I recently traded a beautiful pigeon from Gledpark which made me a delicious lunch!

Watch the video here!

If you are lucky enough to get your hands on a whole pigeon you are in for a treat. But not many people know how to deal with a game bird in its entirety.

This technique works well for most birds and means you don’t have to go through the ordeal of plucking them!

Don’t forget to use a sharp filleting knife for this job. If you use a knife without a good flex to it you could leave a lot of flesh on the carcass. And with a pigeon you can’t afford to leave anything behind!

Lay the bird flat down on your board with the breast facing up.
Wet the feathers well along the breast bone so they don’t fly all over your kitchen!
Feel along the centre of the breast and locate the breast bone.
Very gently use your fingers to pull aside the feathers away from the centre. The breast bone should reveal itself quite easily.
Use you knife to make a careful incision along the breast bone just to split the skin and reveal the bone.
Now use the flex of the side of the knife to to gently release the flesh along one side of the rib cage. Make sure the knife blade is flat against the cage and not cutting into the flesh.
Use your fingers to gently hold the flesh away from the bone. Then as you use your knife the flesh should easily release.
Keep moving down in small gently movements. You will need to cut around the joint where the breast meets the wing.
Release the whole breast from the bird and then trim any little bits of feather or sinew. Was and it’s ready for the pan!

Thank you www.gledpark.co.uk for the pigeon!