[James]

Could you explain what you mean judith?
do you mean plucking just the breast if I'm going to fillet out the breast meat? (I presume thats were most of the meat is?)

[judith]

Yep exactly. It shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes to do.

[cab]

Do you not end up with bits of feather all over the meat if you don't? Although that would wash off...

[pricey]

Do you not end up with bits of feather all over the meat if you don't? Although that would wash off...

[cab]

Absolutely!

We've got articles on rabbit, hare and squirrel, but not one yet on pigeon. It would be great to have an article telling people how to get the breast off, or indeed giving any other tips on handlign pigeons.

[pricey]

Will need to get another pigeon for that, I will see what I can do, I wil try and include it in the article, if I can.

[KILLITnGRILLIT]

Twist the wings til they come off then either stick both thumbs into the neck or(my preference) the gut cavity, then rip the back from the breast like you would a bread roll.
The breast crown will peel from the skin.
i much prefer to use the whole bird by plucking then de-breasting and using the carcase for IMHO the best stock from all birds but the majestic grouse.

[Graham The Builder]

I allways pluck the breasts of pigeons and then crown joint them. To do this, cut down where the legs meet the body (but don't cut them off). Next, make an incision below the sturnum and follow the ribs until you meet the back bone (you don't need to cut into the guts). Holding the bird in your left hand insert your right thumb into the cavity of the bird and place it under the sturnum, then insert your left thumb and locate the backbone. Now prise apart the sturnum and ribcage from the backbone, you will normally find this surprisingly easy. You should be left with the crown breast of pigeon complete with two wings still attached (I usually discard the back and legs unless I am doing a stock or game soup). You will need to cut off the two flight bones near the birds shoulder blades using poultry shears or similar. Clean away any blood and unwanted tissue. You now have one very tidy looking joint of meat complete with the flavoursome skin still left on.

[Mary-Jane]

Us too gil. We had some super rabbits from Pricey at the Welsh DS meet-up in Aber last December. We bunged 'em straight in the freezer and didn't get 'em out until 2 weeks ago. I finished gutting and skinning them and then made a huge 'Lapin aux Pruneaux' with them for us and some friends who pitched up for the weekend - bloody gorgeous! We've also still got a brace of pigeon in the freezer - feathers and all - courtesy of Pricey too.

[judith]

This is probably because you acquire your own rabbits, and prepare them in the very best way. I'm pretty sure that my main rabbit supplier doesn't "milk" them after shooting them, and it does give the meat a distinct taste. It doesn't bother my OH in the least, but I find it very noticeable - to the extent that I would rather eat pretty much any meat other than rabbit, unless I'm being noble and preparing my beloved's favourite wabbit stew.

[Mary-Jane]

Me neither - although I have when eating hare on occasion.

[Mary-Jane]

The ones we got from Pricey were bloody lovely. Mind you, so was my cooking (yes, I do cook sometimes in our household...in spite of what Gervase may lead you all to believe).

[bodger]

The only time you are likely to get an 'off' taste with rabbit is if the guts have been left too long in them, or if the bladder has been ruptured. As I said earlier, its common practice to use pressure on the rabbits abdomen to expel the urine immediately after they've been killed.

[Simon]

We have 'Sac a Jambon's here which come in very handy for times like that. Quite stiff, made of a fine gauze and keep the dreaded blue-bottles off. Our hams would never survive without them.