Wood-fired pigeon recipe

A lot of people think pigeon recipe and they think of the cliched ‘flying rats’ which cause mess and clutter in our urban areas. If only they knew how good their rural cousin the woodpigeon tasted on the plate, especially when cooked with a little imagination. A locally-sourced and sustainable meat, woodpigeon is rich in minerals including iron. They don’t cost an arm and a leg, and in fact a breast is often more than enough for some appetites. This wood-fired pigeon recipe serves four fast.

Ingredients for this wood-fired pigeon recipe

8 woodpigeon breasts
100g watercress
Cornish sea salt
Milled black pepper

Method for this wood-fired pigeon recipe

Season the woodpigeon and set aside.

Build a small fire in a suitable vessel with kindling, oak and woody rosemary stalks.

Once the flame has left red hot embers, cook the pigeon on skewers over the heat.

Serve with the watercress and a little lemon oil.

In his role as development chef for Game-to-Eat Lee Maycock runs a number of game cookery workshops