When I was a kid, the men would pick the feathers off of the dove and gut them. We didn't go for just breasting, either. We cleaned the whole bird. I didn't realize there was any other way.
The women would roll them in flour and deep fry them. As I recall, that was some pretty good eats. That's the only way I've ever had them.
Jerry
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
Depending on what the military leave policy looks like when I get back, waterfowl, upland birds, bull elk, pronghorn doe and whitetail are all on the docket. Might be some hogs in the mix if I can get out of the local area beyond the current restriction radius.
Accuracy: because white space between bullet holes drives me insane.
I drew a muzzleloader hunt for desert muledeer. It was my 3rd choice in the draw and not really what I wanted, but it's better than nothing.
@JerryBobCo, I'm the exact opposite when it comes to cleaning dove. I was taught as a kid how to stick my thumb under the breast and tear it out, tossing the rest of the bird. When I first saw people plucking and gutting dove, I was a little confused.. I now use shears to cut the wings off at the side of the body, then pull the breast out and remove the skin with most of the feathers. Then wash with water and pack in bags with a little salt and water for storage.
My go to method for cooking dove now is to start with a salt and sugar brine. I believe this helps draw the blood out, which tends to increase the livery flavor, and it keeps the meat moist during cooking. I've also tried soaking in buttermilk, but I like the brine better. Then it's bacon and jalapeno wrap and on the grill or, since I live in the "green chile capital of the world," I'll sometimes wrap them with strips of green chile and bacon.
On the same note, I was always taught that breasting out quail was like breaking the 11th commandment... But I'll tell a secret, I still breast them out.
Jay, I learned the breasting method later in life, and much prefer it to picking the entire bird. The legs are about all you get extra from the rest of the bird, and there's not a lot of meat there. But, the adults I learned from grew up on depression era dirt farms, and were of the mind set that nothing went to waste. My grandfather bought shotgun shells by the shell, and would pot shoot birds on the ground during the winter. It was just the way it was done back then.
Jerry
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
While I was far removed from the Great Depression, there were some lean days during my childhood. Blackbird and dumplings actually makes pretty decent tablefare.
And there's a trick to filling the pot with a minimum expenditure of shells. When you find a flock on the ground (as Blackbirds tend to do), take your 12 Ga auto-loader with 3 shells in it. Belly crawl to around 40 yards of the flock and while laying prone fire the first shot about 2 feet above them. Then, without aiming, fire the next 2 as fast as you can pull the trigger. A goodly percentage of them, startled by the first shot, fly directly into the next two. I once collected 27 with 3 shells that day. And probably overlooked a few.
Don't know if this is legal everywhere, but it was where I was.
Mike
"Walking away seems to be a lost art form." N454casull
Did you eat four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie?
My grandfather used to shoot "winter birds". That's all my dad ever heard them called, and apparently they were small so it took a lot to feed a family of 5.
As the name implies, they were birds that were mostly prevalent in the winter. They probably fed on spilled grain and silage in my grandfather's feedlot. I really don't know the details, though.
My dad said they were very good eating.
Jerry
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
I usually only “plan” the first one since it’s usually something new and stupid I bought/ built. Then I’ll switch around other stuff depending on what gets my fancy.
First one will be a T/C in .454 Casull. Then, maybe the 450 Bushmaster again, or the .45-70. Anything more after that will probably be the DPMS .308
To make something simple is a thousand times more difficult than to make something complex.
-Mikhail Kalashnikov
This has made me excited for hunting season! I'll probably use my new Mossberg SA-20 to hunt some dove! I'm trying to look for a good hunting partner to practice hunting deer with.
The extent of my plans for hunting include pissing off my employer by taking long weekends in November to nap in the woods. Not really much to see where I go, but I will be sitting there with my M70 in .458x1.8.
This has made me excited for hunting season! I'll probably use my new Mossberg SA-20 to hunt some dove! I'm trying to look for a good hunting partner to practice hunting deer with.
If you're in Texas, and have a place to hunt, I'm your huckleberry.
Btw, welcome.
Jerry
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
This has made me excited for hunting season! I'll probably use my new Mossberg SA-20 to hunt some dove! I'm trying to look for a good hunting partner to practice hunting deer with.
Welcome, where abouts are you located?
Logistics cannot win a war, but its absence or inadequacy can cause defeat. FM100-5
I applied for Bull Elk, Deer in my favorite hunting areas and got skunked. That makes 5 years in a row. I also applied for Antelope in the Red Desert for sheets & giggles, drew a tag in an area with only 30 tags. Go figure.
I applied for Bull Elk, Deer in my favorite hunting areas and got skunked. That makes 5 years in a row. I also applied for Antelope in the Red Desert for sheets & giggles, drew a tag in an area with only 30 tags. Go figure.
Well, there won’t be much pressure, I guess.
Welcome!
"To Hell with efficiency, it's performance we want!" - Elmer Keith
I applied for Bull Elk, Deer in my favorite hunting areas and got skunked. That makes 5 years in a row. I also applied for Antelope in the Red Desert for sheets & giggles, drew a tag in an area with only 30 tags. Go figure.
Only 30 tags? That's my kinda hunt. Less pressure = better hunting provided the animals are there. My Nevada antelope unit in 2014 only issued 25 tags total. That was the shortest western hunt of my life - my season was over within 20 minutes of day 1, opening legal daylight.
Accuracy: because white space between bullet holes drives me insane.
Replies
The women would roll them in flour and deep fry them. As I recall, that was some pretty good eats. That's the only way I've ever had them.
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
@JerryBobCo, I'm the exact opposite when it comes to cleaning dove. I was taught as a kid how to stick my thumb under the breast and tear it out, tossing the rest of the bird. When I first saw people plucking and gutting dove, I was a little confused.. I now use shears to cut the wings off at the side of the body, then pull the breast out and remove the skin with most of the feathers. Then wash with water and pack in bags with a little salt and water for storage.
My go to method for cooking dove now is to start with a salt and sugar brine. I believe this helps draw the blood out, which tends to increase the livery flavor, and it keeps the meat moist during cooking. I've also tried soaking in buttermilk, but I like the brine better. Then it's bacon and jalapeno wrap and on the grill or, since I live in the "green chile capital of the world," I'll sometimes wrap them with strips of green chile and bacon.
On the same note, I was always taught that breasting out quail was like breaking the 11th commandment... But I'll tell a secret, I still breast them out.
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
And there's a trick to filling the pot with a minimum expenditure of shells. When you find a flock on the ground (as Blackbirds tend to do), take your 12 Ga auto-loader with 3 shells in it. Belly crawl to around 40 yards of the flock and while laying prone fire the first shot about 2 feet above them. Then, without aiming, fire the next 2 as fast as you can pull the trigger. A goodly percentage of them, startled by the first shot, fly directly into the next two. I once collected 27 with 3 shells that day. And probably overlooked a few.
Don't know if this is legal everywhere, but it was where I was.
Mike
N454casull
My grandfather used to shoot "winter birds". That's all my dad ever heard them called, and apparently they were small so it took a lot to feed a family of 5.
As the name implies, they were birds that were mostly prevalent in the winter. They probably fed on spilled grain and silage in my grandfather's feedlot. I really don't know the details, though.
My dad said they were very good eating.
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
"The Un-Tactical"
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
First one will be a T/C in .454 Casull.
Then, maybe the 450 Bushmaster again, or the .45-70. Anything more after that will probably be the DPMS .308
-Mikhail Kalashnikov
N454casull
Btw, welcome.
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
"Nothing is safe from stupid." - Zee