Grilled Dove Poppers

For a lot of us, early September means dove hunting. There's no better way to get our entire family afield in a social hunting situation. Good-natured ribbing over missed shots, and the occasional well done on a made one, keeps everyone involved.

If you've never made a dove popper, the process is pretty simple. You take one side of a breasted-out dove breast, smear it with a bit of cream cheese, top it with a slice of jalapeño pepper and onion, then you wrap the whole thing up with a half slice of bacon, secure it with a toothpick, and toss it on the grill.

Dove breast is a lot like duck. It just tastes better when cooked to about medium or even slightly under. To prevent the dove meat from overcooking, I prefer to use relatively thin bacon for the recipe. Thin bacon does two things. First, it gets nice and crisp in a short enough time to prevent the dove breast from overcooking. Second, a single layer of thin bacon complements the flavor without overpowering the dove meat. There is nothing wrong with the taste of grilled bacon, I cook it that way all the time, but when I eat dove, I want to taste the dove.

(Gear Up for Warm Weather Dove Hunts: Realtree Edge Camo Short Sleeve Performance Shirt)