Simple, Quick, Tasty Woodpigeon Dishes

Pigeons are not everyman’s dish. To some people they are delightful, while others have a distinct aversion to them. Generally the most popular way of serving pigeons is in the traditional English pie. But this needs a considerable addition of beef steak and hard boiled eggs to give it bulk, while strong stock is necessary to give body and ‘set’ if the pie is to be consumed cold. Below is a list of quick and simple recipes for pigeons. In this fast food culture here are a few ways to get a hot and tasty dish, with minimal effort.

Quick Cook 1:

Casserole of pigeons’ breasts. Do not utilize the whole bird. Cut off the breasts, neglecting the back and legs. With the addition of lightly fried carrots, onions, and half a dozen stoned olives, such a casserole is a very good dish. The whole should be served with peas, and other vegetables to choice.

Quick Cook 2:

Stuffed pigeon. Pluck and draw the bird. Wash it inside and clean well. Mince the heart with an equal quantity mushrooms and bind the stuffing with the yolk of an egg. Add pepper and salt. Sew up the bird to secure the stuffing and then cover the breast of the bird with a rasher of fat bacon. Roast in a very hot oven.

Quick Cook 3:

Italian pigeons. This is a very attractive Continental way of cooking the birds by the ‘sweet-sour’ method. Pluck, draw, and joint the bird then cook it very slowly (say two hours) in a cupful of wine vinegar to which has been added two chopped onions, three tablespoons of tomato juice, a little chopped celery. Add a few stoned olives and a little salt. Sugar should be added to taste, and, need one add, a little garlic to complete the dish.

Quick Cook 4:

Casserole pigeon. Skin or pluck the birds and clean them, washing them out with salty water. Place the birds in casserole to which has been added half an onion, a little mace, salt and pepper. Cover with water. Place in a slow oven (the best method is to allow overnight cooking on the lowest control) and the birds, no matter what their age, will be found to be tender. Serve with chipped or roast potatoes and green peas. This is a very simple, popular method of cooking.

Quick Cook 5:

Roast Pigeons. Pluck, draw, and clean. Stuff the birds with forcemeat, to which ‘panade’ has been added. This is simply the white crust of bread which has been thoroughly soaked in milk and put into a saucepan with a little butter. This is then strained and amalgamated over low heat until smooth. Mixed with the forcemeat it makes it very much lighter. Place the birds in a roasting tin with a little bacon over the breast and allow 20 – 30 minutes for cooking time.

Quick Cook 6:

Fried Pigeons. Quarter the birds. Wash the quarters in salt water and add a little pepper. Fry them in hot fat until dark golden brown on both sides and serve hot on toast or with chipped potatoes. Alternatively, dip the quarters in batter and fry as cutlets.

Quick Cook 7:

Pigeon Pate. Quarter the birds. Bone the legs. Lightly fry the quarters and then bed them in a pie dish lined with bacon. Interlay the birds with pork forcemeat. Moisten well with a good stock adding herbs or seasoning to taste. Cover with a paste crust and then cook in the usual way. If desired chestnuts or button mushrooms, or eggs (hard boiled), may be added to this delightful pie.

Quick Cook 8:

OK, so this may not be that quick, but once you have tasted it we are sure you'll agree that it is worth the effort!

Braised pigeon with olives. Pluck and draw the pigeons (two for four people) and remove the legs and breasts in sides of one piece. Then make a stock from the remainder of the carcass and giblets (but not the livers). To make this stock, place the carcasses and giblets in about half a pint of water, add one or two carrots and half an onion. Allow two hours for cooking in an ordinary pan, though a pressure cooker would reduce this time to half an hour. Other ingredients required are: 2 oz. Of fat, 4 rashers of bacon, 2 dessert spoons of flour, a dozen stoned olives, half teaspoonful mixed herbs, a large onion, half lb. of carrots.

Melt the fat into a casserole and fry up the bacon, which should have been chopped into small pieces. Add chopped up onion and carrots and fry until brown, and then add the herbs and slowly stir in the flour. Gradually work in the half-pint of stock and stir it well. Finally add the olives and pieces of pigeon and cook them in a low oven for at least two hours. To serve- fry some rounds of thick bread (or make a similar quantity of toast) lay a pigeon leg and breast on each, arrange the olives and pour the hot sauce over the lot.