Recipe: Bacon Wrapped Dove
This is one of the most fundamental wild game recipes in existence, and hardly needs explanation. However, leaving it off this blog would be like writing about art and not acknowledging the statue of David! It wouldn’t be right.
What You’ll Need
- Dove, cleaned
- Bacon (1 slice per dove)
Instructions
Clean your dove as soon as possible after the hunt. Once all of the feathers and skin are removed, they should look similar to this:
Take them one by one, gently removing the breast meat from the bone by hand.
Slide the breast meat off the bone.
Continue with all of the dove.
Dove bone structure is much like what you’re used to seeing in chickens and other poultry.
Look at all that dark, tender, juicy meat. Dove meat is darker because dove have more blood vessels in their muscles. Their muscles need more oxygen on a regular basis since they’re flying regularly–as opposed to a chicken, which doesn’t lead as aerobic a lifestyle.
If you like dark meat from a chicken, you’re going to love dove.
Next, get out the bacon. Sidebar: When Brandon came home and saw me making this recipe, he immediately laughed and said, “Ha! Darling, look down at your feet.”
Moe and Trooper don’t miss a trick, the little beggars.
(I have NO clue why they think they would get a hand out?? No clue.)
Next, wrap each dove breast in bacon.
I used 1/2 a slice for each breast. Toothpicks are optional.
Yum.
My mouth is watering and they aren’t even cooked yet!
Fire up the grill, and once it’s to about 400, space them out above the toasty coals.
Grill baby grill!
15-20 Minutes should do it. Rotate them every now and then.
And then you will have….drumroll please….
Ta da!
Ah. All is right with the world.
Variations: Cream cheese and jalapenos make excellent additions to the dove and bacon. Place part of a jalapeno (minus the cores and seeds) and cream cheese next to the dove and wrap it in bacon. I’m on a “diet” and I can’t have cream cheese and so had to forego it this time. But I highly recommend it. Eat one for me.
