Best way to cook dove first time

[Milton Starr]

Me and my oldest brother are gearing up for a heavy dove season . Thats our main quarry for this season . We've never eaten it before , so what would be the best way to prepare it ? I've had plenty of quail and its better than chicken IMHO. Is dove similar ?

[Jeff Kuss]

Dove breast wrapped in bacon and grilled on the weber is amazing.

[Angel Cruz]

All the guys that dove shoot down here say all you really eat are the breast. They just fix them up like chicken fingers and you are good to go.

[John Dallas]

Breast 'em out, pierce the breast with a knife, insert a piece of green pepper, onion or jalapeno, wrap them in bacon and LIGHTLY sear them on the BBQ. Don't overcook them

[Gary Laudermilch]

I marinate them(breast) in italian salad dressing for a day, then wrap with bacon and grill. When the bacon is crisp, they are done. Wonderful eating! Wish I had some left.

[Stan Hillis]

Don't want to be disagreeable, but IMO if you cook them this way until the bacon is crisp the dove breasts are overcooked. I really enjoy them cooked this way, but prefer the dove breasts to be pink inside. I would love to know how to get the bacon crisp without overcooking the breasts, but haven't figured out a way yet.

SRH

[Dave Noreen]

I dice up a large onion and saute' it in my skillet in a bit of olive oil. When the onion is getting a bit brown I add some finely diced garlic and cook another minute or so. I then dump in the Dove breast filets. One minute on each side (90 seconds each side for the somewhat larger Eurasian breast filets). Then dump in 3/4 cup sherry and cook for another minute. Spoon it over a bed of long grain and wild rice. Eat. :)

[Brett Souder]

Don't want to be disagreeable, but IMO if you cook them this way until the bacon is crisp the dove breasts are overcooked. I really enjoy them cooked this way, but prefer the dove breasts to be pink inside. I would love to know how to get the bacon crisp without overcooking the breasts, but haven't figured out a way yet.

SRH

I have the same problem and tried very thin sliced bacon as well as turkey bacon and both got crisp without overcooking.
-Brett

[John Dallas]

Shouldn't turkey bacon be outlawed?

[Harry Collins]

When I come in from the field I make a brine: 1-quart water mixed with 1/4 cup each kosher or any coarse salt and brown sugar, plus coriander, peppercorns. Then I breast out the birds. Back in the kitchen I rinse the breast and cut the meat off the bone and place it in the brine for 30 minutes. Once removed from the brine I pat them dry and let them rest a half hour. Then into a bole with olive oil, salt and pepper or Old Bay. Heat a cast iron skillet until smoking and add the breast and cook 1 1/2 minute a side. They will a little pink on the inside, but melt in your mouth.

[Jerry Harlow]

Fillet the breast, soak in salt water, use Zatarain's Chicken Batter or Kentucky Colonel, drop them into a Fry Daddy until 1/3 of the breast comes out of the oil. Done. Nothing fancy but better than Chicken Tenders.

[Paul Balides]

Marinate, wrap in lightly precooked bacon, skewer with green pepper, onion, etc, grill over charcoal

[Stan Hillis]

Maybe not the best way for the first try at cooking doves, but I've got a buddy who can cook them in gravy. He slow cooks 50-60 of them several hours, and the meat literally falls off the bone. We have them with grits and homemade biscuits. It's the only way I enjoy doves that have been cooked this long. I currently hold the record with our group of friends for the most eaten in one sitting ........ 17. Oops, that was over the limit !

I "loves me some doves". SRH

[Daryl Corona]

I soak all my gamebirds, waterfowl included, in buttermilk overnight in the fridge. Then I dredge them in flour mixed with Italian seasoning, paprika, garlic powder and cayenne pepper then lightly pan fry them in a cast iron skillet.

[Mike Koneski]

If you use a microwave bacon cooker you can set the timer for 5 minutes and precook your bacon. Then just wrap it around your dove breasts and cook as you normally would. That should give you crispy bacon w/o overcooking the dove.

[Brett Hoop]

I don’t know there is a bad way to cook doves. I like them rolled around a cast skillet in butter . Salt and pepper to taste.

[Milton C Starr]

I completely forgot about this old thread :rotf: .

I cant remember if I asked but how is dove compared to quail ?
I know the phrase taste like chicken is used to compare everything .
I would say in my opinion though quail especially deep fried quail taste better than chicken .

[Stan Hillis]

Fried quail is my favorite meat on this earth. That said, I love doves, cooked several different ways.

Duck, too. Completely different taste for each game bird or fowl.

SRH

[Milton C Starr]

Fried quail is my favorite meat on this earth. That said, I love doves, cooked several different ways.

Duck, too. Completely different taste for each game bird or fowl.

SRH

I have to agree fried quail is probably one of the best tasting birds you could eat .

Dove hunting is real popular here because they love the peanuts fields after harvest .

[Jerry Harlow]

I took two dozen dove breast pieces deep fried after battering in Kentucky Colonel Seasoning to the United Daughters of the Confederacy Lee-Jackson-Maury dinner back in January (yes, we still celebrate our politically incorrect heritage down here). I put a note on them that these were a Southern delicacy that many Yankees could not get (songbird laws, you know who you are).

The guesses were chicken gizzards, chicken livers, robins. Only one lady who lets me hunt knew what they were. But everyone loved them.

[Steven Groh]

Buy yourself a set of decent metal skewers (flat, not square) for the grill, and employ any of the suggestions above.
Dove breast in the middle, a piece of onion on one side, a 1/2 jalapeno on the other, and all wrapped in a piece of bacon.
Skewer it, and repeat.
Pretty hard to screw up.

[Stan Hillis]

This thread seems to have run it's course, so I decided to include our non-grilled recipe for doves. My wife created this many years ago, and it remains one of my favorites, if a little time consuming.

Salt and pepper whole dove breasts and simmer very slowly in olive oil in a cast iron skillet. When the pink is gone on the outside remove them from the oil and drain. Replace them with strips of green peppers, onions if you like, and fresh sliced 'shrooms. Sautee these veggies until almost done, then return the dove breasts to the pan and add worcestershire and soy sauce to taste. We like a little more soy than worcestershire.

Simmer slowly until the breasts are within about two minutes of ready. Then, remove the lid and pour in a cup of sweet, white wine. Blue Nun is what we use. Cover again and simmer for a couple more minutes, and it's ready.

The breasts will be whole but very tender, and the wine, olive oil, soy and worcestershire will have reduced to a wonderful, dark liquid. Serve over rice.

This presents well, if you're having guests over who enjoy doves, and tastes out of this world. Bet you won't have any left over!

Enjoy, SRH

[CraigThompson]

I like to breast them out rinse pat dry then put some sort of Cajun or creole seasoning on them put them in a Tupperware container and let them rest in the frig for 24-48 hours . Then I take half a piece of bacon stretch it over the breast put them in the oven and broil until the bacons done . I can usually eat 12-15 breasts as long as I have some fried taters , cole slaw and a couple squares of cornbread :whistle:

[CraigThompson]

We’re going to do late season dove hunt/s on 12/30 - 12/31 depending on weather conditions . Hopefully I can get enough for a meal !