Dove Hunting a South Texas Tradition with a Good Recipe

Almost everyone I know from South Texas has been dove hunting even if they weren’t the ones shooting. It’s a very social kind of hunting, or at least I have experienced it to be. I can remember at an early age going with my father and uncles to go sit in grandmas grain fields to hunt dove. I was of course the bird dog….. Nena go get that bird….. Gladly I would go fetch up the doves and bring them back! Dove hunting is where most of us down here started out hunting. I have been on several group dove hunts that included youth hunters with 410 shotguns and huge smiles across their faces! It is awesome watching kids hunt! Their wonder, excitement, and enthusiasm is contagious!

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Dove are a blast to hunt and even better to eat. There are several different ways you can prepare and cook the tasty little birds. I prefer to grill mine wrapped in bacon with some cheese! Dove are great as appetizers at parties and even good as a main course if you have enough of them. Below is a quick and easy marinade recipe for bacon wrapped dove. Its an easy one, very friendly to the anti cooks out there! It’s an easy but very tastes one, promise!

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Grilled Bacon Wrapped Dove Breast

Ingredients: dove breast, Italian dressing, toothpicks, Dijon mustard, bacon, fresh jalepanoes peppers, cream cheese, olive oil

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1. Clean the dove breast off making sure there are no feathers left on them. Then place them in a bowl with Italian dressing or a light vinegar dressing. Let marinate for several hours, or even over night. Keep the dove refrigerated when marinating.

2. Cut the fresh jalepanoes in halves and remove the seeds

3. Fill the jalepanoes slices up with cream cheese

4. Take the jalepanoe cheese filled half and set it on top of the dove breast. Use the bacon to hold the jalepanoe to the dove breast by wrapping it around both pepper and dove holding it together with a tooth pick.

5. Now take the Dijon mustard and mix some olive oil in it. Next lightly drizzle a little of the mixture on each bacon wrapped dove. Save some of the mustard sauce for basting the birds while they are grilling.

6. Now it’s grill time…..place your birds on the grill and stay on top of them. They are little and cook fast. Only let sear for about two minutes on each side. Baste them with mustard and olive oil mixture while they are cooking so they don’t dry out.

7. Take the dove of the grill and pig out!!!!! Dinner is served!