Pigeons

P

pinkfloydman

New member
a little backround:i stay up at a farm up in VT and the owners and close friends have a dairy farm. in the farm pidgens always nest but the farmers said that when the pidens go the bathroom it can land in the cows food, and when the cows eat the food they can get sick, so they tell us to shoot as many as possible, this is all fun but then what to do with the pidgens? does anyone know of any usefull way to use the dead pidgens???
 
I eat pigeon. They are a type of dove (feral rock dove), pretty closely related to the mourning dove and white wing dove that we hunt here in Texas. If I'm hunting anywhere near a railroad trestle or a barn, I'll often get a shot at a pigeon or two, to supplement my bag. The breasts (the only part to eat) are at least twice as big as mourning dove breasts, but the meat's the same. It's all dark meat. You'll find the craw is full of the exact same seeds and grains as the craws of the mourning dove. (Down here, that's maize and dove weed and sunflower seeds, predominantly.) In Texas, there's no closed season, no bag limit on pigeons. I find that 7.5 shot is perfect for pigeons, but 8's and 9's can get the job done at close range. For longer passing shots, 6's are okay, too.

Prep 'em by removing the breasts and soaking in brine water for a few hours. (Not required, but plumps 'em nicely.) Filet the breast meat from the breastbones, and quarter'em into a bowl with some garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and a little brown sugar, and let 'em sit for a few minutes. I like to toss insome sake or rice-wine vinegar, as well. I then put in several diced jalepenos and a diced onion. Cook it in a wok or big pan, then work up a dark sauce or gravy with water and corn starch and maybe some Kitchen Bouquet or soy sauce. Serve over fluffy rice. Good stuff. :)

Other technique is the old Texas dove-hunter's trick: put a jalepeno in the breast or put a jalepeno half on each side of the breast, wrap the whole thing with a slice of bacon and secure with a wet toothpick, and grill over charcoal or just roast in the oven in a shallow pan until the bacon is crispy. Simplicity can be wonderful!
 
pigeon wailing.

For a tune up during off months, finding structures that hold these pesky varmints, and wing shooting them for practice & fun. [They provide a great challenge]. Out of my 410's i normally use 71/2 or 6 shot to sky bust these winged critters.

There is a season here in Iowa for them - why i can't tell ya..... :confused:

Never eaten one, left where shot for other varmints to feast on.

12-34hom.
 
Thanks for the cuisine tips, LongPath - I figured they'd be good to eat, since they're not scavengers of carrion, and related to doves.
 
I like my pigeon like this:

Breast them, take a slice of jalapeno and put it in the center with a dab of cream cheese. Then wrap the whole thing in a piece of bacon and grill it done. Use a toothpick to wrap the rascal in.

I used to work around horses and the pigeons were a never-ending source of grilling material. I used a pellet gun and worked on getting headshots. They were all grainfed on sweet feed (grains covered in molasses). They tasted great. I usually salt and pepper mine.

Bon appetite!
 
I remember being sent up into the hay loft to flush the pigeons out to my dad and his buddies, it was like live trap shooting. We ate plenty of pigeon growing up and it does taste great. I’ve sold squab in restaurants for $30.00 a plate. Most pseudo intellectuals don’t realize they’re eating young pigeon :rolleyes:
One caution however, I would not eat pigeon that was within feeding range of too many golf course or a metro area. Pesticides, herbicides and ice melting chemicals consumed by pigeons need to be considered.
 
Pigeon

Just checked Webster to make sure I was correct. Fledgling pigeon (around 4 weeks old) = squab as in "Hi falutin delicacy" = squab under glass. :)
 
City pigeons and barn pigeons

are the same bird, the European Rock Dove (Columba livia). But in the city they eat all sorts of you-never-know-what. So there, ya shouldn't eat 'em. On the farm, however, as has been pointed out, they are very well fed. My son used to call them "flying meals," and he and his grandpa had great fun shooting & cleaning them and gramma made them up for dinner. Yum! BTW, the unused parts of the pigeons didn't get wasted; the barn cats gleefully cleaned up the rest, and the feathers, bones, etc, went onto the land from the manure spreader.

I've never known a farmer who wasn't eager to have fewer barn pigeons on his place.

As to seagulls, they are scavengers; wherever they are they eat all sorts of you-never-know-what. Furthermore, since they are good at cleaning messes off beaches, they are protected in many areas. So I can't reccommend shooting/eating them.
 
Times have changed !! In the old days farms would have a house on top of the barn [dovecote] for raised pigeons.They do make tasty meals.City pigeons I wouldn't eat or handle as they may carry disease that can be transmitted to people . :(
 
Eat them! They tast like duck. When I go the ranches around here to hunt coyotes I take my shotgun. I go early and clean out the barns :D
 
.22

i like the 22 for pigeons but i dont eat em i just kill em in old grain bins and leave em where they are i might try one someday but i dont have a shotgun to get em so itll have to be a headshot
 
When I was in high school (mannnny years ago) we used to hunt McDonald's farm. We had permission only so long as we stopped at the barn before going out and after coming back in to shoot pigeons. My buddy and I took turns standing outside, under the loft door, while the other went in and climbed up to flush the little devils. They would come tumbling out, flying on one wing at a time and the one on the ground would have 3 shotguns to try to bag some. Great times.

The Lady who rented the apartment we had in the basement used to make us pigoens and dumplings. A layer of onion slices, a layer of pigeon breasts, a brown gravy and a layer of dumplings, baked in a cast iron dutch oven. I'm hungry just remembering that and I just finished dinner. :D

Pops
 
Yuck!!!

:barf: Sorry, but eating feral pigeons sounds disgusting. They carry disease, and hang out in very unsanitary places (barns). They are flying rats. In Idaho, they are unprotected game. Meaning you can take however many you want, any way you want, all year round and do not have to use the meat. When I kill pigeons, they become coyote food. I hope I have not offended anyone here, but I would not eat a pigeon unless it was necessary for survival, or if I would offend someone else by not doing so.
 
To each his own. Horses and cows hang out in barns too, and they're quite edible. I think that an obscure procedure known as "cooking" kills off any pathogens, just as it does trichinosis in swine. :)
 
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