Name: Roast Pigeon with Bitter Orange Sauce
Cuisine: United Kingdom
Ingredients: bouquet garni of parsley stalks, thyme sprigs and bay leaf; 3 tbsp granulated sugar; salt and black pepper; 1 large clove of garlic; 1 tbsp lemon juice; juice of 1 orange, or several Seville oranges if available; 1 heaped tsp cornflour; 1 medium carrot, onion and stick of celery; 2 tbsp Grand Marnier or orange Curaçao shredded orange rind, blanched (optional); 1 glass red wine; 4 fresh pigeons, recently shot, with gizzards, hearts and livers if possible; 25 g butter; 2 strips of orange peel, 8cm long, no pith; 75 ml red wine vinegar; 200 ml stock or water

Preparation info

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Classic Bull

By Stephen Bull

Published 2001

About

Perhaps because they are so common and therefore (relatively) so cheap, the wood pigeon is a grievously underrated bird, with a flavour all its own. More interesting than venison, less extreme than hare, sweeter than much of the wild duck family, for me the pigeon is definitely the poor man’s grouse. They do need careful cooking, though, as like all game birds they are lean, muscular and fit – unlike our soft and nambypamby chickens – so tend to dry out very easily. The trick is (as always