued meat and they are teaming to Biblical proportions in this country. They consume immeasurable amounts of crops and we should help the farmers by eating as many as we can.
Pigeons can be cooked whole but there really isn’t much beyond the breasts. I now remove the breasts, as shown above, and panfry the fillets. The meat is similar in flavour to venison or a well hung steak - but only if not over cooked. Overcook them and the only use you will have for them is for cobbling! If you don’t like your meat rare then you may find well cooked pigeon too tough.
This recipe is a really nice one for when you’re feeling down on a winter’s day. It has hot mustardy salad full of vitamins, tasty meat full of iron and moreish crisps (chips if you’re from the other side of the pond.) but any variation on this would do well at a summer barbecue.
All the ingredients are home grown. The pigeon was trapped in my garden.
We don’t eat much so you may need to adjust the amounts of ingredients to match your needs. You can, of course, use what ever salad leaves you fancy.
INGREDIENTS (for two):
Two pigeon breasts
Jerusalem artichokes
Wild rocket
Water cress
Small (tiny) turnip
Oil
Seasoning
Dressing:
Olive oil,
Balsamic vinegar,
Whole grain mustard.
First marinade the breasts in some EV olive oil and garlic for a couple of hours in the fridge.
Peal the artichokes and slice thinly. Fry in a deep fat fryer till they turn light brown. Whilst you’re waiting for the artichokes arrange your salad on the plates and put Extra virgin olive oil in a small jar with a dash of balsamic vinegar and a teaspoon of mustard, replace the top. Grate the pealed turnip over the salad and heat a little oil in a frying pan. Fry the breasts for a couple of minutes each side making sure they’re done rare to very rare and allow to rest for five minutes before serving. Serve the artichokes and breasts on the plates and cover the salad in well shaken dressing.
Yum!
EASY WAY TO CATCH A PIGEON: Updated: Friday, 24 July 2009
Below are photos of catching and preparing a pigeon for the table. Don’t scroll down if you don’t wish to see this!
If you are like me and have plenty of bird feeders hanging around the garden then you’re sure to have wood pigeons wandering around underneath hoovering up the bits dropped by the smaller birds. Purchase yourself a rabbit trap from country store or online for about £20 and set this trap under the feeders with the door wedged open. (Push a stick through the mesh from side to side is the easiest way.) The pigeon will get used to the trap and will eventually become accustomed to it being there. Then, one day, set the trap and you will have yourself a bird. The only problem is you will have to dispatch it yourself by removing the bird from the trap and stretching its neck. (You could use an air rifle or pistol but why not use the hands?) To do this, remove the bird quickly from the trap by place your hand over its back holding the wings in. With the other hand encircle the neck with thumb and forefinger with the head under your down turned palm. Pull the head sharply away till you feel the neck break. Not too hard or else the head will come off. This works just as well but is not so nice. Hold the position and the bird tightly for a minute till the muscle spasms have died down.
My belief is that you should only set the trap where it can be regularly checked every half hour or so (Mine is set within view of the kitchen and only on my days off.) It would not be right to leave the bird in the trap all day without food or water. Especially if you have local cats around as they will try their damnedest to get at the bird and could spend many hours of happy terrorism and torment. You could also catch none quarry species such as blackbird and these should be released immediately.
THE OLD METHOD:
Below: Rabbit trap set. In this case using peanuts (Pigeon’s favourite food) as bait. Peanuts in and around the trap.
Below: A pigeon soon appeared and promptly ate all the peanuts around the trap and it is starting to notice the ones inside. (Photos from the kitchen window.)
Below: Bingo! One bird inside one trap.
Above: A quickly dispatched pigeon ready for preparation.
Below right: Plucking the breast of the pigeon is a very easy process. You can almost shake the bird and the feathers will fall off! Once you have plucked the breast cut the skin down the centre of the breast bone using a sharp knife and peal away to reveal the breast meat. Then slice the meat away from the bone.
Right: Removing one breast fillet. Just need to do the same for the other and then they are ready to be marinaded for the pan, above.
REFINED AND MOST HUMANE WAY:
I have perfected a very humane and target specific way of catching the pigeon. The trap is placed under the bird feeder which is directly outside my kitchen window. The trap is held open with a piece if wood and should I see a pigeon right in the trap facing away from the opening I very quickly dash out of the kitchen to the opening of the trap. The pigeon will do just one thing and one thing only: fly away and straight into the back of the trap. You just then have to reach in for dinner!
Photo right: Pigeon right at the back of the trap with its back to the exit. Kitchen window sill can just be seen in the photo.
MARINATED PANFRIED PIGEON BREASTS. With winter salad and artichoke crisps.
