Apricot and Cider Glazed Grilled Dove

Everyone loves a good dove popper. I’d be willing to bet that a few million or so will be grilled up over the next few weeks (USFW estimates 1 to 1.3 million dove hunters in the United States). Don’t get me wrong, I love them too, and we’ve already cooked up a few this season. But there are other delicious ways to cook these speedy little game birds.

Instead of breasting out your doves, try plucking them and grilling them with this fall inspired glaze. Images by author

One of my favorites requires an extra step when cleaning. Instead of just breasting out the dove meat, go ahead and pluck the entire bird, leaving the skin on. Doves are probably the easiest game bird on the planet to pluck. No hot water is required; just pinch the feathers and pull them out. Start by removing the head, wings and the tail feathers, then pluck away. Dove skin is tender, so pull in the direction the feathers are growing to keep from tearing it.

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Once you have the feathers off, make a small cut at the vent, slip a finger inside and remove the entrails. Finally, remove the feet.

Once you get the hang of it, you can fully pluck a dove in under 2 minutes.

Once you get the hang of it, you can have a dove fully dressed in less than two minutes. For this recipe, I like to figure 2-3 doves per diner, so pluck as many as you need for dinner.

The glaze for this one screams fall flavor. Start with a half cup of apricot preserves. Add a half cup of apple cider and mix well. To balance the sweetness of the preserves and cider, add two tablespoons each of soy sauce and orange juice. Finish it off with a half teaspoon of garlic powder and mix everything together. Keep this recipe, it works just as well as a glaze for skin on duck breasts.

The glaze ingredients are a mix of sweet and salty fall flavors.

Pat the plucked doves dry. Season well all over with salt and pepper. Place the doves directly on your grill at 325 degrees. Immediately baste on all sides with the glaze. Grill for 8-10 minutes or until the dove is cooked through, basting several times as you go. Just like duck, you don’t want to overcook a dove.

Glaze the dove multiple times during the cooking process.

Serve the grilled dove over a bed of rice.

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