How to cook a pigeon properly
Every hunter knows how to cook a pigeon. Pigeon meat has excellent taste and many useful qualities. Gourmets believe that it tastes better than good chicken. But in order to be able to feast on and appreciate the meat of a pigeon, you need to learn how to cook it correctly. Since ancient times, in various cultures, there are a lot of descriptions of pigeon dishes that have come down to our times. At the same time, it is interesting that the carcasses of wild birds need to be processed differently than domestic ones.
How to cook pigeons at home
Why is pigeon meat useful?
Even forest pigeon meat is very tender and does not require any additional processing. It can be boiled, fried, stewed. Back in 1000 A.D. e. Avicenna noted the beneficial qualities of the product in the diet of pregnant women and children. In pigeon, protein is 25%, and fat is only 2%. The flesh of a pigeon has a fibrous structure. The shade of the flesh is dark, like most wild birds. This product is very quickly absorbed by the human digestive system and contains many valuable amino acids and multivitamins: Fe, Ca, copper, P, vitamins of group B, PP, A.
The iron content in pigeon is quite high, so such meat is often recommended for the prevention and treatment of anemia. The benefits of introducing this product into the diet of patients with upper respiratory tract diseases have also been proven. The taste of pigeon meat will depend on the diet of the bird. For example, domestic pigeons fed primarily on grains will have a sweet, spicy nutty flavor.
Preparation secrets
To cook a wild pigeon, you need to select and prepare a carcass. Initially, it should be rid of the feathers, then proceed to gutting. On a mandatory basis, goiter is examined in wild birds. If there is blackness, such a carcass must be immediately destroyed and in no case be eaten. The second thing to look out for is the color of the dermis. In pigeons, the skin is pink, while in old pigeons it is purple in places.
Before pigeons are cooked, their meat is always pre-processed. This is especially true for the carcasses of middle-aged birds, they are kept in grape or apple essence for about 10-12 hours. Young growth is soaked in plain water. Gourmets prefer to marinate pigeon in wine for 24 hours. Dry red wines are suitable for this.
How to choose the right carcass in the store
All the benefits of pigeon depend on what the birds eat, so the carcasses of individuals that live on the streets of cities and do not understand what do not eat are not recommended. If you want to taste pigeons so badly, it is better to go to a specialty store and choose pigeons for cooking there.
The main thing is that a certificate for permission to sell birds and confirmation of quality from veterinary control could be shown in a store or market. Carcass skin should be dry, dark in color, purple to brownish in color. The shade of meat is recommended burgundy.
How is it cooked in different countries
Since time immemorial, gobuls have been a tasty morsel for hunters. The territory of their distribution is quite large and covers almost the whole world, therefore, in different countries there are many different recipes for dishes. For example, French chefs prefer to cook this product in a spicy unusual marinade, while Moldovan chefs stuff lamb carcasses, in Egypt they are stuffed with millet.
Cooked wild pigeon meat goes very well with various fruits and berries, so this delicacy is served in Canada with blueberry sauce, in Asia tangerines are served as a garnish, and European chefs combine pigeon meat with champignons and truffles.
Red dry wines, as well as various fruit compotes, are perfect as a drink for wild pigeon meat. As you can see, recipes for pigeon dishes are very diverse, all the ingredients for them are always at hand. Often, pigeons are baked in the oven or on a spit. Old individuals are used to cook the basics. Lentils, garlic, chestnuts, cabbage, and prunes are served as a side dish.
How to cook pigeon kebab
Almost all pigeon dishes are distinguished by their simplicity. Pigeon kebab is no exception in this regard. For this dish, wine essence with water is taken in proportions 1: 1, 1: 2 or 1: 4. The ratios depend on the age of the bird, the younger, the less essence will be needed. The meat is marinated for about 12 hours. After the whole marinade is drained and salt and pepper are added to the meat to your taste. You can add finely chopped green onions, bay leaves and stand for another hour.
If you take onions, it is recommended to chop it into rings, in this form it will be possible to bake it with pigeons on a grid. Cooking time will also depend on the age of the individual: the younger, the faster it will cook. When one-month-old home-grown poultry is cooked, cooking takes no more than 20 minutes, but old wild birds are baked for about 50 minutes.
Pigeon meat with potato garnish
As in the previous version, the meat should be marinated in wine or vinegar for a day. Often, carcasses do not require additional cutting, but are baked whole. After marinating, the carcasses should be stuffed with garlic and fried in butter or vegetable oil. The carcasses are fried separately, and after each it is necessary to change the oil, especially if butter is used. Otherwise, the meat may taste disgusting.
Fry the product until a pinkish crust appears, after which the bird is stuffed with a mixture of spices, herbs and onion rings. You can add any ingredients according to your preference. Salt is rubbed into the carcass from the inside and outside. Pre-prepared meat is placed on a baking sheet, coarsely chopped potatoes are placed around, and covered with foil on top so that the meat does not turn out to be overdried. You can cook such a dish within 60 minutes.
Pigeon shurpa
Shurpa is an oriental soup. The recipes for this dish are presented in various variations. One of these recipes is used by hunters. Turtle doves, wood pigeons or any other representatives of meat breeds are perfect for this dish. Before cooking, you need to pluck, cut and pitch the bird, then put it in a cauldron and cook.
Cooking takes 1.5-2 hours. Shurpa is cooked in a thick-walled large cauldron over a fire. There are some secrets of making delicious shurpa:
- about 30 minutes after boiling, put 3 medium onions whole in a cauldron;
- then put carrots, potatoes;
- after an hour, put sweet or hot peppers;
- then the soup is salted;
- you can put any spices to your taste;
- before removing the shurpa from the fire, you need to add greens;
- now you can eat shurpa.
Fried pigeon meat
The roots of the dish lie in France. Just like all recipes that include pigeon, this dish is not difficult to prepare. Carcasses are fried in a pan or baked in the oven. For cooking you will need:
- duly prepared pigeon carcasses;
- milk;
- eggs;
- breadcrumbs;
- vegetable oil.
The carcass is cut and put in a saucepan with milk, kept for an hour. Before removing the carcasses from the pan, mix the rest of the milk with the eggs. Carcasses are dipped into this mixture, and then they are breaded in breadcrumbs, fried over low heat until a crust forms. As a side dish, you can serve rice with vegetables, potatoes or fruits.
Pigeon roast
Pigeon roast is prepared as follows: pickles, dill, smoked bacon are chopped, lemon peel is finely rubbed. A heavy-bottomed saucepan or pot is generously oiled. Put half of the mixture of herbs and bacon in a baking vessel, then put the carcasses, cut into large pieces. Cover the top with the remaining mixture.
The dishes are covered and put to simmer over low heat or simmer in the oven. If the meat does not have enough juice so that it does not burn, broth is added to the saucepan. The mixture in which the meat was cooked is used as a side dish.
Cutlets
To prepare this tasty dish, you need to prepare 10-15 pigeons. The rest of the ingredients are the same as for regular cutlets. The carcasses prepared in advance are cut, separating the fillets with a knife and removing the skin. With the help of a meat grinder, everything that has been separated is ground with the addition of onions, spices, and bread. Then a raw egg is laid.
Broth is cooked from pigeon bones. At the same time, cutlets the size of a large nut are formed from minced meat. Fry cutlets in very hot oil until golden brown and put them in a saucepan. After preparing the broth, they should pour over the cutlets and simmer them over low heat for about 20 minutes. Young potatoes with herbs cut into large slices can be used as a side dish.
The second version of the roast
To prepare this dish, you will need a pigeon carcass, olive oil, leeks and some honey. The carcass must be greased with oil and fried in a pan until golden brown. After removing the fried meat from the heat, you need to put it in a preheated plate and cover with foil. In the same pan, melt the honey and simmer the leeks. The rest of the oil must be whipped with vinegar essence.
Onions are added to the meat, poured over with gravy and served. The garnish is chosen depending on their taste preferences. If you don't know how to surprise your guests, you can use such a simple and delicious recipe.
Final part
Many novice poultry farmers and wives of hunters are faced with the question of how to cook pigeons at home. World cuisine includes many different recipes for preparing pigeon dishes from time immemorial. In many countries, pigeon is considered a delicacy. And it is not surprising, because the poultry has a wonderful taste, which is many times superior to chicken meat.
Even doctors recommend the use of pigeon to their patients and children. In terms of protein content, pigeon meat also surpasses chicken meat. The product is perfectly absorbed by the body and does not require high energy consumption in cooking. The best option is to buy a bird in a specialized place from a trusted seller.
Doctors warn against eating pigeons that live on city streets. By the way, the taste of such a bird will be simply disgusting, not to mention the fact that it can be poisoned. The home-grown pigeon feeds on special feeds so that its flesh has a spicy, sweetish nutty taste.The day before slaughter, these birds are specially started to be soldered with milk with the addition of salt. Naturally, the wild pigeon does not pass such preparations.
If you don't know how to cook a pigeon, bake it in the oven or over charcoal. Such a dish is prepared elementary, and its taste is simply incomparable.