September 1st marked the beginning of Dove season. We invited a few
friends over for a barbeque and decided to get creative with how we
prepared the dove. This small game is unique in the fact that it cannot
(to my knowledge) be purchased in a store and is therefore only
available to those who are successful in their hunt (and let me tell
you, they are fast!).
Two of the recipes we chose turned out incredible- Dove Lettuce Wraps and Portuguese-Style Grilled Dove. I would 100% recommend these recipes.
Two of the recipes we chose turned out incredible- Dove Lettuce Wraps and Portuguese-Style Grilled Dove. I would 100% recommend these recipes.
Dove Lettuce Wraps
This dish was so quick to prepare and a crowd-pleaser!
We doubled the recipe, except for the rice!
Ingredients:
2-3 heads iceberg lettuce
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 tsp sesame oil
6 green onions, minced
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs ginger root, peeled and minced
1 1/2 cups skinless dove breast fillets, chopped
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs rice vinegar
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
1 (8 oz) can water chestnuts, chopped
1 jar hoisin sauce
Sriracha Sauce
Instructions:
1. Do all of your chopping, etc. ahead of time for all of the ingredients and set aside
(including cooking the rice!)- it doesn't take long to cook so you want to be ready!
2. Prepare the lettuce cups: carefully peel the individual lettuce leaves away from each other, starting at the stem end.
This takes patience! You can trim the edges if desired.
3. Heat vegetable and sesame oils in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.
Add onions, bell pepper, garlic and ginger root.
Stir-fry 2 minutes.
4. Add dove meat and stir-fry another 2 minutes more.
5. Add soy sauce, rice vinegar, cooked rice and water chestnuts.
Stir-fry until mixture is warmed throughout.
6. Transfer to your serving bowl.
Guests can make their own lettuce wraps by scooping the dove mixture into the lettuce cup
and adding hoisin sauce and the Sriracha to taste-
and if you are me, the spicier the better!
The combination of spices in this recipe balanced the sweet-to-spicy ratio perfectly!
We left the dove whole for this recipe and make sure to marinate overnight!
Ingredients:
5 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
5 bay leaves, crumbled fine
4 to 5 small hot chile peppers
1 Tbs sweet paprika
1 Tbs minced fresh rosemary
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup Madeira
1/2 cup olive oil
1 Tbs honey
12 to 16 whole doves
Freshly ground black pepper for serving
Instructions:
1. Place all of the ingredients except the
honey, doves, and black pepper in a food processor
or blender and buzz
until smooth, about 1 minute.
2. Pour the marinade into 1 or 2 large
resealable freezer bags and add the doves.
Seal and mix the marinade
around the doves so they’re well coated.
Refrigerate overnight.
3. The next day, after transfering the doves to a plate,
pour the marinade into a small pot.
Bring the marinade to a boil,
stirring often.
Add the honey until the optimal sweet-hot ratio is achieved!
4. Place the doves on the grill, breast side up.
Cover the grill and cook the doves, undisturbed, for 4 to 6 minutes,
depending on how done you like them.
Around 4 minutes will result in
medium-rare doves.
5. Remove the birds from the grill and let them
rest for at least a few minutes.
Pour the warm sauce over the birds and
grind some black pepper on top.
