the last couple weekends have been filled with my first hunting experiences - dove hunting! some friends of ours generously invited us out to hunt, and taught us how to clean and prepare the doves we'd shot.
j got a total kick out of it, while i was content to snack in my chair. it turns out dove hunting is a pretty inactive form of hunting. we posted up in a couple spots - once near the river, and again aside a field of sugarcane, and waited for the doves to fly within range. we had so much fun, and the experience even convinced j to buy a new shotgun (not that he needed that much convincing...) but we can't wait for future trips!
after our successful trips, we were told one of the best ways to prepare dove is to place it atop a jalapeno, with a strip of cream cheese, then the piece of dove, and wrap in bacon.
we marinaded the dove overnight, followed the instructions above, secured our little jalapeno creations with toothpicks, and grilled over medium-high heat until the dove was cooked through and the bacon was crispy.
according to everyone the dove taste deliciously like steak - no gamey taste. i had a hard time getting over the organ-look of the meat to try it.