Dove Breasts


 
Chris Allingham

Chris Allingham

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Staff member
Originally posted by Charles McKnight in the Recipe Requests Forum on 9/26/03

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Today I smoked 30 dove breasts on my WSM. To prepare I first soaked the breasts in a strong solution of water and baking soda overnight. Next I marinated the doves in a marinade consisting of Burgundy, worcestershire sauce, chopped onion, bay leaf, and fresh minced garlic for 8-12 hrs. I then wrapped each breast with a 4-6 inch piece of bacon. I fired up using the standard method. I then smoked the breasts for 1 hr @ 300-325 degrees. After 1 hr I shut all the vents and left the breasts on until the smoker cooled down (45 min to 1hr). The doves turned out juicy, tender and well smoked.

I used 3 smallpieces of appled wood for smoke wood.
 
Hi Chris. Why the baking soda/water soak? Is it to get rid of that "gamey or wild" taste? Do you know of a good substitute for the burgundy? Not that I'm against it. I've just never used liquors/alcohol as a marinade. How much of the burgundy flavor does the meat absorb? Seems like it would be a lot. I'm probably going to be doing some wild duck breasts this way, or someway similar to it. TIA

Rick
 
Sorry, I can't answer these questions. Charles' last visit was in September...maybe if he sees this he can provide answers.

Regards,
Chris
 
Baking soda is often used as a measure to reduce the "gamey" taste of various wild meats. As to the burgundy, I'm guessing the reference is not to anything Cote d'Or French, but more probably the domestic jug-wine stuff that is merely lending its acidity as a tenderizing agent.
 
Baking soda is often used to tenderize meat. It's a common practice in chinese restaurants for preparing beef.
 
This recipe sounds great. Lots of wild pigeon available round here which woud be an excellent (possibly almost identical) substitute. Also, stock made from roasted pigeon carcasses is just the best!
 
Dove is real popular in SW Oklahoma. When you clean your birds soak the breast in a salt water solution overnight in the refridgerator. This will pull the excess blood out of the meat. When you are ready to cook the birds, fillet the meat off of the breast bone. Place a slice of onion and a slice of jallapino between the breast halves and wrap in a 1/2 slice of bacon pinned with a tooth pick. Marinate in Allegro for few hours then grill. Even the people who say they don't like dove will fight you for the last one!
 
Bob, you are right about how good dove CAN be. The gamey taste can be extremly strong if the game isnt put on ice quick also. The recipe you do is close to what I make except I never filet "will try that this year" and I use Dales seasoning for obvious reasons.
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Plus I use a thin bacon so it works as a timer. When the bacon is done, so is the breast. GOOOOOD! I do something like this with cut up chicken breast' that people gobble up just as fast as I can make them. I save the dove for me.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Hi Chris. Why the baking soda/water soak? Is it to get rid of that "gamey or wild" taste? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Years ago (when I lived in Delaware) I had a friend that gave me a wild goose every year for Christmas. He had me soak it overnight in a strong solution of water and Carnation powdered milk. This did a great jog of removing the gaminess of the bird.

Ray
 
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