This, we eat a lot here! Don’t worry, it’s not those flying in the city you are eating.
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I think that in France. pigeon is usually farmed while dove more likely wild/hunted.
Those wanting to try “organic” squirrel should contact our son. This summer he has worked his toffitz off trying to create a vegetable garden.
So far the drill is “plant seedlings, go to bed, ground squirrels arrive for dinner, check garden in the morning snd find plates eaten to soil level.”
Chapter 2: Bate traps. Catch skunks. Rig a pole with a hook to release latch snd free skunks. Repeat next night. Catch squirrels which attract foxes who drag trap around yard trying to get the squirrels out.
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Little rabbits loved to hang out among my tomato planters last year - like a fun maze or something, ha.
But they didn’t eat anything.
The pup (who was already giant in size) was constantly stalking them - couldn’t decide if he wanted to eat them or play with them. Either way, he never got close.
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I see pigeon on a lot of menus. To avoid the eww reaction factor, it’s normally called squab. Strange to think Americans have such an aversion to eating pigeons considering passenger pigeons were hunted to extinction for their meat.
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I know. It’s still not common on menus.
When I was fifteen I started working at a snack bar at a drive-in theater, my best job ever, it taught timing while cooking multiple items.
Anyway the manager allowed us to shoot pigeons with pellet guns in the screen tower because they were big mess makers. They were not eaten.
However there were dove and quail on the property and they were dispatched and eaten.
BTW the hamburgers were terrible. I think they used ground pigeon feathers and all.
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Well I wouldn’t say this was a “thing” but the venue offered it so we went for the “wow” factor. We were married in NJ, not a wildlife type environment. Lol
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I know you have lots of bear and deer up there.
Nothing screams “wow” like a bear burger or hot dog.
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Wow Jim Cantore in his baseball batting helmet in New Orleans is getting pummeled by Ida at one point going down to his knees.
Best of luck to all of our neighbors.
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The Meat is usually called Squab rather than Pigeon to denote a young Bird raised for Food. I do not think it was to avoid the “eww” Factor. I have never seen it referred as Pigeon in a culinary Context.
As a newlywed (1 week) the first meal I cooked for guests was a New Years Day brunch with waffles and elk burgers. We were serving 24 people
And in-laws had given us 10# ground elk. It fit our entertaining budget.
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Elk is wonderful.
None of the gamey taste of venison.
Not sure if it really qualifies as exotic though.
We can buy it raised at the market.
This was wild hunted in Montana. I thought it rather gamey.
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Wild hunt vs. farm raised makes a HUGE difference in taste and texture, as I’m sure many of us know. I’ve had both wild hunted venison steak from a family friend who hunted during season in PA as well as “pampered” venison from the Rolling Rock Country Club (I lived/worked in central PA in the mid 80s, and my boss at the time was friends with S. Prosser Mellon).
My boss had a client gathering at the RRC that I helped plan/manage. Let’s just say the pampered venison was sublime - like a Wagyu filet, and the wild hunt venison was soaked in buttermilk for 24 hours before cooking, and was much chewier and tasted gamier. People who don’t like “gamey” in lamb would absolutely have hated the wild hunt venison. LOL
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Cool . My squirrels are beginning to take and bury the acorns off my tree. How funny they are of where they want to bury them . Maybe here , oh that’s not good . This looks good , no . That looks better over there . Well maybe not . The most indecisive creatures on earth. What they do know is that winter is coming
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My best friend and her husband opted for a wild game menu for their indigenous-inspired wedding in Cherokee, NC. (I was the matron of honor…it was a lovely ceremony, performed by a Cherokee elder)
Venison and duck were on the menu at the reception along with a large bear roast. All were legally obtained by a local chefs and it was a delicious spread. The bear roast in particular stands out…it tastes much like a particularly flavorful pork roast.
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Well, now I’m really amazed. I was born and lived in Jersey as a kid and have to agree it didn’t seem like a wildlife type environment. Lol.
Delicious.
My sister and I like to think of ourselves as the rustics in the family, but this thread is making me realize we’re urbanites… especially me! 
It’s not legal, without special permits, to raise any animal, native to VA, for food. Squirrel and deer/venison are super abundant, as are Mourning Dove. I used to hunt squirrels and dove with a slingshot, but now use air rifles, special, silent pre-charged pneumatic types that are much safer than regular guns.
If venison is gamey, especially strong, it was not handled correctly. There are multiple possibilities in this area, including aging the meat at too high a temperature (to tenderize it) or improper butchering. I’ve butchered many deer, don’t age it, and find it milder than lamb in flavor.
It’s odd that I can legally raise European Hares/rabbits, pigeons and Guinea Pigs for food, but no squirrel or other native animal.
Pigeon, also called Rock Dove, are hunted and eaten in the US, but are not common fare.
When I was a teenager, we were not allowed any sort of gun, even bb guns. I asked my mother : “If I shoot some dove and clean it, will you cook it?” Her reply:" What are you going to shoot it with?" , immediately concerned I had broken the rules.
“I’ll use my slingshot”, I replied and her answer was based on not believing the feat was possible. “Sure, you shoot those dove with your slingshot and I’ll cook them.”, she said grinning.
I lived with a powerful slingshot and could hit a grasshopper at 30 meters. After about an hour in the woods, I had two doves and a squirrel to bring home. My mother was astonished: “Oh my god; you did it! I’m NOT cooking that rat!”
Mom served the dove in a delicious orange glaze. The squirrel is another story where a woodland child meets suburban living.
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