How To Cook Shot Pigeons (Recipes)
Ok so you've checked out the forum you've read the pages and you've actually managed to shot some pigeons what now? Well now you've got to cook them, as pigeon is possibly the most underated meat ever... its delicious, with the following recipes you should be drooling in anticipation each time you go out pigeon decoying.
Stir Fryed Pigeon By Pjohn
Simply cut the breast into thin slices, then marinade in garlic lemon soya sauce (in fact anything you like just play about). Leave for about one hour then stir fry with onion, green/red pepper, mushrooms, a bit of ginger root, and carrot which is cut into juilienne strips. Then mix in beansprouts or noodles it really doesn't matter what you use it'll still taste good.
Pigeon Tikka By Craigie
Simply use tikka paste and cook as chicken but not for quite as long. Got to be a bit cosmopolitan! Marinating the pigeon for a while before helps too.
Stewed Pigeon By Yorkshire Pudding or should i say his mrs...
I love to wrap some bacon round the breast (hold in place with a wooden skewer) fry the bacon and breast a bit before placing in the stewing pot.
Pigeon Kebabs By Joe
Pigeon Kebabs - Cut pigeon breasts into chunks and thread onto skewer with chunks of pepper, onion, mushroom etc. Marinade in Worcester sauce, and/or barbecue / asian spices. Barbecue or in roast in oven.
Pigeon Pie (for dummies) By Hammergun
Ingredients:
3 (or 4) pigeons, drawn, cleaned and skinned, or diced. (I prefer to used diced birds as it makes it easier to serve and makes less mess at mealtime with the bones)
1 lb rump steak
3 slices of streaky bacon, smoked or unsmoked, depending on taste, rind removed and diced. (Cooked ham may be used instead)
Pepper and salt to taste
Herbs to taste (sage and thyme are the most used)
Sausage meat for stuffing.
Small finely chopped onion, fried till soft. (optional)
1 clove garlic, pressed (optional)
2 oz butter
Worcestershire Sauce / Yorskhire Relish to taste. Mushroom ketchup is excellent if you can get it.
Bay leaf
4 eggs
Rich stock (a little Bisto added will give a darker colour if desired)
Puff pastry (or shortcrust if desired)
Method: Dice the steak and line bottom of pie dish with it, season with pepper and salt. Rub pigeons with pepper and salt and cover each with at least ½ oz butter. If using whole pigeons, put most of the butter inside.
Make the forcemeat stuffing by beating the livers with sausagemeat and a pinch of herbs. If using whole pigeons, use this to stuff them. For diced pigeon lay this in balls around the pigeon meat. Place the pigeons on the beef (breast downwards if whole), and lay the bacon over them. Add Worcestershire Sauce or Yorkshire Relish.
Next add the onion, yolks and bay leaf. Season stock with pepper, salt, herbs and garlic as desired and then half fill the dish using the stock, place a border of pastry around the edge of the dish and put on the pastry lid. Glaze crust with egg yolk. Make holes in the centre to let out the steam.
Cook in a moderate (about Gas Mark 5) oven for 1 ¼ hours and serve piping hot with potatoes and vegetables. If using whole birds, don't forget to provide a dish on the table for bones, serves 5-6 people.
Variations
1) A wine sauce can be used as an alternative to the egg yolks and stock. The pigeons may also be marinaded in red wine overnight if desired). Add mushrooms and onion if using wine sauce.
2) More pigeon meat may be used instead of the steak if desired.
3) Juniper berries may be added to the stock.
4) Egg yolks may be omitted for a less rich pie. Butter is always needed as pigeon meat contains little fat.
5) Mushrooms may be added to the steak. Avoid adding other vegetables though as they don't go well.
6) The garlic may be added to the butter instead of to the stock.
Pigeon Pudding -A Hearty Winter Dish! By Hammergun
This is very similar to Steak and Kidney Pudding.
Pastry Ingredients
6 oz suet, finely grated / chopped
1 lb flour
Good pinch salt
Water
Method: I prefer to use fresh suet from my butcher as it has the best taste. You can always grate lots of fresh suet in one go and freeze it for another day. (use Atora instead if you are too lazy). If using fresh suet, remove all sinews and grate finely. Mix suet with the flour and salt, then mix in enough water to make a suitable pastry dough. Roll out to about ¼ inch thick.
Pudding Ingredients
1 lb rump steak, diced (or another diced pigeon)
Three or four pigeons, diced and de-boned
Yolks of four hard boiled eggs
1 oz butter
Small onion, very finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed (optional)
1 cupful of rich gravy
Worcestershire Sauce to taste
Salt and Pepper
Herbs (optional)
Mushrooms (optional)
Method: Fry the onion in some butter until soft. Line a large pudding basin with the suet pastry. In a separate bowl, mix the non-meat ingredients and onion together, then stir in the meat.
Put these into the pudding bowl, then put a layer of the suet pastry on top and seal round the edges so that the pastry is just below the top of the basin. Cut a piece of tin foil and place over the top of the basin, securing it tightly with string just below the basin lip.
Place in a large covered casserole containing water and put this all in the oven for 2 ½ hours. (Works best in an Aga). Serve with potatoes roasted in the rest of the suet.
Otherwise, place the basin in a pan of water and bring to the boil and cover. Cook for 2 ½ hours.
If you are fortunate enough to have a pressure cooker, you can instead put the covered pudding basin in your pressure cooker with two pints of water in the bottom and cook under full pressure for half an hour.
Note: if you have an Aga with a slow oven, you can put the basin straight into this and don't need to bother with the above cooking methods
Pigeon Pate By MAJ
Breast meat of 6 - 7 pigeons
8 ozs sausage meat
Quarter pint of stock
1 teaspoon mixed herbs
Salt and pepper
Marinade Ingredients
Quarter pint red wine
1 onion finely chopped
2 teaspoons mixed herbs
Bay leaf
Pinch of ground nutmeg
Method: Put the pigeon and all the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl. Mix well, cover, and shove in the fridge for a couple of days.
Put the pigeon with the marinade and stock in a saucepan and simmer gently for an hour. Drain and mince the meat. Mix with the sausage meat, herbs, salt and pepper, and enough of the stock to make a smooth moist mixture. Put the mixture into an ovenproof dish that has been buttered, cover, and stick into the oven at 180 degrees for an hour and a half.
Pigeon Soup By Hammergun
Ingredients:
6 pigeons
Large carrot, diced
Large onion, finely chopped
1 oz lean ham, (or bacon) Preferably smoked
1/2 head celery, chopped
Butter
Bay leaf
Flour
Parsley to taste
Thyme (or corriander if preferred)
Butter
3 cloves
Tiny pinch mace
1 clove garlic, pressed (optional)
1 quart stock
Worcestershire sauce to taste.
Method: Lightly roast the pigeons so that the meat comes off the bones, finely cut the meat and put it to one side. Put the bones to one side. Fry the onion, carrot, ham, celery and herbs in butter until lightly browned.
Add the bones and stock, and some flour to thicken. Gravy browning can be added for colour (Crompton's Gravy Salt), cover and simmer for 1 hour, skimming off any scum periodically.
Separate bones and pulp the vegetables (you can remove the bones easiest using a sieve). Add pigeon meat to liquid with Worcestershire sauce, pepper and salt to taste. Skim as required. Cook for a further 1/2 hour. Serve hot.The second Page of Recipes for Pigeon
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