My first pigeon!

[jim_whitson]

Well, I couldn't resist when this foolish bird landed right next to my usual plinking

target. I scared him away opening the window the first time, but he was too confident the

next time, and he gave me plenty of time to aim a nice head shot. Here he is;

in feather and

ready to cook.

 

I'm told that it's normal for a shot bird to flap a little after he hits the ground, even

if he's completely dead. But I didn't know that last week, so when I saw him still

flapping on the ground, I sprinted down the stairs to wring the poor plonker's neck.

Still; better safe than sorry - I'd rather get a bit bloody than even take a chance of

leaving a wounded bird to die. However, I'm wondering how much flapping is normal. Do they

only flap after head shots? Do bunnies do it too?

 

Now for the cooking tip: I marinated the dressed bird in wine, oil and various fresh

herbs from the garden. Usually the marinade doesn't penetrate very well into the

flesh of the bird, so I took him and his marinade with me to work, and sealed the

whole lot in a vacuum bag. After my shift, the breast meat was palpably softer to

the touch, and once cooked, the bird was absolutely delicious. I can strongly recommend

that you do this with your game from now on; this pigeon was a pretty old bird, but

after the vacuum-marinade treatment, the flesh was tender and melting, halfway

between liver and fillet steak. It seems the vacuum sealing causes the marinade to be

forced into all the gaps, so the entire bird gets thoroughly soaked in the liquids.

Edited May 6, 2005 by jim_whitson

[PEREGRINE]

so I took him and his marinade with me to work, and sealed the

whole lot in a vacuum bag. After my shift, the breast meat was palpably softer to

the touch, and once cooked, the bird was absolutely delicious. I can strongly recommend

that you do this with your game from now on;

Dont think the boss would be too happy about having 40 woodies marinading at work!!

[jim_whitson]

hahaha. depends where you work! ;-P

 

if i brought 40 in, my boss would probably start selling them!

[Paul in North Lincs.]

Thats not the infamous B2 rifle we rantesd about in previous posts is it?

 

 

Anyway..... the bird has been well prepared young man... nicely done

[lurcherboy]

Add 2 tbs of vinergar to the marinade,

 

 

 

LB

[jim_whitson]

Yep, that's the gun. As you can see, she's a classy bit of kit! ;-P

 

As I say, the bird landed about two yards up and to the right of my plinking range, and I couldn't resist! My back yard is only about eight yards long, so the shot was pretty damn easy - the only problem was my hands shaking. I hadn't expected that, I must say.

 

According to my mate, yesterday (11th May) is the proper day to start shooting rooks for the pot, so hopefuly I'm going to take his old (actually new; long story) rifle out for a spin, make rook pie, then start saving my pennies to buy the rifle off him! Any tips for shooting rooks?

 

lurcherboy: I'll try that. Thanks!