Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation Does anyone eat pigeons?

Just wondering if anyone does, how do you cook them?
Tks,
John

My great grandparents raised pigeons.


We are thinking about that too.


Have never cooked one though.

We shot dozens while dove hunting around local farms, we cleaned and cooked them just like doves, they were bigger but not much different to eat.

Have caught, shot, and eaten lots of pigeons. Used a ton for dog training and after killing them they were breasted and eaten. They are very good.

People eat bear, I’m sure they eat pigeons... 🤣

Look into european recipes. They eat a lot of pigeons.

Personally, I have eaten a lot of them but never any of the big city birds (eat trash and such). They always tasted great.

Youtube Gordon Ramsay and pigeon, he should have some good preparations.

Delicious.

We always try to kill enough to make a meal when bird hunting near grain silos.

Look up recipes for "squab." That's what they call it in the big cities so their customers don't have to know they are eating pigeons.

Did when I was young many, many years ago. Like most things except deer it went into the spaghetti sauce cause store meat cost too much.

Pull the breast out. Flour, salt, and pepper then into a hot skillet until they’re brown and done. Exactly like a dove just %50 larger.

I shot a plump farm pigeon at a dove shoot one day & decided to cook the breast.

I do a meal every year for the gang that involves sauteing sliced mushrooms, onions, garlic, butter & filleted dove breast nuggets in an 18" cast iron skillet. I've done this many times & it works out well.
The pigeon seemed to need something different, longer cooking time at a lower heat maybe, but it was pretty tough. Maybe it was an old buck or something. Good flavor though.

You either have monster doves or dinky pigeons!

I need to go catch a dozen or so to work my shorthair pup on. I’ve never ate them in the past. Not opposed to it.

Have shot some and cook them just like doves only I slice the breast halves to they aren't so thick.

Too thick and you have to cook them too long and then they are tough like any other meat that is overcooked.

Used to go to my uncle's farm as a kid, and shoot them with fluted / blunt tipped arrows with our recurves when they roosted in his barn at night. Breasted them and cooked same as doves. Very tasty as I recall!

Squab, yes.

Might try one of these . . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq0xQQ5oUpw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BW_lnNn__M

Wonder if farm pigeons have some issues due to eating treated seed grains.

Tastes just like spotted owl....

Flying rats.......

Thanks for all the replies. I may have to try some.
John