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Pigeon Dressing & Eating


gfron1

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I'm harvesting a bunch of pigeons tonight. Anyone know how long I can delay dressing pigeons after I kill them. I want to harvest tonight, but dress tomorrow. Is that OK? And should I just store in my cooler or would my wine cellar be better? I'll document the process as the week goes on for you all.

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Hey Rob!  Sounds like you're hunting?

 

You need to take the guts out pretty quickly.  Like within at least 3-4 hours.  I wouldn't leave them overnight at all.  You could wait overnight to pluck or skin them, however.  Definitely keep them in the fridge. 

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I have never gutted pigeons but I imagine they are much like grouse, which I used to do both innards and outtards for my father when I was a wee girl - for a price. The more he paid, the faster I got but I don't think it ever took more than 5 minutes (at my slowest) to cut the head off, cut the bird open, haul out the guts and wash it out quickly. It was the feathers/plucking that took much more time. I agree with Shelby - do at least the gutting part within a couple of hours of the kill (as you would for a fish, for instance) and then keep in the fridge.

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The men in my family did all the hunting and most of the fishing, and all game and fish were field dressed. This means they were gutted on the spot of the kill with the innards going back into the environment where other wildlife would be able to use all or part of it for nourishment. The rest goes to fertilizer for the flora. This practice helps keep the meat fresher and uncontaminated while getting it into refrigeration. It also greatly lightens the load with larger game like deer while hauling it back to your transportation.

 

I have no direct experience with field dressing game, but I've done some fish, and I have a lot of experience in gutting domestically raised chickens. I don't know about the physiology of pigeons, but with chickens, it's important to gently pull out the guts shortly after the kill so you don't rupture anything, especially the gall bladder. This is a smallish green colored organ located between the two lobes of the liver. It's filled with bile, and taints the meat if it's ruptured. It is so bitter, the residue can't be washed away.

 

If I were gutting wild birds, I would be careful in doing so as to not tear anything. It seems logical they would have a gall bladder like chickens do.

 

Edited: changed "doves" to "pigeons". They're the same to me in my mind, but when I think about it, probably not.

Edited by Thanks for the Crepes (log)

> ^ . . ^ <

 

 

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I'm not sure you need to take them out straight away- it depends whether the innards have been damaged by shot.  I always thought that when you hang game birds, it's with the guts in.

 

At least, when I pick up pigeons from the market during the game season, they're always whole: feathers, heads, guts and all.  They dress them in front of you, and I doubt they are hunted that morning.

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I've been chatting with a Brit butcher and he assured me that they were fine to hold off til this morning, so I only did the two I ate last night. The thought was alluded to - these weren't shot so there was no internal damage. I'm heading down in a bit to process, then I'll post pics. And I agree about the giving back to nature and have already been thinking of the best place to discard the carcasses - probably my javalina hunting area where I saw no javalina but plenty of coyote and bobcat tracks.

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It is anti-intuitive for me to think about leaving the guts in that long but I am sure your butcher friend knows much more than I do. And I am sure that if the birds weren't shot there probably is less rush - all the birds I did were, of course, hunted and damaged in some way as a result.

 

I learn something new here everyday! Thanks, gfron. I look forward to seeing the rest of your pictures. Your dinner bird looks absolutely scrumptious.

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It is anti-intuitive for me to think about leaving the guts in that long but I am sure your butcher friend knows much more than I do. And I am sure that if the birds weren't shot there probably is less rush - all the birds I did were, of course, hunted and damaged in some way as a result.

 

I learn something new here everyday! Thanks, gfron. I look forward to seeing the rest of your pictures. Your dinner bird looks absolutely scrumptious.

Me too.  Very much so.  But, I've never cleaned birds that weren't shot, either.  I was taught that you never want to leave internal organs that hold bile, waste etc. inside as they can leach out into the meat.

 

How did you kill the birds?  Looking forward to learning more :)

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So this was the set up when I arrived. Here's the backstory. A couple came in for dinner a few weeks ago. I had never seen them before but apparently they come to lunch regularly. They told me that they had some pigeons that they wanted to get rid of. They were going to raise them for meat, but it just became too much work on top of their chickens and other animals. I learned long ago to never turn down an offer for local plants or meats. Once your reputations is established then the goodies just roll in. Last year I got a javelina, ducks, plenty of vegetables, a large bushel of quince and on and on.Many times I don't really want the items, but I take them and make sure they get used. Pigeons I was sort of ambivalent about. I didn't want the extra work right before a big chocolate show, but affordable meats are a good thing. 

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When we negotiated prices, they started at free and I started at $5 each. We finally settled in at $2 per bird, but he would have to kill them and I would do the dressing. Which brings me back to the pigeons. Bob and Verna had yet to kill any of their birds and didn't know what to do, and so we both spent some time with YouTube. What did we do before YT? In the process I met a British butcher who coached me last night on what I needed to do.

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Bob's insistence on there being 20-30 birds turned out to be 57, so lots of chopping happened. 

WARNING: THE GRAPHIC PICTURES BEGIN NOW.

My Facebook friends know that I am not shy about posting pictures of food in all of its stages. Each year I post the massive slaughter that follows our county fair, and each year I lose a few more friends. But, I am completely committed to people not eating shit anymore, and learning what goes into that plate of food. And for meat eaters, that involves dead animals.

 

Verna popped into the coop, grabbing the birds 2 by 2.

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Bob lounged leisurely waiting for each delivery. Verna would hold the body, while Bob stretched the neck out and up rose the hatchet.

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WARNING: GRAPHIC PHOTOS

And down comes the hatchet

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His buddies were unphased. We met just before dusk because they were easier to catch

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And on to the ground to flop a bit before I put them in the cooler.

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We kept track of where we were in the process (and the final cost) by counting heads

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Many of you know that I'm not just out slaughtering animals. Over the years I developed a deep relationship with both the animals that I use as food and the wilderness that I forage for my restaurant. I often spend a little bit of time being present with whatever will become my food, sometimes in meditation, sometimes in prayer, sometimes in conversation. My first chicken slaughter was really sad to me. Pigeons, not so much. They showed no response. In fact, they seemed very calm. So pigeons were not an emotional experience so much as a job.

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With chickens we used the slaughter cones which keep them from flopping around. Here, Bob would just toss them on the ground to flop. Unlike chickens, however, the pigeons don't have the mass to damage the meat in their flopping.

 

The cooler filled with each chop

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and so did the head count

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The cooler became very full

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That was last night. My new found butcher friend said I could let the pigeons sit in my walk-in overnight before processing. So I did, but first I cooked the hoisin pigeon breasts for my dinner - still warm from the carcass.

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This morning I headed down to the store and started plucking.

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I perfected my technique as the process went along. Pull the wings back and cross them over each other behind the bird's back. This completely reveals the breast. The base of your thumb and the tip of your middle hold the wings back while the pinky pulls the feet down toward the tail. The breast is ready for plucking. Then start pulling against the grain and the feathers come out very easily - much easier than chicken and infinitely easier than duck. This is one bird's worth of feathers...you should have seen the pile after 55.

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My goal was the breast.

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I was sending the carcasses to a game rehab center for feed for its carnivores. I did clean one completely just for the heck of it.

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My plan is to use this bounty at a guest chef dinner this coming Friday in ABQ. I am preparing the breast confit with a freshly made 5-Spice powder salt mix.

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So, there you go.

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This morning I headed down to the store and started plucking.

11070191_10153111587194845_6470466579306

I perfected my technique as the process went along. Pull the wings back and cross them over each other behind the bird's back. This completely reveals the breast. The base of your thumb and the tip of your middle hold the wings back while the pinky pulls the feet down toward the tail. The breast is ready for plucking. Then start pulling against the grain and the feathers come out very easily - much easier than chicken and infinitely easier than duck. This is one bird's worth of feathers...you should have seen the pile after 55.

11069295_10153111237739845_7319977642181

My goal was the breast.

10430885_10153111407814845_5320741658399

I was sending the carcasses to a game rehab center for feed for its carnivores. I did clean one completely just for the heck of it.

10264653_10153111587259845_3161604505547.

My plan is to use this bounty at a guest chef dinner this coming Friday in ABQ. I am preparing the breast confit with a freshly made 5-Spice powder salt mix.

 

So, there you go.

 

Very nice.

I raised meat pigeons for many years....mostly White Kings.

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~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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Interesting!

How is the skin? Similar to dove?

I'll tell you when I eat it. I skinned it last night, but left it on for the confit. I can tell you that it was more delicate than anything I've plucked to date - ripped a couple of guys in my haste.

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Looks good; just a shame you took the breasts off the crown.  A roasted pigeon crown is a thing of beauty.

 

How did you confit the breasts?  I've heard of confiting the legs, but I would have thought it would way overcook the meat.  I may have to try it if I can get hold of some.

 

Anyway, I hope your diners like it :)

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Martin - what did you do with the meat besides the breast? Seems like not much there.

 

 

Yeah, not much there, especially in a squab which is mostly what we ate...not so many older birds.

Roast or grilled squab mostly.

Squab is most excellent.

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~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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I LOVE squab - it's probably my favorite meat... In the US, it is typical to process as quickly as possible after slaughter, but in France (where I've had some of the best squab I've ever had), I gather it is not uncommon to hang for 2-3 days with guts and feathers intact after slaughter to allow the meat to age. This adds a bit more gameyness which I find very appealing.

To me, squab breast is best cooked medium rare - I find that if it is overcooked it tends to get a livery flavor and grainy texture.

The thighs/legs need more time or temperature otherwise they come out stringy and a little tough. A short confit treatment (only an hour or so of salting) works very well for the thigh/leg section.

Squab liver is also very tasty - and can make a great puree for spreading on toast, etc.

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Oh yeah, Kenneth! I make my husband keep all quail and pheasant livers.  Delicious!   Actually, sometimes we keep the gizzards, too.  Pretty tasty if you fry them and then throw them in the pressure cooker.

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Oh yeah, Kenneth! I make my husband keep all quail and pheasant livers.  Delicious!   Actually, sometimes we keep the gizzards, too.  Pretty tasty if you fry them and then throw them in the pressure cooker.

 

Gizzards are fantastic (although I haven't tried pigeon).  If they are anything like larger poultry, confiting in duck fat gives fantastic results.

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I haven't done it in a while, but I used to love to confit the thighs in rendered foie gras fat.... it helps add a bit of muskiness that is missing from the squabs I can get locally. I used to get slices of fresh foie that were not too expensive ($5 per slice) as opposed to having to buy a whole FG for like $80.

Edit for clarity

Edited by KennethT (log)
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I LOVE squab!  

 

I've mostly ever had it Cantonese-style, usually available here and often as part of a banquet course. The whole bird is presented though - including the head (no thanks) - and served with seasoned salt.  Not sure how it's cooked, I think frying is part of the process to get a really crisp-flaky skin, like Peking duck. The thigh part is my favourite - all that delicious, delicious fat!

:wub:

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