Mesquite Grilled Dove Wraps

Would you ever take a fish after it’s been caught, and allow it to sit out in the heat for a couple of hours?

I didn’t think so.

When dove hunting, most of the time, bagged doves are placed in the “game pocket” on the back of the hunting vest sometimes for hours. This causes a concentration of enzymes and bacteria that settles into the meat.

You should plan to have a cooler bag handy with ice and a few gallon-sized freezer zip lock bags. Personalize each bag if two or more are sharing a cooler, and try to place your doves in the cooler every 45 minutes or so.

This is to preserve the doves until proper clean¬ing can be done. The brine, which I describe in this recipe will aid in removing these undesireable enzymes and flavors from the meat, so you can begin the preparation with the clean and natural flavor of the dove. 

Serves 12-16 

Ingredients:

24 dove breasts 

24 Jalapenos (halved and seeded to make 

48 halves) 

2 purple onions peeled and cut into 1” 

thick wedges 

2 cakes of cream cheese (allow to sit out 

to soften for 1-2 hours) 

For the Brine: 

Fillet the breast meat from the breast-plate. Place the fillet halves into a large bowl of ice water. They should be fully submersed. Add ½ cup sea salt to ½ gallon of ice water. Al-low meat to sit for 1-2 hours. Pour off water and rinse the meat again with cold water. 

Preparation:

In a mixing bowl add the following to the cream cheese: 1 tablespoon each of black pepper, garlic salt and basil leaves 

Stuff a Jalapeno half with ¾ tsp cream cheese mixture- place the breast on top of the cream cheese and place the purple onion on top of the breast. Wrap the pepper and breast with a half slice of bacon. Hold the ba¬con in place with a moist round toothpick. (Be sure to wrap tightly to hold in cheese) 

For the Baste: 

(The baste will help to cook the bacon faster and keep the meat from over¬cooking and drying out.) 

1 whole bottle of Syrah or Merlot wine 

¾ jar Jalapeno Kiwi Jelly 

3 T Soy Sauce 

3 T Olive Oil 

1 T Dijon Mustard 

3 tsp. Beef Bullion 

1 T Butter 

1 T Black Pepper 

2 T Rosemary leaves-chopped coarsely 

2 cloves of fresh minced garlic 

Place all of above ingredients in a sauce pan, over medium heat and reduce by ½ of volume. Remove from heat. 

Grilling:

Because they are small and  delicate, and prone to flare ups on the fire, place the dove wraps indirectly over medium high heat on the grill, and keep it covered when not basting them. Turn the wraps every 4 to 5 minutes and baste them every time you turn them until bacon is browned. Remove from the grill to a platter, and cover loosely with a piece of foil for approximately 7 to 8 minutes to rest the meat. Then remove the toothpicks and enjoy. 

Visit our website at www.thetexasgourmet.com for other wild game and spicy food recipes and our finefamily of products.

Email Bryan Slaven at

bryan@thetexasgourmet.com

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