Roast Pigeons
Ingredients
Directions
Lard the pigeons and roast them like partridges.
Make the gravy similarly, adding ground clove and claret.
Ensure the pigeons are young for the best roasting results.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Pigeons
- Provide the main meat, which is roasted whole like partridge.
- Lard
- Adds fat that bastes the birds and keeps the lean meat moist while roasting.
- Claret
- Adds acidity and wine flavour to the gravy, balancing its richness.
The step that matters
Choosing young pigeons. Young birds have tender meat that roasts well. Older birds are tougher and need longer, slower cooking to become tender, so the quick roast in this method may leave them chewy.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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