Yes, you read right, pigeon! However, I am not talking about the street pigeon you will find in the middle of a McDonald’s parking. I am talking about pigeons that live on farms, eat crops and spend their nights in barn roofs. Yes, they are nicknamed the rat of the sky. However, once you taste them, you will call them the filet mignon of the sky!
To hunt them, you will need to get the permission of the farm owner once you find a feed or a barn where they like to hang out. Stop by the farm and chat up with the farmer. Unless they do not like guns, they will happily let you get as many as you want and come back as often as you want because of reason 2 below.
Why should you hunt pigeon?
There is a few reasons to hunt pigeons other than the quality of the meat (again, trust me on that!).
(1) It is one of funnest type of hunting! The techniques are a blast and you can hunt in t-shirt! There are two techniques: either you walk around the barns and make noise to get them flush them out, or set up your duck decoys on a feed. Yes they will think that the duck decoys are other pigeon and come in like a fooled mallard! Do not forget to install a motorized duck!
(2) They are a nuisance on farms. These birds will break windows, find small holes and be relentless to sneak in barns. Then, they poop everywhere. If this poop finds its way in cow feed, it will make them sick. Therefore, farmers want you to take care of this problem for them.
(3) It is a great way to keep your wing shooting skills sharp. The pigeons are around farms the whole summer. Therefore, it is perfect to get some practice shooting in before waterfowl season opens. They are rapid and dodgy. They will sharpen your skills in a hurry!
When you have your pigeon on the ground, clean them just like any other fowl.
Recipe advices
There are a few details for this recipe that should be mentioned to help you get the maximum out of the recipe, or even change it as you like:
(1) The dry rub is optional, but really good! You can change it as you please with any BBQ rub you like, but go for rubs that are very flavorful. And be generous with it!
(2) When you do the bacon wrap, make sure you have a bit of tension on the bacon to stretch it a bit. This will make it stick more to your meat.
(3) Poke the tooth pick only through the meat. This will help it sit flatter on your BBQ grill.
(4) When grilling, start with the meat side down. This is important. If you start with the jalapeno side down, you will heat the cream cheese and it will run out when you flip it. Therefore, start with the meat side down.
(5) If you are using red meat (including waterfowl), keep the meat at a rare to medium. Do not fully cook it. The meat will be much more tender and less livery/gamy.
On this, enjoy the recipe!!!
Pigeon Jalapeno Poppers!! Say What???
Cuisine: SouthernDifficulty: Easy4
servings15
minutes10
minutes25
minutesIngredients
- The jalapeno poppers essentials
12 pigeon breasts (can be pretty much any tender game meat, but pigeon is king!)
1/2 cup of cream cheese
6 jalapeno, halved and seeded (don’t forget the white part!)
12 bacon slices
12 tooth picks
- Dry rub (optional, but DELICIOUS)
1/2 tsp. of paprika
1/2 tsp. of salt
1/2 tsp. of garlic powder
1/2 tsp. of dried oregano
1/4 tsp. of ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. of cumin
Directions
- In a large bowl, mix all the dry rub ingredients. Pat dry the pigeon breasts and add them in the bowl. Toss the pigeon breasts in the dry rub until they are fully covered with the rub.
- Grab a jalapeno half and, with a small spoon, fill the cavity with cream cheese. Place a seasoned pigeon breast on the jalapeno to cover the cream cheese.
- Wrap with a piece of bacon. Make sure to keep a bit of tension on the bacon when wrapping. Ideally, it should be stretched as you do it. Insert a tooth pick to hold the loose end of the bacon.
- Place the poppers, with the jalapeno side up first, on a BBQ grill preheated at medium. Starting on the meat side will reduce the chance of cream cheese leak. Cook for 3-4 minutes per side, or until rare to medium.
- They are now done! Quick eh?? Serve on your favorite SuperBowl plateau, or with grilled vegetables and tubers
SUBSTITUTIONS – Since we do not always have success when going outdoors or not everyone practices hunting, fishing or picking. here are a few ideas to substitute the harvested ingredients:
- The pigeon breasts can be replaced with store bought chicken breasts, sirloin steak or pork tenderloin. Cut the meat to match size of a full jalapeno. Chicken should be thoroughly cooked (Medium-low grill for 6-8 min per side)
- The pigeon breasts can be replaced with any tender cut of game meat, example: turkey, grouse, duck or goose breast; venison or moose backstrap or steak. Cut the meat to match size of a full jalapeno. Turkey and grouse should be thoroughly cooked (Medium-low grill for 6-8 min per side)
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