It's Dove Season Y'all!

September first this year was a very important “holiday” amongst my friends’ group, and I’m sure among many others across the state as well. Here in Kentucky September first, 2021, was opening day of dove season! It’s kind of a big deal! Even with opening day falling on a Wednesday, we didn’t skip a beat. I had to work that day, but as soon as 4:30 pm hit I was out the door, in my car, and on my way to the dove field! I pulled up, threw on my camouflage, cracked open a beer, and was ready to go.

Dove hunting on opening day runs 11:00 am until dusk, so everybody else was already in the field with birds on the ground. I made my way down to the field listening to my friends’ gunfire and cheers, pulling up to birdshot raining on my car. I made my way across the field towards some trees where a group of my friends were hunting.

For those who have never dove hunted before, it isn’t like going deer hunting (which is what I was used to and probably why I love dove hunting so much). You don’t have to sit still, and be quiet, and wait. You aren’t waiting for hours hoping something comes along. For us, you could consider it somewhat of a party. It is simply a good time! It is one of the very few hunts that you can go on, not being a shooter, and still have a blast. It’s a team effort. You’ll know when the doves are flying, whether you see them or not. The sound of multiple shotguns going off, cheering, yelling… Excitement!

When dusk approaches and the shooting stops, opening day festivities are far from over! We gather our birds, make our way up to the barn and the cleaning begins. Everybody gets together and helps clean all the birds. The daily dove limit is 15 birds per person, so depending on how many people you have and how good the doves are flying, you can imagine how it can add up quickly. After all the doves are cleaned and we are left with a tractor bucket of feathers and a large container of breasts, it’s time to fire up the grill!

Dove breast is all dark meat, you could compare it to the dark meat of a turkey or duck, it’s also delicious! I have eaten it as baked or grilled breast, like you would fix a chicken breast, and it is very good, but there is a better way to enjoy dove, especially on opening day. DOVE POPPERS! By far the best way to end opening day is to grill up some fresh dove poppers and enjoy them with your friends! They are super easy to make and my absolute favorite way to consume dove.

Everyone makes their dove poppers differently and you can add as much to them as you want when it comes to seasoning, or just keep it simple, either way they will taste amazing. All you need to do is take one side of a breasted-out dove breast, smear it with a bit of cream cheese, top it with a slice of jalapeño pepper and onion, then you wrap the whole thing up with a half slice of bacon, secure it with a toothpick, and toss it on the grill. Depending on how many dove you have assembling the poppers can become a little tedious, this is where the teamwork comes in.

What You’ll Need:

~15 doves, breasted out into two pieces of meat for each dove

~Salt and pepper & other preferred seasonings to taste

~1 pound of bacon

~One 8-ounce block of cream cheese

~1 jar of sliced jalapeño peppers

~1/2 white onion, cut into bite-sized pieces

~Toothpicks

First, you’ll start by seasoning your dove breasts to your preference. Next take a strip of bacon (the thinner, the better) and slice it down the center to make it a half strip.

Now it’s time to put the poppers together!

Start by laying out a slice of bacon, flat. Lay one side of the dove breast (boneless) on the bacon (at an end). Top the dove breast with some cream cheese. Put a slice of jalapeño on top of the cream cheese and then an onion slice on top of that.

Roll the popper tightly, secure it with a toothpick, and then repeat until all of the poppers are assembled.

Now, just put them on the grill until the bacon is cooked and crispy, it usually takes around 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

(I usually pair them with a good ole’ Busch Latte)

For more information about Dove Hunting in Kentucky:

https://fw.ky.gov/Hunt/Pages/Migratory-Bird-Hunting.aspx