Didn't do too badly, considering only got about 2 hours of decent activity before a cold front with thunderstorms came slamming thru.

Along that line, anyone have any good recipes for dove breast?

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Just say "NO" to Ethanol - Drive Diesel

Mitchell Oates
Mooresville, NC
'87 300D 212K miles
'87 300D 151K miles - R.I.P. 12/08
'05 Jeep Liberty CRD 67K miles
Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club

Brine them in salt water, preferably over night but at least for a few hours. Pick out the shot you can get to. Heat a couple of inches of oil or lard in a heavy skillet to 375 or so.

Then get 3 pans. Into the first put flour. Into the second put eggs beaten with the seasoning of your choice. Old Bay works well, or I sometimes use salt, pepper and red chile flakes. Into the third put half flour and half panko bread crumbs.

The order of dipping before going into the skillet is flour, egg, panko mixture.
They cook fast. When they're crispy brown they're done.

You can substitute buttermilk for either the brining session or the egg session. Since the breasts are so small, you can also do the first step in a one gallon ziploc bag with a cup or so of flour in it. Add the breasts about 8 at a time and shake them until coated well. Remove one at a time to put in the egg dip and the panko coating. Fry until brown and crispy.

Another way is to brown and braise them in white wine gravy. Oven at 350. After brining them (I always brine dove no matter the cook method) coat with flour and quickly brown in a hot heavy skillet in which 4 slices of bacon have been cooked and removed. Save the bacon, you'll need it.
After they're brown, let's say a dozen breasts remove them to a shallow casserole, like a 9 x 13 pyrex or something. Bring the skillet back up to heat and add 3tbsp. flour to the fat and stir it quickly to get all the lumps out, making a roux. Don't let the roux get too brown. Just barely tan and no lumps. To this whisk in 2 cups of chicken broth and a half cup of white wine or sherry, but no sweet wine please. crumble and add the reserved bacon and lots of fresh ground pepper, salt to taste. You can also add any green herb you care to at this time. Oregano, parsley, sage, dill etc. Dry herbs work best. Pour the sauce over the breasts in the baking dish and bake covered with foil for about an hour or until done.
A grating of FRESH parmesan (not that pizza dust stuff) is nice at the end.

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You're a daisy if you do.
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84 Euro 240D 4spd. 220.5k sold
04 Honda Element AWD
1985 F150 XLT 4x4, 351W with 270k miles, hay hauler
1997 Suzuki Sidekick 4x4
1993 Toyota 4wd Pickup 226K and counting

plain ole wild rice and chicken broth--might try wrapping some breasts in bacon

I like dove breast wrapped in bacon with a jalapeno and a bit of cream cheese, marinated in italian dressing, then grilled over indirect heat. Once the bacon is done, the meat is done.

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles

Thanks for the recipes, some great ideas there. Think I'll try to add a few more to the collection in the freezer before we have a proper feast.

Could've added a couple more at least yesterday, if I'd thought a little and had the gun set up proper.

After 3 years in San Antonio, I still had the Stoeger in "Texas Triple-A" mode for high-flying whitewings - M/IM choke and high brass 6's. With these small Carolina birds popping out right over the treetops, didn't take me long to realize I'd have been better off trying to knock them down with a 22 rifle.

Fortunately I'd thought to bring along my other choke tubes, and an old box of Winchester Dove & Quail low brass 8's just in case. Dropped down to IC/M and the 8's, and started putting meat on the table.

Another reason I prefer an old-fashioned SXS - albeit with the "modern" blessing of changeable choke tubes - you can turn it into a completely different gun on the fly - and switch from clay target loads to 3 inch roman candles with no more bother than grabbing a different box of shells.

The older recoil-operated Browning and Remington auto-loaders my father and his friends had when I was growing up - let's just say I got mule-kicked more than once by one of those guns, because it was loaded with high brass ammo and no one had bothered to change around the recoil spring setup.

__________________
Just say "NO" to Ethanol - Drive Diesel

Mitchell Oates
Mooresville, NC
'87 300D 212K miles
'87 300D 151K miles - R.I.P. 12/08
'05 Jeep Liberty CRD 67K miles
Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club

We've been eating lots of dove lately. We're overrun with African Ring Necked Doves and the state has open season on them. No limits. They're slow and real tasty. I can bag two dozen in an afternoon in my mesquite forest. The dogs love the heads and bodies, feathers and all.

__________________
You're a daisy if you do.
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84 Euro 240D 4spd. 220.5k sold
04 Honda Element AWD
1985 F150 XLT 4x4, 351W with 270k miles, hay hauler
1997 Suzuki Sidekick 4x4
1993 Toyota 4wd Pickup 226K and counting

I love bacon.

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles

Are these birds mourning doves or something else? We have plenty of those things round here but there isn't a season on them - probably never will be either.