Conversations from home
I let my sister in law sample some dove I had prepared. This conversation takes place:
Her: It tastes kinda gamy.
Me: Well, it is game.
Remember, I do this to entertain me, not you.
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September 9th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
My personal favorite: “This fish tastes fishy”
“What did you expect it to taste like? Tofu?”
September 9th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Olive oil, lemon (plenty), oregano (fresh sprigs if you can find them), garlic, salt, pepper is the minimalest. My mother would scald them (half-boil them) before transferring them to the roasting pan.
September 9th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
It makes your whole house smell edible, too. 🙂
September 9th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
Half-boil the birds, I mean, not the seasonings.
September 9th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
It’s been a good 15 years since I hunted dove and band-tailed pigeon here in OR, but when I did, I sauteed the breasts in HEAVY garlic butter, served them on a good sourdough toast, and drowned it all with a Lambrusco.
Cheers!
September 10th, 2009 at 12:44 am
When you catch a possum, put him on plain water for three days before slaughter.
Even woodchuck, muskrat and raccoon can be cured of gaminess by careful cleaning (cut out all fat, tendon, bone, integument), an overnight soak in salt water, and parboiling in light beer (that isn’t good for anything else anyway) before roasting or sauteeing.
Game recipes should not just be strong sauces to cover up the taste. Properly prepared, game meat tastes like meat. “It’s good eatin if’n you fix it right.”
September 10th, 2009 at 4:57 am
We used vinegar to keep the meat from getting too gamey. Splash vinegar on the meat right after you’ve gutted the bird/deer, then keep in a cool place until you get it home. It also keeps the meat from spoiling a little longer, as vinegar has a mild anti-bacterial effect.
September 10th, 2009 at 7:25 am
Yes
How soon after shooting the birds did you clean them? Did you store the meat in a cooler with ice?
All will help.
Parboiling works. As does soaking in buttermilk.
Oh yeah, use sea salt if at all possible.
Me, I just think they taste wonderful wrapped with a piece of bacon and sauted. But then, everything tastes wonderful with bacon.
September 10th, 2009 at 10:35 am
Cut off the head and bleed them out right away. Pluck them and gut them as soon as possible. Gut them by gently slitting the abdomen and pulling everything out with your finger — don’t use those silly fishhhoks. Wash them well in cool water. They’ll be fine in a cool environment for a day or so but, yes, refrigerators are a wonderful invention.
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Drop them in for maybe three? minutes at full boil (use your judgment — you just want to take out the eeky stuff). Take them out and put them in a roasting pan. Rub them with olive oil. Squeeze lemon generously on them. Sprinkle salt and pepper. If you have fresh oregano put a few sprigs on top, otherwise sprinkle the dry stuff. I like a subtle garlic flavor so I use a quarter of a clove per bird, on or in the bird, but that’s a matter of taste.
350 degrees testing with a fork until they’re tender and you get white juice?
I also have my mother’s recipe for a stifado, a stew/ragout with onions and bay in a red sauce, but that’s for bigger, tougher birds like pheasant.
September 10th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
Now you’re talkin. Those bite-sized dove breasts? Spiffy on a kabob spear.
September 11th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
This candy tastes rather sweet.