GTA
All Springer/NP/PCP Air Gun Discussion General => Hunting Gate => Wild Game Preparation and Recipes Gate => Topic started by: JungleShooter on January 27, 2020, 03:00:57 AM
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I'm new to this. Bear with me.... 😊
So, when I go pigeon hunting usually 4 to 6 hours, I still I have an hour drive home.
And all this time the dead pigeons are out in the sun (80's in the summer), or in the hot car.
🔶 How long can I wait before they need dressing and refrigeration?
Sure, I don't want to get sick eating the meat, but a "the sooner the better"-advice isn't really helping. I'm more looking for a suggested amount of hours, or some other way to prolong the decay of the meat.
THANKS!
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I would carry a cooler full of ice if possible in that kind of weather. When I duck hunted in warmer temps here in Florida, I would draw the bird immediately and get it on ice till I got home with them. I do the same for squirrel. Key thing is getting the innards out of them as quickly as possible to help cool them down. The times you have stated is kind of pushing the limits of spoiling. Freezing a plastic bottle of water is another method I use to keep my game cool. Just stick it in a soft cooler that will hold the amount of game you intend take. Usually 2 one liter bottles get me through the day. This my experience in keeping game in hot weather. Hope this helps.
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Kris,
that sounds simple and cheap enough, especially since I usually have my vehicle close by.
A cardboard box with a couple of frozen water bottles, in the shade. And collecting the birds not at the end but little by little as I shoot them.
THANKS! 👍🏼
So, to get this straight (I'm a total nubee at this):
Taking the innards out is for the purpose of cooling down the meat quicker?
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So, to get this straight (I'm a total nubee at this):
Taking the innards out is for the purpose of cooling down the meat quicker?
And keeping the meat from spoiling, the crop contents sour quickly and the acid in the entrails speed up the spoiling as well. I draw my small game as soon as possible for that reason.
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If you wish to use a cardboard box, put in several layers of newspaper. It helps to act as insulation.
Personally, I like the soft cooler idea better than a hard cooler. It can be folded up and tucked out of the way when not in use. Cardboard will fall apart as condensation builds up.
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Any time that I've ever been hunting birds for food I gut them right away, even in the winter, it's been years since I've hunted birds but that's always the way I did it.
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kinda curious.. when I first got to Alaska and was being told how to prepare grouse I thought they were joking. Stand on the wings and pull the feet and you get all the guts separated from the breasts and wings. Does this work on smaller birds like pigeons too?
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kinda curious.. when I first got to Alaska and was being told how to prepare grouse I thought they were joking. Stand on the wings and pull the feet and you get all the guts separated from the breasts and wings. Does this work on smaller birds like pigeons too?
With the birds being small as they are I just pop the breasts and cut the legs off. Just split the belly, insert your thumb and lift up, the breast will separate from the back, peel skin back to the last joint of the legs and cut from the back bone and leg joints. Ducks are a little different, some you pluck and others you skin. Most people just pop the breasts out and leave the rest, I will take it all, the extra trouble is worth it to me.
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Matthias, something like this ice chest might do. And as a side benefit, it can double as a stool. I have one that has been in use for 12 years and going strong.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Igloo-Marine-25QT-Contour-49644-White-Cooler/55652058 (https://www.walmart.com/ip/Igloo-Marine-25QT-Contour-49644-White-Cooler/55652058)
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Yes, if large coolers cost in Peru what they cost in the US, I'd do the cooler!But they are double, triple, and more here... ::)
So, since most of my pigeons come with cow poop on them — compliments of the ainmals whose food they steal and poison with their own poop — I think my wife will be less enthused if I used our regular beach and party cooler for my dark and sinister animal murders.... 🤣
I have a plastic crate, and I'll find a large soft cooler, and frozen water bottles.
Great forum, thanks! 👍🏼
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The frozen bottles are what we use about 95% of the time. We use the ones that Ocean Spray drink comes in. They can be re-frozen many, MANY times.
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You might be surprised what is "safe to eat".
As long as you cook them well, you shouldn't get sick. Even if they start to smell ripe. But it won't be delicious as you hoped, without heavy seasoning.
But if you want them cooked medium, or for the best table fare in general, I would breast them and put them on ice as soon as I popped them.
I don't normally have that convenience either. But I do all my game meat in a crock pot with celery, onion, and tomato as a staple plus whatever other seasoning I feel. Usially a good dose of garlic and onion powders, and often crushed red pepper. so I have never had to worry about cooking them medium, are they safe to eat, etc.
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Funny.... — I'm reading this as I'm eating my pigeons.... 😄
Actually, these have been dead and out there for quite a few hours longer than the 4-6h in the OP....
I survived the first pigeon lunch, so I tend to agree with Brian, it keeps quite a while (but I don't want to push it, either — I ditched 3 breasts while fileting them, because they just smelled different from the others...).
Brian, if you would be so kind to more formally write up a recipe for the crockpot...? 😊 I just gave one to my wife for Christmas — so, I have no idea what to do with this pot made from granit.... 😄
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I don't do any exact sort of thing to be honest. I typically just coat the meat conpletely with garlic salt and onion powder and put it in the crockpot. If it has a funny smell or I shot it with a shotgun it will probably get celery onion and tomato ;)
Then I just put that in the crockpot and dump a can of rotel tomatoes in there and set it on high for 4 hours, then slide every little bone out of the meat. Alot of the time I will either put some rice in there and have like a kind of stew. Or theow in some cream cheese and And use that in all kinds of stuff. Tacos, jalapeno poppers, etc. usually will be a combination of squirrel meat and rabbit meat but I have gone as far as a pack of boneless chicken thighs forgotten in the fridge for 2 weeks hehe. Turns out good no matter what.
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Thank you, Bryan, I copied you recipe into my recipe list (not much there yet as I'm just starting out as a hunter — who is also an eater.... 😄 — before I just killed pests....).
Matthias
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I learned about celery, onion, and tomato from watching swamp people. Seems like they are always making "sauce picante" and these are main ingredients. I have used it in the past and my grandma used it a lot growing up, but they seem to use it on everything, and call it the holy trinity? Lol. But that is hollywood "reality" for you I guess.
But I started doing it on everything because something about that combo helps to tame the game taste. I kind of like it a little gamey and also like to use sage in my cooking but my family is NOT a fan of that. Enter the cream cheese trick and bacon wrapped EVERYTHING :)
Garlic and onion powder of course make everything delocious. I would say that garlic salt, onion powder, and dried crushed red pepper are the holy trinity of seasoning 8)
I wish I could give you an exact recipe but I don't have one!
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But that is hollywood "reality" for you I guess.
Troy Landry and the rest of the "Swamp People" really ham it up for TV. But, "holy trinity" is real terminology in the Cajun Culture. It goes back to a simpler time when we were closer to the land and less dependant on the grocery stores for our food. Organic was the rule instead of the exception then. TV cooking shows (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emeril_Lagasse (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emeril_Lagasse)) helped to make those ingredients famous. They add flavor and, to some extent, change the taste of whatever is being cooked.
Bon appetit!
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I'm new to this. Bear with me.... 😊
If there's a bear with you, you'd better get a bigger gun!
(Sorry, I could't help myself.)
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I'm very interested in this topic as well, since Rock Pigeon is one of the very few edible game I can shoot year-round. (That, and Woodchuck.)
I typically hike through the mountains for a few miles before I get to the legal hunting areas, since I can do that bt walking from my house. So carrying an ice chest is not very convenient. I've though about some smallish dry ice container, but I'd still like to know if there's a "hard" answer to this question.
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Allan, bringing back this old thread is a good thing.
I hunted Mourning Doves in South Louisiana where/when the 1st Season started on Labor Day. And back then, the open/shooting time was Noon. Doves were taken all afternoon and placed in the game bag with no refrigeration. Often the air temperature was in the mid-90s or higher. After dark, when we got home after the hunt, we would sit under the carport light and clean our Doves, wash them at the back faucet, and bring them inside to be refrigerated until my mother could cook them. Many seasons followed that same scenario. I have eaten Doves prepared that way many times. And I am here to tell the story. You might check my profile to see how many years I have.
Good hunting and enjoy your harvest.
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I have hunted doves countless times. But I've never heard of anyone actually eating pigeons. I've wondered how much different than a dove they would be, but I just never knew anyone really ate them. They always seem to be in such dirty places it seems.
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Ernie, one of my neighbors raised pigeons in a cage in his backyard. Once, he gave me a couple that were fresh dressed. They were delicious. Ever since that time, I have been looking for a place to harvest some wild ones for comparison. I also have eaten the Eurasian Collared Doves which taste very similar to Mourning Doves, just larger.
A friend here in Tennessee told me he had some pigeons roosting in his tractor shed for a while. But his cat solved his problem before I had a chance to get any. :(
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I've run across people who can't believe others actually eat squirrels. They just can't seem to believe it's good meat. It takes a change of mindset. I guess that's where I'm at with pigeons....shudder. LOL
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Allan, bringing back this old thread is a good thing.
I hunted Mourning Doves in South Louisiana where/when the 1st Season started on Labor Day. And back then, the open/shooting time was Noon. Doves were taken all afternoon and placed in the game bag with no refrigeration. Often the air temperature was in the mid-90s or higher. After dark, when we got home after the hunt, we would sit under the carport light and clean our Doves, wash them at the back faucet, and bring them inside to be refrigerated until my mother could cook them. Many seasons followed that same scenario. I have eaten Doves prepared that way many times. And I am here to tell the story. You might check my profile to see how many years I have.
Good hunting and enjoy your harvest.
Excellent. Thanks!
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kinda curious.. when I first got to Alaska and was being told how to prepare grouse I thought they were joking. Stand on the wings and pull the feet and you get all the guts separated from the breasts and wings. Does this work on smaller birds like pigeons too?
I’ve done a pigeon once. Would do it again, just never got around to it.
Had phone google on one side and dead bird on other. First set of instructions said pluck feathers to cook bird in skin- the end result was taking a LONG time and making a big mess.
Looked for different instructions. Faster instructions said cut the belly open, pull skin to side and cut the breast out.
Much better and faster.
Like a miniature chicken with dark purple breast.
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I'm new to this. Bear with me.... 😊
If there's a bear with you, you'd better get a bigger gun!
(Sorry, I could't help myself.)
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I'm very interested in this topic as well, since Rock Pigeon is one of the very few edible game I can shoot year-round. (That, and Woodchuck.)
I typically hike through the mountains for a few miles before I get to the legal hunting areas, since I can do that bt walking from my house. So carrying an ice chest is not very convenient. I've though about some smallish dry ice container, but I'd still like to know if there's a "hard" answer to this question.
I’d put one or two frozen water bottles in a back pack. Put game in backpack with frozen water bottles. Problem solved.
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Backpack idea is a good one. I'd use a gallon size (optimistic on number of kills) zip lock bag and just breast them out and put in backpack with frozen bottles. That would keep the meat fresh and the pack clean.
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I have hunted doves countless times. But I've never heard of anyone actually eating pigeons. I've wondered how much different than a dove they would be, but I just never knew anyone really ate them. They always seem to be in such dirty places it seems.
They're the same family.
Columbidae is a bird family consisting of pigeons and doves. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks, and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily feed on seeds, fruits, and plants.
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Allan, bringing back this old thread is a good thing.
I hunted Mourning Doves in South Louisiana where/when the 1st Season started on Labor Day. And back then, the open/shooting time was Noon. Doves were taken all afternoon and placed in the game bag with no refrigeration.
Often the air temperature was in the mid-90s or higher.
After dark, when we got home after the hunt, we would sit under the carport light and clean our Doves.
Many seasons followed that same scenario. I have eaten Doves prepared that way many times. And I am here to tell the story. You might check my profile to see how many years I have.
Mike, you are the man! THANKS! 😊
You've given me confidence that I won't have to stop killing and start cleaning, if I want to eat my birds! 👍🏼
The frozen water bottle thing is a good add-on.
🔶 Last year I had one day at the hight of Summer with an incredible amount of pigeons and a new permission.
The birds were so adorably dumb, sticking around as I picked off one after another from their perches. 🤦🏻♂️
They just have a bird brain, what did I expect?! 😄
Well, that day I was somewhat in a killing frenzy, and could not see myself stopping and dressing pigeons. 💀
Frankly, I'm still grossed out by it. 🙄
(Give me another year to numb that feeling down some more).
I don't remember how many hours it took for me to get home with 2 crates of pigeons (yes, I am extremely thankful to have that kind of access!). The first birds I estimate were dead for at least 10 hours, laying in the sun for most of that time.
🔶 When I had all the breasts lines up beside the sink, I did the smell test (that was pre-covid, my nose was working then!) About a handful did not pass and ended up in the garbage instead of my stomach.
😊 ➔ Thanks to Mike, I now know that I wasn't lucky to have survived those pigeon breast meals. It's just that the meat does not go bad that quickly. 👍🏼
Matthias
PS: On bird brains and dumb pigeons:
Yeah, about that. I feel dumb for underestimating those pigeons. 🤦🏻♂️
A few more visits to that sight, and the pigeons recognize my car. And they recognize that I'm aiming my rifle at them.
And they don't wait around anymore for me to fill up two crates with their dead bodies. 😖
Now I need to build elaborate hunting blinds to at least get a few of the less smart ones...! 😄
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I have hunted doves countless times. But I've never heard of anyone actually eating pigeons. I've wondered how much different than a dove they would be, but I just never knew anyone really ate them. They always seem to be in such dirty places it seems.
Counter to that?
How many people do you know have poor diets yet still live into their 70’s?
My experience is both ECDs and Pigeons love millet.
I like millet also, but mine is dehusked.
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Allan, bringing back this old thread is a good thing.
I hunted Mourning Doves in South Louisiana where/when the 1st Season started on Labor Day. And back then, the open/shooting time was Noon. Doves were taken all afternoon and placed in the game bag with no refrigeration.
Often the air temperature was in the mid-90s or higher.
After dark, when we got home after the hunt, we would sit under the carport light and clean our Doves.
Many seasons followed that same scenario. I have eaten Doves prepared that way many times. And I am here to tell the story. You might check my profile to see how many years I have.
Mike, you are the man! THANKS! 😊
You've given me confidence that I won't have to stop killing and start cleaning, if I want to eat my birds! 👍🏼
The frozen water bottle thing is a good add-on.
🔶 Last year I had one day at the hight of Summer with an incredible amount of pigeons and a new permission.
The birds were so adorably dumb, sticking around as I picked off one after another from their perches. 🤦🏻♂️
They just have a bird brain, what did I expect?! 😄
Well, that day I was somewhat in a killing frenzy, and could not see myself stopping and dressing pigeons. 💀
Frankly, I'm still grossed out by it. 🙄
(Give me another year to numb that feeling down some more).
I don't remember how many hours it took for me to get home with 2 crates of pigeons (yes, I am extremely thankful to have that kind of access!). The first birds I estimate were dead for at least 10 hours, laying in the sun for most of that time.
🔶 When I had all the breasts lines up beside the sink, I did the smell test (that was pre-covid, my nose was working then!) About a handful did not pass and ended up in the garbage instead of my stomach.
😊 ➔ Thanks to Mike, I now know that I wasn't lucky to have survived those pigeon breast meals. It's just that the meat does not go bad that quickly. 👍🏼
Matthias
PS: On bird brains and dumb pigeons:
Yeah, about that. I feel dumb for underestimating those pigeons. 🤦🏻♂️
A few more visits to that sight, and the pigeons recognize my car. And they recognize that I'm aiming my rifle at them.
And they don't wait around anymore for me to fill up two crates with their dead bodies. 😖
Now I need to build elaborate hunting blinds to at least get a few of the less smart ones...! 😄
Also depends on the bird.
Crows figure that stuff out immediately. And they’ll remember you killed their brother forever.
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I’ve carried dove and quail around in a game pouch for three or four hours without ill effect. My younger brother uses a field cleaning technique that is a little gross but highly efficient. Pull both wings back with one hand. Insert the index finger of the other hand into the bird’s anus. Push up until your finger is under the breast bone then pull up to rip the breast completely out. The thin skin splits easily and the breast comes out quickly and cleanly. Once you learn the technique it is surprisingly easy. He carries a ziplock bag for the dressed birds. I prefer quail to dove for flavor but feral pigeon is not bad at all when it is prepared well. Any recipe for “Squab” will work.
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Allan, bringing back this old thread is a good thing.
I hunted Mourning Doves in South Louisiana where/when the 1st Season started on Labor Day. And back then, the open/shooting time was Noon. Doves were taken all afternoon and placed in the game bag with no refrigeration.
Often the air temperature was in the mid-90s or higher.
After dark, when we got home after the hunt, we would sit under the carport light and clean our Doves.
Many seasons followed that same scenario. I have eaten Doves prepared that way many times. And I am here to tell the story. You might check my profile to see how many years I have.
Mike, you are the man! THANKS! 😊
You've given me confidence that I won't have to stop killing and start cleaning, if I want to eat my birds! 👍🏼
The frozen water bottle thing is a good add-on.
🔶 Last year I had one day at the hight of Summer with an incredible amount of pigeons and a new permission.
The birds were so adorably dumb, sticking around as I picked off one after another from their perches. 🤦🏻♂️
They just have a bird brain, what did I expect?! 😄
Well, that day I was somewhat in a killing frenzy, and could not see myself stopping and dressing pigeons. 💀
Frankly, I'm still grossed out by it. 🙄
(Give me another year to numb that feeling down some more).
I don't remember how many hours it took for me to get home with 2 crates of pigeons (yes, I am extremely thankful to have that kind of access!). The first birds I estimate were dead for at least 10 hours, laying in the sun for most of that time.
🔶 When I had all the breasts lines up beside the sink, I did the smell test (that was pre-covid, my nose was working then!) About a handful did not pass and ended up in the garbage instead of my stomach.
😊 ➔ Thanks to Mike, I now know that I wasn't lucky to have survived those pigeon breast meals. It's just that the meat does not go bad that quickly. 👍🏼
Matthias
PS: On bird brains and dumb pigeons:
Yeah, about that. I feel dumb for underestimating those pigeons. 🤦🏻♂️
A few more visits to that sight, and the pigeons recognize my car. And they recognize that I'm aiming my rifle at them.
And they don't wait around anymore for me to fill up two crates with their dead bodies. 😖
Now I need to build elaborate hunting blinds to at least get a few of the less smart ones...! 😄
Matthias,
Did you do the B3 post for Tom Gaylord a long time ago? It was a good post. I might be remembering wrong who wrote it.
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Sam, 😊
thanks for the cudos, but no, I haven't written that article for Tom Gaylord's blog....
Nice that you're going on Tom's websites: 👍🏼
▪ http://TheGodfatherOfAirguns.com
▪ https://www.pyramydair.com/blog (https://www.pyramydair.com/blog/)
I've never met Tom, but he has helped me so much when I was getting started into airgunning!! Just amazing what he knows and how he writes it all out, easy to digest! 👍🏼
I finally contacted him to tell him, and he was super nice! 😊
🔶Anyhow, seems like this hobby has attracted some real gems of people (and of course, scum is everywhere, even in AG... 😄).
Matthias
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Sam, 😊
thanks for the cudos, but no, I haven't written that article for Tom Gaylord's blog....
Nice that you're going on Tom's websites: 👍🏼
▪ http://TheGodfatherOfAirguns.com
▪ https://www.pyramydair.com/blog (https://www.pyramydair.com/blog/)
I've never met Tom, but he has helped me so much when I was getting started into airgunning!! Just amazing what he knows and how he writes it all out, easy to digest! 👍🏼
I finally contacted him to tell him, and he was super nice! 😊
🔶Anyhow, seems like this hobby has attracted some real gems of people (and of course, scum is everywhere, even in AG... 😄).
Matthias
Extremely low amount of bad apples here. In context I only define bad apples as buyers or sellers trying to rip people off or get law involved in victimless game warden violations.
I don’t view political or religious bickering as scum or offensive because I guess we all suffer from some level of indoctrination we are or are not awakening out of.
Non Aggression Principle.
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I’ve carried dove and quail around in a game pouch for three or four hours without ill effect. My younger brother uses a field cleaning technique that is a little gross but highly efficient. Pull both wings back with one hand. Insert the index finger of the other hand into the bird’s anus. Push up until your finger is under the breast bone then pull up to rip the breast completely out. The thin skin splits easily and the breast comes out quickly and cleanly. Once you learn the technique it is surprisingly easy. He carries a ziplock bag for the dressed birds. I prefer quail to dove for flavor but feral pigeon is not bad at all when it is prepared well. Any recipe for “Squab” will work.
Good morning, Carter. I hunted Quail (Bob White) with my father and our good friend a few times. And being a winter hunt, one would have thought there would have been no problem with carrying the dead birds for several hours before cleaning. But Dad would 'field dress' his kills and bag them in ZIPLOC bags to keep the flavor clean. Quail have a great flavor and are really tasty when wrapped in bacon. (But what isn't!)
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I'd make sure you know where there coming from. You they can thrive in a cespool. Like can drink the most polluted water like it pigeon champaign and happy fly off unfazed. You know they can near fly around the world and stop to rest eat drink anywhere clean or toxic.
Not to discourage you on hunting and eating what you kill. But ...
https://preppingplanet.com/can-you-eat-city-pigeons/
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Deeco, thanks for that article. City pigeons is what I think of when I cringe at eating them. Since I've always lived in a city that's what I know of them.
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I am late to this thread but, if you havent gutted them by now, better throw them out. Fowl have the stinkiest guts of any animal in my opinion. Quail, pheasant, Grouse, dove, piegon ect= cut and cool ASAP
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https://runnermag.ca/2020/04/this-canadian-man-eats-pigeons-for-the-planet/
This guy keeps them and feeds them for awhile.
I heard where dogs are eaten they are fed white rice for a while to clean out their insides before harvest.
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https://runnermag.ca/2020/04/this-canadian-man-eats-pigeons-for-the-planet/
This guy keeps them and feeds them for awhile.
I heard where dogs are eaten they are fed white rice for a while to clean out their insides before harvest.
My grandpa used to race them. He tend them in a pen and would let them out and used a long pole and slash it around in the air and the pigeons follow that , they could turn on a dime and fast.. he liked to give them a good workout.