Cleaning doves for a meal can be done quickly with the proper technique.
Doves are a popular game bird in North America. Hunters are able to hunt doves in the fall months, normally between Sept. 1 and the end of December. Some hunters choose to donate their meat, but others prefer to clean and eat their own game birds. Cleaning doves normally does not require much time because the birds small compared with ducks or geese. With a few household items, you can clean doves and enjoy them in your favorite recipes. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Instructions
1. Fill a large mixing bowl half-full with warm water, and pour about 2 tbsp. of salt into the water. Place the bowl next to area where you will be cleaning the doves. Spread out newspapers on the counter or table where you will be working, and put on a pair of rubber or latex gloves.
2. Pick up a dove. Cut off both wings and the head with a pair of garden shears. Place all of the unused parts into the trash bag. Cut a small incision in the bird's belly with a pocket knife so that you can grab its skin with your thumb and index finger. Only cut into the skin, not into the meat below. Peel back the skin away from the body, and use the knife to cut any sections that stick. Check the body for any excess fat, which will be yellow and mushy, and roll it off the body cavity with your fingers.
3. Place the dove on the newspapers, breast side up. Insert your right thumb into the bottom of the body cavity, just under the breastplate. Hold the dove's back with your left hand. Pry the breast away from the rest of the body by quickly pulling up with your right hand. Throw the rest of the body cavity into the trash bag.
4. Clean off all of the feathers, and rinse the dove breast under a stream of cold water in the sink. Place the breast into the saltwater in the mixing bowl. Repeat the cleaning process for each additional dove. Place the mixing bowl into the refrigerator. Allow the dove breasts to soak in the saltwater for at least two hours, and preferably overnight, before cooking. The saltwater will help purge any blood from the tissue before you eat it, as well as add some flavor.
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