Pigeon Squab in Mango Sauce (served with Watercress Salad)
Check the laws in your locality allow you to butcher young pigeons or squabs. Some states would penalize anyone who would harm helpless pigeons so you better validate if you are not restricted to do so in order to avoid getting into trouble. This particular recipe needs the following ingredients:
4 pigeon squabs (cleaned and roasted)
1 cup red wine
1/2 tbsp. minced ginger
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1/2 tbsp. mustard (dry)
1/2 tbsp. juniper Berries
2 medium-sized limes (juice only)
2 tbsp. canola oil
1 tbsp. sugar
1 stalk celery
1 whole onion chopped
1 medium-sized carrot (chopped)
1/2 tbsps. black peppercorns
1 cup mango puree
1 tbsp. soy sauce
3 tbsp. butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Cooking Directions
1. Chop the pigeon squabs and use the breast and leg portions only. Mix ginger, garlic, wine, juniper berries and oil in a bowl to make the marinade. Soak the meat in the marinade for 4 hours.
2. Brush butter in a skillet pan and fast fry the marinated meat for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Pigeon squab meat is better tasting when eaten rare.
3. To prepare the watercress salads simply mix the lime juice, sugar and oil in a bowl. Toss in all the nuts and the vegetables left and season to taste.
4. To complete the recipe, serve with mango sauce. To make the sauce, just mix thyme, ginger, soy sauce, and pepper in a bowl. Add the mango puree and continue mixing until the mixture will have a uniform consistency; this sauce should be kept warm to complement the squab meat.
5. This recipe is best served when properly presented. It will look very appetizing when it is served in a white plate. Crossed squab legs would appear really fancy when garnished with nuts with the salad on the side.
Pigeon Pie
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4 pigeon squabs (peeled)
2 large eggs (hard-boiled and chopped)
1 cup fresh milk
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
12 mushrooms (do not use canned mushrooms if possible)
1/4 tbsp. paprika
1/2 tbsp. celery salt
3/4 tbsp. pepper
1/2 tbsp. salt
Cooking Directions
1. Remove the giblets from the squabs before peeling off the skin. Combine the chopped squabs with paprika and celery salt. Add water into the mix and simmer for an hour or until the meat becomes tender. The giblets should be added back into the pan and cook for another 20 minutes
2. Separate the meat and the giblets from the broth. Set aside at least 2 cups of the broth. Remove the bones from the meat and chop the meat finely. Place the chopped pigeon meat into a 2-quart casserole (do not forget to grease the casserole before doing so). Add the giblets on top of the meat followed by a layer of mushrooms and then the eggs. Season the pie with pepper before setting aside.
3. Now combine milk and flour in a small bowl. Stir the mixture until it becomes smooth. Add the broth that you have set aside and continue stirring until the mixture becomes thick and bubbly. Add salt and pepper to taste and then pour this mixture into the casserole.
4. To prepare the pastry, all that you need to do is to roll out your dough to a thickness of about 1 inch. Make sure that about half an inch of the dough exceeds the size of the casserole's mouth. Press the edges into the side of the casserole to seal the pie.
5. Finally, bake the pie into an oven for 25 minutes. The over should be pre-heated to 400 degrees Celsius. As a general guide, the pie is cooked if the pastry turns brown.
Additional Information
If it is illegal to kill little pigeons in your state, you may use adult pigeon meat; the two meats basically differ in tenderness but they task almost the same. Just remember that when you are using adult pigeons, you have to keep watch of the various diseases that infect adult birds. Look for a trusted pigeon meat dealer to be sure that you are getting good quality meat. If you hunt pigeons on your own, take the time to examine the birds before dressing them. Look at the eyes of the pigeons as well as its feathers. Sick pigeons would have loose feathers and swollen eyes. If you are not confident, solicit for advises from friends. But if you do not want to go through all these hassles, you can simply go to a good restaurant and order a serving of one of their popular pigeon recipes. That would be way better than preparing the meat and cooking the entire meal.
Moreover, you have to be extra careful with the kind of pigeon that you cook or eat. Some hunters do have been reported to shoot pigeons which are not considered as pests in the city. You have to realize that most states allowed pigeon hunting simply because it is one of the surest ways to reduce the population of the pigeons in their respective areas of jurisdiction. This means that it does not cover harming birds whose population do not need to be controlled. Before hunting pigeons, familiarize yourself with pigeon species which you are allowed to kill in order to avoid any complications.
