Home Forums Birds & Dogs Upland Game eating pigeon

Does anyone eat pigeon?? I have a son in law , born in Lebanon , and loves pigeon . I hear it's really good.

I have gone out in the hills and stopped at all the creek bridges and knocked the squabs out of the nests with a cane pole. They are good. I have heard the adult pigeons are a little tough.

Pigeons and doves are closely related and I don't see any difference between them other than size. I've eaten pigeons many times in the past and still do when one crosses my path when I have a gun in hand. I fix them as I would doves, teal, woodcock, or any other smallish bird.

Who has eaten Groundhogs? Wasn't all that rare at my Grandparents to have roasted Groundhog with gravy, potatoes and carrots. I think it would beat Pigeon easily.

pigeons are great... just like doves.

👍🏻👍🏻

I've eaten pigeons. They taste just like doves to me.

I've eaten many woodchucks. The young of the year are pretty good. Do you still have many woodchucks in your area ?

I've eaten woodchucks, they are similar to jackrabbits in that the younger ones are more palatable than the older ones. Get them out of a primarily clover/alfalfa/Timothy field they can be very tasty. I've eaten possum, raccoon, porcupine, and a few other "delicacies too.

Grinners are good but they are so ugly I don't like dealing with them. I used them for stews. Raccoon needs to be done on a rack with a good grease trap to catch the fat. They aren't the best to toss on a grill. Parboil until the meat pulls from the bone then use as stew meat is my preferred usage. If one likes quinine flavored chewing gum then they will probably like quill pigs. Beaver tail is like eating fatty bacon. Cook on a grill then cut and peel the one side off. The meat isn't bad either though, once again, younger animals tend to be more tender than older. Careful removing the castor glands, they will ruin the meat if spilled on the carcass plus they are worth a fair bit of money. The glands can be worth more than the pelt.

As for the original subject - if one likes doves they will like pigeons; the only difference is size.

To clarify, by pigeon I am referring to a bird old enough to fly. Squab is a young pigeon about a month old. They are good too but I have only had it in restaurants as an appetizer.

I am definitely not talking of balut!

Eeesh. I prefer mourning and whitewing doves.

Rock pigeons and Eurasians don’t do it for me. I usually let them fly, although the latter sometimes fall when somebody I am with wants them.

Bandtails are no good either to my palate. Haven’t hunted them in years for that reason.

Some of you guys have the palate of a troglodyte.

Some say the same regarding waterfowl, venison, bear, pronghorn, and a host of other wild game including coots. It really boils down to preparation in the field and in the kitchen. Especially the latter as some game has a much narrower usage than others. Probably why so much of the odd meats are used in stews as the meat is mostly a filler rather than center piece. The slow cooking and gravy is a great help breaking down toughness and releasing flavor.

I have realized this for years, I thank Eilene Clarke for explaining why in her cookbooks. They have also given me more options than stews. I heartily recommend them.

Nothing left but some feathers after a 20gr v-max hits them at Mach 4.

It’s been many years, but the only pigeon I’ve eaten was as a kid I would rob the squabs out of the nest right before they could fly. Grandma would prepare them as creamed over biscuits. Very good as I remember.

Eurasians, mourning doves, and band-tailed pigeons taste similar to me. I've never eaten a rock dove