Cooking Your Quarry: Wood Pigeon Pasties

[eat4peace 21]

I have hunted and trapped most of life and always made the most of the game I have shot. Not because I feel morally obliged to, but just because I feel that otherwise, it's a pointless waste of delicious, free meat!
Rabbit, squirrel, pigeon, dove and even the occasional hare are all beautiful when cooked correctly (I usually make pies or stews) so I would encourage you if you don't already, to start cooking what you shoot. Buy a couple of cookbooks, or find recipes online , as I've found they will generally taste a lot better than anything invented yourself.

 

But for now, Here's a simple recipe I have used for years to make delicious wood pigeon pasties, for anyone who's interested.

 

1. Shoot some Wood Pigeons. (Collared Doves can also be used)
I got these three nice plump woodies from an hour or so sat in a small copse of woodland with my Daystate MK3 .177

 

 

 

2. Breast the Pigeons
Unless I'm roasting or stewing them whole, I don't bother with the legs.
For this recipe I intentionally keep the skin on the breasts as it adds flavor to the meat.

 

3. Flash fry in a hot pan with butter (and an optional scoop of red current jelly) for no more than 30 seconds on each side.
Do not overdo it at this stage, they should not be cooked through, just crisped on the outside.

Once all the meat is done, place in a bowl and pour the juice from the pan over them and set them aside.

 

4. Peel and roughly dice up the vegetables of your choice.
I only used onion, potato and carrot for mine, but you can really use anything you want.

 

 

5. Put the vegetables in a pan and cover with beef stock. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until they're soft.

At this stage I added a few cloves of garlic, a bit of thyme and some salt and pepper, but you can always season at the end if you prefer.

 

 

6. As the vegetables simmer, dice the meat into cubes before adding them to the pan with the vegetables.
Be sure to poor all the juice from the meat bowl into the pan to add to the flavor.

 

 

7. Simmer the mixture for a good hour, reducing it down until it is thick in consistency and has very little free liquid.
it is important that the mixture is not liquid or your pasties will not work.
Once complete, set aside and allow to cool.

 

 

8. Finally, make and roll out some short-crust pastry and cut into large circles.
Spoon in some pasty mix, coat the edges of the pastry with beaten egg, fold over the edges and seal it down.
The difficulty here is trying not to put too much or too little mix in the pastry. This usually takes some trial and error.

Once complete, pop your pasties on a baking tray (with a little butter to stop them sticking) and bake until golden-brown.

They should come out looking something like this...

 

 

I made 4 big pasties which were promptly devoured by my family and myself, so there were only 2 were left by the time I took a picture
Hope you've enjoyed reading,
Ed

[smoothfinish 26]

Hi Eat4Peace.

Great little recipe you have there il have a go at making some of them on sunday they look and sound delicious.

I always enjoy wood pigeon fryed in butter i like them in battered bread crumbs

Do you have any good ideas for rabbit i know the stew in the most common but always looking for stuff to try thanks for the post il let you know what i think of them sunday all the best oliver

[Matt Cottrell 23]

Looks tasty mate

[Mawders 595]

Now that looks scrumptious! I can't wait to try it!

[mark williams 7,550]

thanks mate - i will try this i`ve got 6 breasts in the freezer.

 

atb

[terryd 8,385]

Great little recipe thanks for taking the time to do it will definitely give that a go

[Skot Ruthless Teale 1,701]

looks great might have a go myself when i can get a few woodies.

 

any ideas for rabbit ? stew gets boring LOL

 

and mallard duck? (i know there not in season yet)

 

Thanks SKoT

[porkycrook 466]

Made my mouth water.

[PaulEamonn 37]

Just another recipe I'm going to have to try!

 

Here's a link to a rabbit recipe I'm trying this afternoon and here is a link to

I found on Youtube. It's a bit fiddly but, if you go to the effort, it's well worth it. Personally, I don't slice up the joint. I just roast it in one lump for about an hour to an hour and a half.....num nums! Also, I just use streaky bacon instead of the pancetta. It's cheaper and, I reckon, it's tastier. Edited April 21, 2013 by PaulEamonn

[Skot Ruthless Teale 1,701]

ive always made rabbit stew, and 1 curry. time to broaden my horizons and let my inner chef loose hahaha

 

il have a look at these later just off out for a bit with the 97k . hope i get a woody, il have to go buy some pastry mix and some veg

[eat4peace 21]

Thanks lads, for rabbit I usually use this recipe: http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/8945/rabbit--bacon-and-thyme-pie.aspx simple and tastes like a beautiful chicken pie.
(I use far less bacon as it makes it too salty)
Remember to soak your freshly shot bunnies in brine overnight to get rid of the bitterness and to tenderise the meat, but other wise rabbit is very very versatile. It works with almost any chicken recipe and can be made delicious simply by frying in a pan with some oil.

 

Here's what I do for a quick 10 minute meal with a rabbit.
You'll need 1 rabbit and the rabbits liver.

1. Remove the saddle and good meat off the back legs (No bones in this bit, too fiddly to be bothered with and I make the carcasses into stock or food for the dogs)
2. cut the meat into large chunks and pan fry with butter, a little oil and plenty of salt and pepper.
3. remove the meat then put chopped onion and the liver into the pan. 9The liver will be done in a couple of minutes so remove it before the onions are done)
4. Finally, mix all the meat, onion and liver together, dollop into some bread and enjoy
(I also put this on bread with a fried egg for breakfast.

 

Anything more complicated than simple frying, I normally use a recipe.
The internet has it all, so no excuses!

[eat4peace 21]

looks great might have a go myself when i can get a few woodies.

 

any ideas for rabbit ? stew gets boring LOL

 

and mallard duck? (i know there not in season yet)

 

Thanks SKoT

Duck, partridge and other rich game birds I do by skinning and gutting them whole, before roasting with veg and seasoning.

Look online for some roast duck recipes mate, I'm sure you'll find something simple and delicious.

[eat4peace 21]

Just another recipe I'm going to have to try!

 

Here's a link to a rabbit recipe I'm trying this afternoon and here is a link to

I found on Youtube. It's a bit fiddly but, if you go to the effort, it's well worth it. Personally, I don't slice up the joint. I just roast it in one lump for about an hour to an hour and a half.....num nums! Also, I just use streaky bacon instead of the pancetta. It's cheaper and, I reckon, it's tastier.

That stuffed rabbit looks amazing -though don't know if I could de-bone the carcass like he does.

But good god, those black pudding and bunny pies look to die for. Will deffo give them a go, thanks mate.

[PaulEamonn 37]

Here's the

to the same bloke showing how to debone the rabbit. I've got to say that mine usually comes out looking more like an old dish rag than a rabbit. But, once you've wrapped it in the bacon, it all starts to come together.