Breasting a pigeon

[WildGuideMark]

Thought I'd post up a quick and simple guide to getting the meat of a pigeon. You can do this to bigger birds but you need more oomph.

Pigeon is a hugely underrated wild meat. Images of lice infested, one legged, scrawny scavengers that swarm around Trafalgar Square spring immediately to mind. However few wild meats are finer than its country cousin, the wood pigeon (Columba Palambus). A superfast, super alert bird that feeds on grains, lives a wholesome life jetting across the woodland canopy or being the bane of the farmer and his crop. They have been classed as ‘vermin’ – a pest that has an open hunting season all year round.

With its super-alertness and dark, lean, tasty meat it is no wonder that other nations, like the Italians (having virtually cleared the skies of the pigeon with their hunting of the bird) pay huge sums to come to Britain to hunt it here. They know something that obviously the average Brit does not. Far from condoning the eradication of this fine bird, it is however very numerous and there are over 20million of them in the UK. Its a wild, free and fantastic source of meat – finer than pheasant in my opinion.

Having obtained your quarry here is a simple, no tools, method of getting the meat off the bird and ready for your campfire cookpot. A simple step-by-step guide for breasting a pigeon without anything but your hands. Can be done in 10 seconds.

1. dead pigeon

2 & 3. grip wings and twist off

4. grip neck and twist off

5. clear crop (neck)

6. stick thumbs in under breast bone and back bone (front/back)

7. turn inside out

8. peel breasts away from carcass

9. clean up breast.

 

[Elen Sentier]

Thanks, useful. Seen it done similarly with a pheasant. How much strength do you need for the thunmbs? Mine are crap with arthritis ... Can I make the initial hole with a knife without wrecking the bird?

 

[Elines]

Thanks, useful. .................How much strength do you need for the thunmbs? Mine are crap with arthritis ... Can I make the initial hole with a knife without wrecking the bird?

I'd be very interested in this too

 

[Camel]

Thanks, useful. Seen it done similarly with a pheasant. How much strength do you need for the thunmbs? Mine are crap with arthritis ... Can I make the initial hole with a knife without wrecking the bird?

If you have a knife just pluck the centre of the breast, make a cut as close as possible on either side of the breast bone all the way down and peel the breasts off from the middle and top toward the bottom where they thin out near the abdomen.

There is very little meat on the rest of a pigeon anyway, but I tend to do the whole thing as:

a) I have access to a dry plucker ( Qiuet at the back! )

and

b) Pigeon bones and legs make the basis of the of a very fine game soup, a superlative game soup if you arrange for equal quantities of grouse and pigeon carcasses for the stock.

 

[Camel]

Here's a video from a good friend and shooting buddy, Mark Gilchrist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6XsH1fHkMU

Watch from 1.50 onwards. Obviously you don't need to pluck the whole bird to get the thighs and breasts off.

 

[johnnytheboy]

I do the same way, but i dont twist off the head or clean the crop, just push my finger down inside the back of the breast bone and pull the breast bone with the breast meat right off!

 

[Elen Sentier]

Yummmm !! That's helpful, and yes I have a good knife so will do it that way. Looking fwd to doing that game pie

 

[shovel reccy]

nice one i was shown this way many years ago quick simple . ummm pidgeon pie yummy.

 

[Niels]

I always stand on the wings and pull on the legs, like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpMvZ2IP__c&feature=plcp
can be done with things as big as pheasants, although I tend to only use it for pigeons because on larger birds I think the wings and legs are worth getting too.

I never tried your way, will now have a go too though.

 

[FGYT]

Here it is in Video

[video=youtube;N3qXvpVCETg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded& v=N3qXvpVCETg[/video]

it is very easy

only point ive found a problem is you need to grip and twist he wing so it comes out at the shoulder if your not careful it comes off at the Elbow

My freezer is stacking up nicely with Pigeon Crowns out of out Crab apple trees

 

[Native Nathan]

Thanks for this useful Tutorial mate

 

[Dougster]

I shot one in the garden and 20 minutes later it was pan fired in butter and garlic, finley sliced and on a salad.

Great meat that we should eat more of, and I agree, way better than pheasant (which I also like).

 

[Thenihilist]

I was walking through a city street a few weeks back( not used to cities) I was walking under a bridge and there was no one about and pigeons were pretty much walking about at my feet naturally I picked 2 of em up, wrung there knecks and put them in my satchel.

I now head to the city every now and then for a spot of hunting lol.

 

[gsfgaz]

never tasted a pigeon , are they nice to eat ...

 

[treebloke]

never tasted a pigeon , are they nice to eat ...

They say it tastes a bit like liver and I agree.

 

[spandit]

They say it tastes a bit like liver and I agree.

Not as strong as liver but I second the resemblance

 

[TallMikeM]

excellent tutorials all. We don't have rep points any more, so have some imaginary ones instead.

 

[Bluebs4]

I was walking through a city street a few weeks back( not used to cities) I was walking under a bridge and there was no one about and pigeons were pretty much walking about at my feet naturally I picked 2 of em up, wrung there knecks and put them in my satchel.

I now head to the city every now and then for a spot of hunting lol.

LOL ,them city pigeons are known as Mc pigeons

 

[dp0001]

Very interesting thanks. May I ask, if you caught one in the woods (or equally if someone brought raw meet into some woods to cook on an open fire), what would be the technique and proceedure for keeping hands clean after handling raw meat.

I cooked up some chicken thighs in silver foil in the back garden over an open fire and realised with all the seasoning and general faffling I cleaned my hands 3 times - something that would be awkward if a sink wasn't handy. Is it as simple as some alcohol gel?

Thanks