I’ve never been able to stockpile a whole bunch of doves. I go on one or two dove shoots a season, usually on the opening weekend, and as luck would have it, the birds are usually elsewhere. Between Rachel and I, we’ll scratch out a handful of doves, maybe even have a one man limit between two of us after a weekend, but suffice to say, very few doves make it to the freezer.

It’s a shame, because both of us love eating doves. These tiny birds are consistently one of the best tasting things that fly around here. They’re the easiest bird to pluck, and you can cook a mess of them up in minutes. 

Their scarcity in our kitchen only adds to their value. They have become a seasonal signifier, the beginning of hunting season, cool weather, the transition from fishing rods to shooting irons, long hot days to short dark ones. 

Cooking doves with high heat is basically the only way we do it. Whether on the grill or under the broiler, these birds are best cooked with a short blast of intense heat, just enough to get the skin and legs crispy, and keep the breast meat rosy and juicy.

This pepper paste has plenty of summer heat to it, and that unique numbing sensation you get from the szechuan peppers. The slight bit of char on the peppers and garlic, combined with the crispy dove skin, lends a unique late summer-early fall vibe to it.

There's not much to this recipe- smash the ingredients together, rub the doves, and broil them. That's all there is to it.

Szechuan Pepper Broiled Doves

Prep time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

Doves, plucked, gutted but otherwise whole

Szechuan pepper paste (makes enough for ~6 doves):

2 tbsp szechuan peppercorns

3 bulbs garlic

4-6 arbol peppers, dried

~2 tbsp canola oil

Method:

Preheat broiler.

Using a mortar and pestle or food processor, crush the szechuan peppercorns, garlic and arbol peppers until uniformly coarse. Add in a little bit of oil and continue to pulverize, until you have a thick, chunky paste. Add oil as needed to achieve the desired texture.

Season doves with salt, and liberally rub the pepper paste onto the doves. 

Cook doves, breast side up, on a sheet pan under broiler for 5-7 minutes, until internal temperature reaches ~130-135F and skin is crispy and golden brown on the edges. The peppers should have a slight char on the edges.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for a few minutes before serving.