Girl Hunter Part 4

Serves 6 to 8 Doves are one of the easiest birds to pluck and so can easily be kept whole. But if you simply like to breast your dove, as many people do, this recipe is simple and requires only ingredients that are usually on hand anyway during a dove hunt-birds and beer. The beer and baking powder give the breast a puffiness and a crunch. It is the perfect complement to that rich liver flavor dove tends to have. I recommend a sweet-and-sour or barbecue dipping sauce (see pages 226 and 227), though the battered dove is also nice just as it is.

30 dove b.r.e.a.s.t.s, bone in

4 cups vegetable or grape seed oil

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 (12-ounce) can beer

Salt and pepper

1. Rinse the dove b.r.e.a.s.t.s under cold water until the water runs clear. Pat the b.r.e.a.s.t.s dry with paper towels and set aside on a plate.

2. In a medium-size pot wide enough to hold about eight dove b.r.e.a.s.t.s at a time, heat the oil over a medium flame. The wider your pot, the more vegetable oil you will need to completely submerge the dove b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly whisk in the beer until the liquid is uniform and the consistency of thick syrup.

4. Using your fingers or a fork, dip one breast in the batter until it is uniformly covered. Dip one side of the breast in the hot oil to see if it immediately sizzles. If it doesn't, wait for the oil to get hotter. Keep testing with the same dove breast, then add more battered b.r.e.a.s.t.s, enough to cover the bottom of the pot.

5. Once one side of the breast is golden brown, turn it over and cook the other side until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes total.

6. Set a wire rack over a sheet tray. Remove the b.r.e.a.s.t.s from the pot with a slotted spoon and place them on the rack. Sprinkle all sides with salt and pepper to help retain the crispiness for serving.

7. Repeat until all the dove b.r.e.a.s.t.s are cooked, and serve immediately.

Also try: brant, coot, duck, gallinule, goose, grouse, prairie chicken, partridge, pheasant, pigeon, ptarmigan, quail, rail, snipe, turkey, squirrel, rabbit

Poached Dove and Pears in Brandy Sauce

Serves 4, as an appetizer This starter is cool and light, but with a hint of fall, like Labor Day or an Indian summer. It is perfect when temperatures can still be hot, and the rich, heavy game recipes aren't quite suitable yet. Brandy and vermouth round out these sweet and gamey flavors-the vermouth is subtle and rich and the brandy, which you light on fire, gives it all a caramel finish. The blue cheese adds the salty tang and the mint ensures that it is fresh and not too cloying. There wasn't a speck left in the bowl after my fellow hunters and I sat down to dinner.

10 to 15 dove b.r.e.a.s.t.s, peeled from the breastbone

2 cups ripe pears, peeled, cored, and quartered

1 cup vermouth

1/2 cup brandy

1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh mint

2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese

Freshly ground black pepper

1. Place the dove and pears in a wide saucepan or saute pan. Pour in the vermouth and poach, uncovered, at a low simmer for 10 minutes, turning over halfway through.

2. Add the brandy, light it with a match, and let the alcohol burn off.

3. With a slotted spoon, remove the pears and dove from the liquid and transfer to a bowl. Reduce the remaining liquid by half and pour it into the bowl.

4. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

5. Before serving, add the mint, blue cheese, and pepper to taste. Toss and serve. Also try: brant, coot, duck, gallinule, goose, grouse, prairie chicken, partridge, pheasant, pigeon, ptarmigan, quail, rail, snipe, turkey, squirrel, rabbit

14-Dove Putach

Serves 8 to 10 This is my take on a very traditional Italian dish made frequently in the Mississippi Delta region. Most people there have memories of putach made by their mother, grandmother, or great-aunt. It works with many kinds of meat, but what makes it a true putach is the vinegar and rosemary base. People add their own elements from there-crushed tomatoes, potatoes-I have even seen the addition of Cajun sausage. My version on a warm September afternoon went like this: 2 tablespoons grape seed oil

14 whole doves, plucked, gutted, feet trimmed, and wings cut at first joint

2 cups red wine

2 large onions, chopped

3 cups b.u.t.ton mushrooms, quartered

10 to 12 gloves garlic, crushed

1 sprig fresh rosemary

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste

3/4 cup diced tomatoes