With dove season in full swing lets look at two new recipes that will be sure to get you excited to go out and shoot some more of these tasty birds. You’ll notice that some of these doves are breasted and some are plucked. The birds that were to shot up got breasted, the others were plucked. 

Lets start with the BBQ Teriyaki Dove shall we?

Teriyaki Sauce :

Ingredients:

1/4 Cup Soy Sauce

1 Cup Water

1/2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger

2 Tablespoons Crushed garlic

4 tablespoons Brown Sugar

1 Tablespoon Honey

2 Tablespoons Cornstarch

1/4 Cup Water

DIRECTIONS:

Mix all but cornstarch and 1/4c water in a sauce pan and begin heating over Med .

Mix cornstarch and water and dissolve. Add to pan.

Heat until sauce thickens to desired thickness.about 4 minutes

Once you’ve made the sauce put in the fridge to cool down, once its cooled add dove to sauce for 1-2 hours.

Orange Glaze:

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced 

2 teaspoon garlic, minced 

¹⁄₂ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar 

¹⁄₄ cup water

½ teaspoon sesame oil 

1 ¹⁄₂ tablespoons soy sauce

5 tablespoons sugar

5 tablespoons white vinegar 

¼ cup fresh orange juice 

1 tablespoon orange zest 

Direction

Mix together in small bowl orange juice, sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar, white vinegar and zest until sugar is dissolved, add 1 tablespoon cornstarch and mix smooth, set aside

Add 1 tablespoon oil to wok or skillet

Next add ginger and garlic and Sautee  for 30 seconds 

Stir in crushed red pepper and rice wine and still for 15 seconds to mix 

Add orange juice mixture to wok or skillet and bring to a boil, stirring often so not to burn sauce 

Once sauce comes to a boil reduce heat and simmer 5-10 minutes

Remove from heat and chill in fridge 1-2 hours

Once you’ve made the sauce put in the fridge to cool down, once its cooled add dove to sauce for 1-2 hours.

Cooking: Both Ways

While dove is marinating preheat Traeger, grill or any other smoker to 260-275. 

Remove dove from sauces sauce and place breast plate bone down on grill. I cooked mine in the Traeger, but they can be done in any smoker or on any grill. so follow the recipes and temps, just know tat cook times will vary depending on cooking method. 

Cook 10-15 minutes and flip, breast should be down now. Feel free to use some of your left over sauce and baste as it cooks. 

Your internal temperature goal for the doves are 135-140 keep a quick read thermometer on hand so you can pull. if you over cook dove they tend to get that wild flavor and dry out drastically. 

Once your dove have reached temp, pull and let rest 5-10 minutes, serve and enjoy! 

FromFieldToPlate Recipe 

Jeremiah Doughty 

I decided to take all those flavors and rework them into a meal rather than an appetizer. It takes as long to create your typical poppers as it does these subs, so why not give it a try. Below you’ll find a step by step recipe, and remember recipes are meant to be tweaked, so get crazy and enjoy.

Dove Popper Meatball Sub

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

1 pound ground dove (20-30 doves)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup onion minced
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cracked pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Directions:

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees
Add all ingredients to small glass mixing bowl, using your hands kneed all ingredients together.
Take a spoonful of meat mixture and roll into small meatball
Place in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until meatballs are cooked and temp reads 165

Cream Cheese Sauce

Ingredients:

8oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cracked pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

In small sauce pan add cream cheese and milk over medium heat and whisk until blended
Add remaining ingredients and whisk until blended and smooth
Simmer on low stirring frequently so not to burn for 1-2 minutes, remove from heat

Build your Sub:

Take your favorite sub roll and add cheese sauce to top and bottom, add bacon. Add meatballs, top with more sauce and fire roasted Jalapeños. Most of all Enjoy.

Starting September 1st your social media feeds will be flooded with popper recipes and popper pictures so staying true to my never making a popper, ill guide you to 5 dishes, to wow your friends and family that aren’t wrapped in bacon. (Don’t get me wrong there is nothing wrong with wrapping your dove in bacon, i’m just showing you there are more options then this one recipe.)

I also hear that many folks don’t like the taste of dove and one big reason is they are over cooking them, which dries them out and creates a very wild flavor to the meat.

Plucking:

Every year I hear from people that they breast out their doves because its easy and its all they’ve every known. They don’t have the time to pluck, well pluck that…. Plucking is really allot easier than you think, and best of all the kids love doing it.

Simply grab your dove with the breast up and start the pluck, grabbing the feathers and pulling opposite of the direction they grow in. Yes, it’s that simple and once you’ve pluck them remove the feet and guts.

To remove the guts take your knife and make a small incision right below the breast plate and shove your index finger it and Hook it out. Make sure you save the dove hearts and gizzards. A real treat for the kiddos once they’ve spent the morning retrieving and plucking.

Skinning:
Skinning is a another option you can do to make sure you keep all usable meat and those tasty bones. Yes tasty bones, I use the bones to make a killer dove bone broth or add them to the upland game bird stock I make.

Just pull the skin off like you would a sock, it’s that easy. I start at the legs and pull towards the head, then gut and rinse. You’re now left with a little skinned looking chicken.

Breasting:
Not my favorite, but is the fastest way to get the most used meat off the bird. Find the Breast plate, shove your thump under it and pull off. The guts and legs go on way as the breast and wings go another. From there remove skin and feathers, rinse and get ready to cook.

Grinding:
Yes you can grind your doves and all upland game birds. This method opens so many doors for recipes. Like tacos, spaghettis, meatballs and so many more. Just
skin your doves and remove all usable meat, breast, legs & wings. Run all the meat through the fine or course grinder plate and enjoy.

Boiled/slow cooked:
Take whole skinned doves and add them to a crockpot, pressure cooker or stock pot with water and cook them till the meat falls off the bones. Use pulled meat for soups, stews, wraps and many other dishes. (Add veggies and herbs while cooking to add flavor to the meat)

I will do a video this year on all these options so you can see the method and what the finished product should look like.

______________________________________________________________________________

Recipes:
______________________________________________________________________________

Stuffed Grilled Dove
Ingredients:
10-15 whole plucked dove
2 hatch chilies, Fired Roasted & diced
2 ears corn, fire roasted & removed from ear
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Red Onion, sliced and fire roasted then chopped

1 cup black beans
2 tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoon cracked pepper
1 teaspoon dried garlic
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup cilantro, minced

Directions:
fire roast your chilies, corn and sliced onions. Once chilies are charred on the skin remove and place in a large bowl full of ice water, skin will peel off easy. Remove all skin. Cut corn from ears and chop the roasted onion slices.
In mixing bowl add onions, chilies, corn, black beans and cilantro, mix with 1 tablespoon paprika
Stuff each dove with 1-2 tablespoons of corn and chilies mixture.

Mix remaining dry seasonings and dry rub each dove
Grill on med-high heat until doves are med-med rare.
Remove and serve with your favorite sides
Doves can also be baked at 350 for 15-20 minutes until med-med rare

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Ground Dove Lettuce wraps

1 lb ground game bird
1 tbsp olive oil
¼ cup soy sauce
1 tbsp ginger, minced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, sliced thinly
5 green onions, chopped
1 cup shredded cabbage or coleslaw mix
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
salt and pepper to taste
½ head iceberg lettuce, cut into half

Add olive oil to a large skillet and heat until oil is very hot. Add ground bird and cook until no longer pink and starts to brown, break it up with a wooden spoon as necessary. Should take about 3 minutes.

Add soy sauce, ginger, garlic, peppers, coleslaw mix, and stir-fry for another 3 minutes. Add hoisin sauce and green onions, and toss. Transfer cooked mixture to a bowl. For more flavor add 1 cup of homemade teriyaki sauce.
Serve by placing spoonfuls of mixture into pieces of lettuce, fold lettuce over like small tacos, and eat.
Top with homemade teriyaki sauce

Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
1 Cup Water
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
2 Tablespoons Crushed garlic
4 tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Honey
2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
1/4 Cup Water
DIRECTIONS:
Mix all but cornstarch and 1/4c water in a sauce pan and begin heating over Med .
Mix cornstarch and water and dissolve. Add to pan.
Heat until sauce thickens to desired thickness.about 4 minutes
Add water to thin if you over-thicken it

______________________________________________________________________________
Game Bird Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:
2 cups shredded game bird meat
1 cup chopped cilantro
8 corn tortillas, roughly torn into pieces
8oz canned diced chilies
1 can fire roasted tomatoes with juices
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can sweet corn, rinsed
1 medium red onion, sliced thin
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cracked pepper
½ teaspoon salt
8 cups pheasant or chicken stock
½ teaspoon cumin
For that extra kick you can add
2 jalapeños, chopped
1 poblano pepper, chopped

Directions:
In large stock pot or Dutch oven add olive oil, onion and garlic cooking over medium heat until onions start to sweat. Add cilantro, 4 torn tortillas, tomatoes and green chilies cook for another 3 minutes stirring continually.
Add stock, game bird meat, spices, corn, beans and remaining 4 tortillas. Bring soup to a boil and reduce heat to simmer
Simmer for 1-2 hours allowing all the flavors to develop and the tortillas to fall apart.

Pour into your favorite bowl and top with your favorite toppings like cheese, avocado, sour cream or tortilla chips. Try a dash of lime for a sweetness to the heat.

The tortillas act as the binder, this soup is 100% gluten free for those looking for a delicious soup they can make at home. ________________________________________________________________________

Bird Stock

bird carcasses
1 onion sliced
3 carrots roughly chopped
3 celery ribs, chopped
Bulb of garlic, peeled and rough chopped
1 tablespoon peppercorns
2 sprigs thyme
Parsley
2 rosemary branches
2 bay leaf
(Any other herbs you’d like to add, be creative)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, add all veggies and bird carcasses in casserole dish. Roast for 20 minutes (This adds depth to the stock) remove from oven and add to large Dutch over or pot.
Put all ingredients in a large pot and fill with water till bones are 2-3 inches covered.
Bring to a boil then reduce heat so that it stays at a very gently simmer. You don’t want it to keep at a boil as it will make the stock look dirty. It won’t affect the taste but it won’t look as nice and clear.
Continue to simmer gently, uncovered, for about 4 hours.
Remove from heat and strain though a colander into a large bowl. Place a fine mesh sieve over another bowl and strain once more to remove any small particles. Season to taste with sea salt and pepper.

______________________________________________________________________________

Game bird & Dumplings

Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 pounds skin-on, bone-in upland game bird pieces (all thighs or a whole cut up game birds or a mixture of light & dark meat)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chopped celery
2 cups diced carrots
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves (or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme)
3 bay leaves
½ cup flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
5 cups broth

FOR THE DUMPLINGS:
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, plus more for garnish

Directions
In a large, deep pot set over medium-high heat, melt together olive oil and butter. Generously season bird pieces with salt and pepper. Brown the birds on both sides, working in batches so as not to crowd the pot (about 4 to 6 minutes per side). Transfer birds to a plate and set aside.
Add the celery, carrots, and garlic to the pot. Cook the vegetables in the drippings until they begin to soften, stirring and adjusting the heat as necessary, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the browned pieces, thyme, bay leaves, garlic powder, onion powder, and chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and cook until the birds are cooked through, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove and discard the thyme stems and bay leaves. Transfer the cooked bird to a plate. Remove and discard the skin and bones, shred the bird, and return to the pot.

Ladle 2 cups of the cooking liquid into a large bowl or quart-sized measuring cup. Whisk in 1/2 cup of the flour until smooth. Continuously whisk the contents of the pot while slowly pouring in the flour mixture. Simmer and whisk until slightly thickened, about 8 to 10 minutes.
To make the dumplings, in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir in the melted butter, buttermilk, and minced parsley until just combined. With heat reduced to low, drop rustic, tablespoon-sized balls into the simmering broth. (dumpling dough should be slightly sticky) Gently add dumplings one time and then simmer, covered, until the dumplings are firm, about 12 to 15 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper, to taste. Serve immediately, sprinkled with additional minced fresh parsley.

Now that you’ve got these dishes be creative and tell me what you’ve made using the methods above.
Go out there and get your hands dirty for dinner and go From Field To Plate.

– Jeremiah Doughty

Holding a small single shot shotgun or .22lr we would stand next to our Dad or Mom and absorb every word spoken. The knowledge we learned while waiting for a Pheasant to flush or sitting still watching and listening for a squirrel jumping limb to limb, made us better hunters.

Listen to the podcast by searching Tasting Wild on the following apps

iTunes:

Stitcher

Tunein Radio

Below you’ll find the three recipes heard in the podcast, each recipe was created by our very own Tasting Wild chefs. Let’s go ahead and look at those recipes.

John Wallace

Sweet Savory Spicy Sugar Glazed Dove Rumaki

Submitted by: John Wallace

Wild Game Creations

Instagram @wildgamecook

FACEBOOK /wildgamecreations

Marinade: 1 tbsp. Soy Sauce (low sodium preferred)

3 tbsp. Teriyaki Sauce

3 tbsp. Honey

½ tbsp. Lime Juice

½ tbsp. Ginger Powder

½ tbsp. Garlic (Minced)

1 tbsp. Green onion (Finely Chopped)

1 tbsp. Light Brown Sugar (optional)

1 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

½ – 1 tbsp. of Crushed red pepper flakes or 1 Jalapeño (diced or sliced) (Seeded for Mild…not for HOT!)

1 Dash of Salt & Pepper

Place dove and marinade into Ziploc bag and place into refrigerator for several hours (10 hours or more is recommended) TIP: Stir well to incorporate honey and sugar (10 seconds in Microwave may be helpful) _____________________________________________________________________________________ Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400°. Open package of bacon and slice pieces in half. Drain marinade in colander. It is recommended to pick jalapeño seeds off of each breast before wrapping it with the half piece of bacon. Feel free to stuff a piece(s) of jalapeño into each wrap. Once wrapped, thread a toothpick through the top of the bacon so that it goes down to the breast and then bring it back up through the top of the bacon to secure it around each piece. Place “poppers” on a cooking rack (so that drippings fall away from bacon and onto cookie sheet). Place toothpick side down.

Cooking:

Place in oven for 12-15 minutes checking often for crispness of bacon, additional minutes may be necessary (a few minutes on broil may speed up process). Once bacon is at desired crispness on top, pull the rack out of the oven. *Place oven on Broil (if not already). Flip the poppers over so that the toothpick side is now up. Align all poppers in a straight line, so that they are touching one another. Sprinkle brown sugar over the top of the poppers. Use as little or as much as you would like (“a pinch a popper” is recommended). Place the cooking rack back into oven until brown sugar is melted thoroughly and bacon is crisp. Pull the poppers out of the oven and place them on a serving tray. Allow a minute or two to cool down (if you can wait that long!). Remove toothpick and enjoy!! Remember to share… *This step should be watched carefully, as each oven may broil differently and chance of burning the poppers is high. It is recommended to crack open the oven door when broiling.

John is a mastermind when it comes to re-creating and elevating the traditional recipes. Give this recipe a try and let him know what you think of it.

Next we talked about Quail and Justin brought us an amazing Recipe that’s not only simple but absolutely delicious.

Quail: Justin Townsted

Harvesting Nature

Roasted Quail with Sage and Squash Cornbread Dressing

To celebrate the opening of quail, dove, and other game bird hunting seasons, I wanted to share a delicious recipe that can be prepared with any upland game bird. For this recipe, you can also substitute store bought quail, Cornish hens, pheasant, etc. Dove and Quail seasons are usually pretty popular amongst hunters for three reasons. One, dove season is the first hunting season to open of the year so many are itching to get back into the field. Two, birds are in greater numbers in comparison to larger game. There is a definite adrenaline rush when you are out hunting and there are birds flying all around.

Personally, I love the flavor of dove and quail. They have similarities in taste but are slightly different depending on the area they reside and the food they eat. Usually they have a mild earthy flavor with hints of a butter and nuts. Pheasant, to me, tastes like a higher quality chicken that has lived a wilder life. Upland game birds are pretty popular to eat for many because they lack the heavy “gaminess” that many people fear.

This recipe require an additional step prior to cooking which is to semi-debone the bird. This can be a little difficult as the birds get larger but it is totally worth it once you sink your teeth into the finished product. Basically, to semi-debone the bird you will use some scissors to cut on either side of the backbone. This will leave you with a now “U shaped” bird. You will then remove the wishbone and use your fingers to separate the meat from the rib cage. You will then snap the thigh bone at the joint. After this, feel all around the mead to make sure you don’t have any little shards hanging around. If you are completely unsure of this process then you can search the internet for many resources and video on how to semi-debone quail.

Ingredients:

6 semi-deboned quail, dove, chukar, or pheasant

Cornbread from 1 box of jiffy corn muffin mix (prepared following ingredients and instruction)

½ white onion, minced

1 cup diced celery

1 cup diced squash or zucchini

2 cups of chicken or turkey stock

3 tbsp butter

2 tbsp minced fresh sage

1 tsp ground white pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

Preparation:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
2. Preheat a large cast iron pan on medium high heat
3. Melt the 1 tbsp butter in the pan
4. Add the onion, celery, squash
5. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently
6. Remove the pan from the heat and add the vegetables to a large mixing bowl
7. Crumble up the cornbread in the bowl
8. Add the stock, sage, and half of the seasonings
9. Stir until thoroughly mixed
10. Use the remaining seasoning to coat the outside of the quail pieces
11. Use the remaining 2 tbsp of butter to coat the inside of the pan, if not too hot
12. Add the mixture the pan, top with the quail pieces, and bake for 20-30 minute or until the quail and the bread are a nice golden brown color.

(For larger birds, cook to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. This may require partially cooking the larger bird first then adding the dressing)

I love Justin’s classic and rustic take of his meals. Simply amazing.

Next let’s change gears and talk about Rabbit with our very own Chef Randy King

Chef In The Wild

Rabbit:

Canned Rabbit Meat

Confession Time – I shot three jackrabbits on a Sunday, forgot about them in the fridge and got on a plane to Denver. This resulted in a problem. Bless my wife but she sure as heck is not going to gut and skin a rabbit. Nor are my boys, yet. But they could freeze them. As instructed my oldest son grabbed the bag the rabbits were in, and set them in my chest freezer.

And there they stayed for six months. I know, terrible. But the skin actually acted as a protective barrier and kept the meat quite nice. When I did get around to clearing out that part of the freezer I thawed the rabbits for a few days; they were perfect.  I was thrilled to get the sizable amount of space the rabbits took up back.

In order to get my freezer “fall ready” I make it a goal to utilize all my scrap from the previous season. I’ll make sausage or jerky or even confit stuff. But this time my goal was to get “camp meat” for the fall. I wanted a “no refrigeration needed” meat that I could haul into the backcountry with me. Something other than jerky. I knew about canning meat, or jarring meat to be more specific, but I had never done it. It requires a pressure canner – something I did not own.

Luckily for me a quick look on craigslist and I came up with an inexpensive pressure canner. The variety I ended up with is a “Victory Model” from World War 2. It is simply amazing. Sure, a new canner would be cool but this old school model was all a guy needs.

With thawed rabbits and a new to me pressure cooker I set out to make meat. First I deboned the rabbits, then I cubed them, then I browned them in hot oil, then I tossed them in “taco” seasoning. Next I added them to jars with a little stock and canned them. It was super easy, I was pleasantly surprised.

As with all preserving – keeping sanitary is a must. Clean hands, clean jars, clean lids – clean everything. With canning, and all preservation really, you are trying to defeat the forces of nature that rot food. A hard project and one that if not done right is downright dangerous.

When I was don canning the meat I could not wait to try it out. The next afternoon I opened a jar and made myself a quick quesadilla out of the meat. Unreal, I basically had shredded rabbit meat in a jar ready to eat whenever I am hungry. I am going to be canning meat a lot more in the future.

Canned Rabbit

2# cleaned rabbit meat, diced

¼ cup canola oil

1 packet “taco seasoning”

2 cloves garlic, crushed

½ onion diced

1 cup chicken stock or water

Place a 12 inch heavy bottomed pan on medium heat for 5 minutes. Add half the canola and carefully add the rabbit meat a little at a time. Do not overcrowd the pan, the meat will not brown properly. Add more oil as needed to keep the pan from being dry bottomed. When all the meat is brown add it all back to the pan and toss with taco seasoning. Remove meat from pan to a plate. Add garlic, onion and chicken stock to the pan.

Bring the pan to a boil, scrape the bottom for all the good chunks of brown. This is called “fond” by the way. Remove pan from heat.

Next pack the meat to clean wide mouthed jars. Then add the pan drippings to each jar, distributing them evenly. But make sure to leave at least a ½ inch of head room on the jar. Top each jar with a clean lid and clean ring. Place into pressure canner and process according to manufacturer’s instructions. Be sure to follow all instructions for canning very carefully.

Who else thinks randy knocked it out of the park with this dish?

Stay tuned for part two of upping your Upland game where we will hit ya with more recipes, tips, tricks and of course all the knowledge we have.

In the meantime remember to get outdoors and start Tasting Wild for yourself.

Jeremiah Doughty

From Field To Plate

Many people don’t think about plucking doves because they are so small and the only real meat is on the breast. Plucking dove only takes about 30 seconds more than breasting so give it a try. If you have kids they have a lot more fun plucking then breasting anyway so let them do it.

Lets get into this easy and delicious baked dove recipe.
  
Blood Orange & Herb Stuffed Dove

From Field To Plate

Ingredients:

10-15 Dove, Plucked skin on

10-15 sprigs rosemary

1 Blood orange, halved and juiced (save halves)

10-15 cloves of garlic

10-15 sprigs of thyme *Citrus or Regular

2 tablespoons butter melted

1 tablespoon cracked pepper

1 tablespoon oregano minced

1 tablespoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon sea salt

  
Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Rinse dove and pat dry
3. Juice blood orange then take orange halves and cut into 10-15 slices
4. Stuff each dove with 1 of each, garlic clove, rosemary, thyme and blood orange slice
5. Combine Blood orange juice, garlic powder, oregano, butter, salt and pepper
6. Brush each bird with blood orange mixture
7. Place in Dutch oven or cast iron skillet  
8. Bake for 10 minutes
9. Remove dove from oven and brush each bird with blood orange mixture again and return and bake another 10 minutes
10. Remove from heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving with your favorite side dish