It’s September first. Many hunters consider the opening day of dove season to be the unofficial opening of the Fall hunting season. As the sun peaks at high noon, the echoes of a shotgun symphony can be heard across the field. A volley of blasts is accompanied by fellow hunters shouting “OVER!” You endure the full force of the brutal noon-day and shoot until your arm says mercy.
Every drop of sweat and shotshell shot is in pursuit of that wonderful little delicacy known as the dove breast. Filleting a dove breast off the bone is a simple process. If you have ever patch-cocked a chicken, a dove has the same attributes, just smaller. Here’s how I get fillet the breast off a dove.
Step 1
Clean and wash your dove breast. I let my dove sit on a paper towel in the refrigerator overnight to help drain away the excess juices.
Step 2
A dove breast consists of two pieces of meat separated by a breast bone. Like a chicken.
Run your knife along each side of the breast bone. I go slow and try and get as close to the bone as possible. I try and get every morsel of meat I can.
I like my 4” Rapala fillet knife for this. It’s small, sharp, and flexible.
Step 3
Work the breast meat away from the bone. I prefer to use my fingers for this because it gives me a better “feel” for the meat. It also lessens the chance of accidental slices on the meat itself. It’s not hard. Doves are small and after the initial cuts, the meat just peals right out. The whole process is quick and simple.
Step 4
Dove bones are small and just make for a less-than pleasurable eating experience for many non-hunters. I like to collect the bones and save them to go in my stock pot. There’s not much to a dove bone, but what little is left, adds to my homemade stock.
Step 5
Those little pieces of dove meat are ready for whatever you see fit. Fresh poppers from the field to the fryer are always a winner. Since doves are a little bit of a precious commodity in my hunting life, I like to vacuum seal and freeze mine for later use. I like to bust out dove poppers in the middle of my fall camping trips.
Filleting dove is a simple process, so don’t overcomplicate it. Pick your knife and find your slicing groove. Before you know it, you’ll have a pile of freshly filleted dove breasts. Stay safe, shoot straight, and keep a sharp knife. Happy filleting!
Love how informative this article is. There really needs to be more information about wild game meats. Great article.
Thank you much! I agree. I’ll work on getting some more wild game recipes posted up!
This is such great information – I had no idea how to go about this. Thanks!
The detailed pictures that show the process are so helpful!
Thank You!
I think it’s pretty cool they make the shape of a heart ❤️
This is really helpful! Thank you!
You’re welcome! Glad this helps!
This works great on larger birds, too, but you may need a little more knife work and a little less “peeling” of the meat.
No doubt! I find “peeling” the meat off the bone only really works for dove because they are so small. Everything else takes more knife.
This post reminded me of my childhood. We raised what we called “Barble Doves” in Jamaica, and the sound we echoed to call them for food was coo cooo cooo; flocks of them would fly down from the trees, the neighbor’s rooftop, and their house in a backyard tree to feed. I would never end their life, but my brother would, and make a delicious dove soup. I appreciate you sharing your method for filleting dove breasts. It would be fascinating to try dove meat as an adult.
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