Pigeon recipes

Simple & Tasty Pigeon Recipes

Pigeon Pie

pigeon

Keith Floyd

by Keith Floyd
from Floyd on Britain and Ireland

Serves 4-6

Preparation time 30 mins to 1 hour

Cooking time 1 to 2 hours

Ingredients
4-5 pigeons, drawn
salt and pepper
250g/8oz stewing beef
250g/8oz shortcrust pastry
beaten egg to glaze
2 tsp cornflour
300ml/10fl oz stock

Method
1. preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. Joint the birds into two breast joints and two leg joints each and stew the rest of the carcass in a little water to make stock for the gravy.
3. Cut the beef into small pieces and line a deep 20cm/8in pie dish with these.
4. Lay the pigeon joints on top, cover with water, add salt and pepper, then cover the pie dish with greased paper or aluminium foil. Place in the oven and simmer for 1½ hours.
5. Remove from the oven and raise oven temperature to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
6. Cover the pie with the shortcrust pastry, brush the top with beaten egg, put back into the oven and bake until the pastry is golden brown.
7. Make a gravy by mixing 10g/2tsp cornflour with a little cold water and add to 300ml/10fl oz of the warmed stock. Allow to thicken while stirring, season and serve with the pie.

Warm Salad of Wood Pigeon, Lardons, Potatoes and Walnut Oil Dressing

pigeon

Neil Forbes

by Neil Forbes
from Saturday Kitchen

Serves 4

Preparation time less than 30 mins

Cooking time less than 10 mins

Ingredients
4 plump wood pigeon breasts, skinned
200g/7oz smoked belly pork lardons (pancetta or even Ayrshire)
2 new potatoes, cooked, peeled and sliced
3 handfuls of a selection of salad leaves (for example, roccolla, mache, endive)
100ml/3½oz walnut oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard
50ml/2oz extra virgin olive oil
a few sprigs of thyme
a few garlic cloves
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
100ml/3½oz olive oil for cooking

Method
1. Fry the lardons in half the olive oil until crisp and then set aside.
2. In the same pan, add a little more oil and fry the potatoes, set aside with the lardons in a warm place.
3. In a bowl, combine the mustard with the extra virgin olive oil, walnut oil and red wine vinegar.
4. In the frying pan, heat the remaining olive oil and cook the pigeon breasts with the garlic and thyme, turning and seasoning as they cook. The breasts don t take long, 2-3 minutes each side maximum. Cover and allow to rest.
5. Combine the salad leaves, ¾ of the dressing, lardons, potatoes and seasoning in a large bowl and serve on four large plates.
6. Cut the pigeon breasts into thin slices and arrange over the salad. Sprinkle over some sea salt and the remainder of the dressing. Serve immediately.

Roast Wood Pigeon, Perfume of Ceps, White Truffle Oil

pigeon

Marco Pierre White

by Marco Pierre White

Serves 4

Preparation time less than 30 mins

Cooking time 30 mins to 1 hour

	Ingredients 4x225g/8oz wood pigeons salt and white pepper, freshly ground vegetable oil For the perfume of ceps: 2 pigeon carcasses 100g/4oz chicken wings 1 carrot, diced celeriac skin, thoroughly washed and diced 1 onion, peeled and diced 1.2 litre/2 pint chicken stock 1 bay leaf 1 sprig of thyme 2 egg, whites only 25g/1oz dried ceps To serve: 2 carrots 1 small celeriac, peeled (use washed skin in the perfume of ceps) 50g/2oz fresh green beans 2 baby leeks 25ml/1fl oz truffle oil Method 1. Remove the legs, wings, wishbones and undercarriages from the pigeons. You are left with a double breast on the ribcage. 2. To make the perfume of ceps - a consommi - chop the chicken wings, pigeon carcasses and trimmings, and in a thick-bottomed pan in a little vegetable oil, sauté them until golden brown. Add the diced vegetables and colour these as well. Add the chicken stock and herbs, and bring to the boil. Skim and lightly season, then simmer for 20 minutes, skimming regularly and allowing to reduce slightly. Pass the liquid through a muslin cloth and leave to cool. 3. Blitz the egg whites and dried ceps in a blender until the egg is frothy and the ceps are ground down. Place into a thick-bottomed pan with a little ice and slowly whisk in the cold stock. Place on to the stove, being to the boil and gently whisk regularly. As it comes to the boil, whisk it well and allow to settle and form a crust. Do not boil from this point on, but simmer gently. 4. Season lightly with salt and pepper and allow the stock to reduce to approximately 570ml/1 pint. Pass through a muslin cloth. It should be perfectly clear and intensely flavoured. 5. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. 6. Season the wood pigeons and pan-fry in a little oil to colour nicely on both breasts, then place in the preheated oven and roast for about 12 minutes. Remove the pigeons from the oven and rest for 4-5 minutes. 7. Meanwhile prepare the garnish vegetables. Cut the carrots and celeriac into batons, and top and tail the green beans. Remove the root from the baby leeks, and cut down to about 5cm/2in length. Blanch the vegetables in boiling salted water and refresh in cold water. 8. To serve, heat the perfume of ceps up, then add the garnish vegetables. Spoon into a soup plate, spreading the stock and vegetables evenly. Remove the pigeon breasts from the bone and place on top of the vegetables. Drip a little truffle oil over the meat and stock.

Just Game Recipes - English Wood Pigeon Recipe

English Wood Pigeon

4 Skinned pigeons, split
Cooking oil
1 can Onion soup
6 Green onions, chopped
1/4 c Margarine
1 (4-oz ) can mushrooms
Chopped parsley to taste
Seasoned salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Garlic salt to taste

Brown pigeons in 3/4-inch oil; remove from skillet. Place pigeons in Dutch oven with soup. Sauté onions in margarine; pour into soup. Add mushrooms, parsley & seasonings. Simmer, covered, for about 35 minutes or until tender. Serve over wild rice, if desired. Serves 4.

Gefuellte Tauben (Stuffed Pigeons)

4 Pigeons
100 g Butter (7 Tbsp)
1 c Plain breadcrumbs
1 tb (level) minced onion
1 bn Parsley, chopped
80 g Raw bacon (3 oz), diced
1 Egg
A bit of lukewarm milk
1 ts (level) marjoram
A bit of ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pn Sugar
1 Yellow turnip [substitute carrot], scraped

Combine the breadcrumbs, egg, milk, bacon, and sautéed minced onion into a loose stuffing. Season with chopped parsley, marjoram, and the other seasonings, as well as the pigeon giblets (diced heart, liver, and peeled stomach; the liver should be blanched to retain the flavour while keeping the stuffing light in colour.)

Stuff the pigeons and sew closed with cooking twine. Season the outside with salt and pepper. Roast in buttered baking dish along with the scraped yellow turnip. Baste frequently, with the pan juices.

Serve with different salads.

Serves 4.

Pigeon with Cherries

2 Good plump pigeons
1 oz Drippings or bacon fat
2 Sliced shallots or spring
Onions
1 oz Flour
1 Bouquet garni (mixed herbs)
1/2 lb Red cherries stoned
1/2 oz Butter
Cream
1 1/2 pt Stock

Brown the pigeons slowly but thoroughly in the dripping in the casserole. Lift them out and in the same fat brown the sliced shallots. While the onions are browning split the pigeons in half and trim the backbone with the scissors. sprinkle the flour in the pan and brown lightly. Add the stock, bring to the boil and add the pigeons with the bouquet garni. Cook in the casserole in a slow to moderate oven for about 1 1/2 hours. then remove the pigeons carefully and keep warm. Reduce the sauce by boiling quickly until it is of a syrupy consistency. Strain the sauce and replace it in the pigeons to reheat thoroughly. Add cream to taste. Sauter the stoned cherries quickly in the butter. Dish the pigeons. Pour over the sauce and scatter over the cherries, which should be sizzling hot.

Braised Pigeons with Crushed Wheat Stuffing

8 tb Butter; 1/4 pound stick
1/2 c Onion; finely chopped
Pigeon giblets; finely chop
2 1/2 c Fireek; (coarsely crushed green wheat grains)
2 ts Mint, fresh; finely cut or 1 ts. dried mint, crumbled
1 1/2 ts Salt
Black pepper; freshly ground
4 Pigeons; (1 pound each) oven ready, or 4 1 pound doves, young partridge, baby
pheasant, quail, woodcock, or grouse
1 1/2 c Water, cold
2 1/2 c Chicken stock; fresh or can
Parsley sprigs

Over moderate heat melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a heavy 10 to 12 inch skillet. When the foam begins to subside, add the onions and the pigeon giblets and, stirring frequently, cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the onions are soft and light brown. Add the fireek, mint, 1 teaspoon of the salt and a few grindings of the pepper and stir for 2 or 3 minutes until the grains are coated with butter. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F). Pat the pigeons thoroughly dry inside and out with paper towels and sprinkle their cavities with the remaining salt and a few grindings of pepper. Then stuff 5 tablespoons of the fireek mixture into the breast cavity and 1 tablespoon into the neck cavity of each pigeon. Set the remaining fireek aside. Fasten the neck skin to the back of each bird with a skewer and close the breast openings by lacing them with skewers or sewing them with heavy white thread. Truss the birds by tying their legs together and bT 1: the skins with the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter.

Place the pigeons, breast side up, in a heavy 4 to 5 quart casserole and pour in the water. Bring to a boil on top of the stove, cover tightly and braise in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes. Baste the pigeons with the liquid in the casserole, and continue braising for 1 hour longer. To test for doneness, pierce the thigh of a bird with the point of a small, sharp knife. If the juices that run out are slightly pink, cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.

A half hour or so before the pigeons are done, bring the chicken stock to a boil in a 2 to 3 quart saucepan over high heat. Stirring constantly, add the reserved fireek mixture and bring to a boil again. Reduce the heat to low, cover tightly, and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the grains are tender and have absorbed all the liquid.

To serve, arrange the pigeons on a heated platter and remove the trussing strings and skewers. Moisten the pigeons with the liquid remaining in the casserole, and garnish the platter with parsley. Fluff the fireek with a fork and serve it separately in a heated bowl.

Roast Pigeon and Goose Liver on Truffle Potatoes

3 Squab pigeons
3 40 g; (1 1/2oz) slices fresh goose liver
90 g Frozen broad beans; (3oz)
400 ml Jus; (15fl oz)
4 tb Truffle oil; (50ml)
20 g Black truffles; (3/4oz)
450 g Potatoes; (1lb)

Roast the squab pigeon. Cook the potatoes in their skins. Cook the broad beans and skin. Peel the potatoes and crush with oil and truffle. Section the pigeon and dress dish.

Stewed Pigeon Recipe

6 x Pigeon Supremes (breasts)
4oz ‘Real Bacon (smoked streaky bacon)
4fl oz Madeira
1½ oz flour
2oz butter
Salt and pepper
12 x button mushrooms

Method
Dice bacon and fry in butter -add the pigeon and fry until well browned. Place in a casserole dish and cover with stock and wine. Add onions and cook until tender - approx 1 hour. Remove pigeon and onions and keep hot; skim the stock free of fat, brown the flour in butter, add ¾ pint stock season and bring to boil. Fry mushrooms, pour the sauce over pigeons and garnish with onions and mushrooms

More pigeon recipes available from: http://www.pigeonwatch.co.uk/recipes.htm