www.sausagemaking.org

Should be doing a traipse around the countryside soon with a couple shotguns after some pigeons. No one eats them here and there's no limit on them, but I like them. I cook them in a confit until tender and then brown them before serving.

Does anybody hang them, except for heavy gut-shot birds?

I love squabs!!!
"Flying Filet Mignon"!!!
I love pigeon pickled, in the same way you'd pickle beef heart.
Yeah, I know I'm weird! LOL



~Martin

DiggingDogFarm wrote:I love squabs!!!
"Flying Filet Mignon"!!!
I love pigeon pickled, in the same way you'd pickle beef heart.
Yeah, I know I'm weird! LOL



~Martin

How does a person pickle beef hearts? I've never heard of it.

Pickled Beef or Venison Heart (or Tongue)

1 beef heart
3 quarts water
1 large onion (sliced into rings)
2 cups vinegar
2 cups water
1 tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons pickling spice

Place the beef heart and 3 quarts water in an 8 quart sauce pan.
Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat an simmer for 45 minutes.

Remove the met from the water and allow to cool, then slice into 1/4 strips.

Place heart and remaining ingredients in a container and refrigerate.
Heart will be pickled in a week,


The pigeon isn't cooked as long or cut into strips, but everything else remains the same.


~Martin

Cut off the breasts, use the rest for stock. Cook the breasts for three minutes each side on a fairly hot griddle, then flambé in armagnac or calvados. Slice on a plate and pour the juices over the top.

what about diseases from them?

I must admit I am hesitant to eat "rats with wings"

It builds immunity! LOL


~Martin

There has been a love hate relationship with pigeons in the US. At one point they were almost hunted to extinction in the NY area. Now look what they have, LOL.

In Baltimore they fed them LSD to kill them off. Not quite sure where they thought that was supposed to go.

Then, you get to pay high dollar for squab in fancy restaurants.

I definitely prefer them bone in. Grilled or ragout.

I used to raise meat pigeons, White Kings mostly, beautiful birds....tasty too!!
I hope to get back at it someday.




~Martin

Believe it or not, on the "rats with wings" tack, when I was 14 I found myself numbered in one of the 150 North Americans who catch psittacosis every year. I caught it from pigeon dust while catching pigeons in a granary. It was awful; I was out for 6 weeks and could hardly walk when I was done. It's a wicked fungal lung infection.

That said, I honestly don't think anyone who's willing to eat a pig, especially a wild pig, can look at a pigeon with a straight face and refuse to eat it for hygienic reasons. Although I wouldn't eat pigeons from around wharfs and in cities. But in the country, they eat the same things as the pheasants and partridge.

DiggingDogFarm wrote:I used to raise meat pigeons, White Kings mostly, beautiful birds....tasty too!!
I hope to get back at it someday.




~Martin

It's fun watching them do the mating dance routine.

Dogfish wrote:But in the country, they eat the same things as the pheasants and partridge.

Yes, out in the country where my farm is, they live on, mostly, wayward grain and the like from dairy farms.

~Martin

Dogfish wrote:It's fun watching them do the mating dance routine.

Yes it is, they really get into it! LOL


~Martin

Older birds are excellent in a pot pie.
It's been a long time since I've made one, but pigeon or squirrel pot pie are my favorite meat pies.

~Martin

Traditional Moroccan Bastilla made with pigeon is a really good pie, especially with apricots and almonds.

Are you taking band-tailed pigeons or rock doves? The rock doves are bigger with more meat, but I don't know if they are protected or not.