I’ve noticed that one of the most common superlatives used to describe the taste of a squab is “delicious.” Webster defines the meaning as very pleasant, delicious, and delicious, and others add delicious, extremely pleasant to the sense of taste, and capable of causing desire. Having eaten some, I must compete.

I started raising pigeons and squabs after reading Victor M. Giammattei’s “Breeding Small Meat Animals”, DVM, 1976. His chapter entitled “Breeding Delicious Squabs” caught my attention, and I quote the first paragraph. He says: “Interestingly, few people today are familiar with squabs, even fewer have eaten them and even fewer have raised them. There is no logic in this, because squabs are easy to raise and their meat is the best of all. poultry meat.”

All right, you have my attention, sir. I was one of the uninitiated, since at that time I had not eaten a pigeon or seen it offered. he continued. “Squab ranks alongside filet mignon, lobster, or suckling kid (kid). It is found only on the menus of better restaurants and hotels, on steamboats, at country clubs, and in some hospitals. It has been a main course for dinner kings, queens and other nobility since the time of the ancient Greeks… Considering the ease with which they can be raised, the quality of their meat and the modest cost for the backyard breeder, there is no reason why the energetic family should be without pigeon meat – in the opinion of the author, the choicest of all meats”. Why not, in fact, I asked? How did I manage to miss out on this taste? Sign me up.

If this was not enough to convince me of the quality of the squab, I have since found other interesting references. Philippa Scott, from her “Gourmet Game,” lists a recipe for “Trid,” or Moroccan pancakes stuffed with pigeon. She writes: “In his ‘Moorish Recipes’, John, 4th Marquess of Bute, suggests that this dish may well have been introduced to Morocco at the time of Mulai Idris, a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, who fled to Morocco from Mecca, and whose body lies buried in Fez, the land of his exile. It is said to be the oldest Arab dish, and it is said that when the Prophet Muhammad was asked what he liked most in the world, he replied that he loved his wife Above all, everything, but after her, she loved “Trid.”

The Chinese have been raising nestlings for more than 2,000 years. Today, pigeon farms are big business in China, with several hundred operated with government approval and encouragement. They are also great medicine. The Chinese believe that the squab is not only delicious and easy to digest, but the meat and broth can be used to treat a variety of healthy foods. The ancient people used to call pigeons “the sweet-blooded animal”, and they can be used to cure anemia, weakness and fatigue. It can be used to prevent high blood pressure, vascular sclerosis, and osteoporosis, just to name a few. The pigeon was the first type of bird to be designated as “green food” by the China Green Food Development Center, which means that the pigeon is the cleanest and most immaculate meat product to consume.

In the American scene, the use of the pigeon may be the result of people’s memory and affection for the tenderness and flavor of the homing pigeon, and we know what happened to that miraculous horde. They ate them. Thomas Jefferson and the history of the United States are forever intertwined. Among many other things, Jefferson was a “foodie” – there should have been such a term in those days. He loved his land, its crops, and his meals provided with them. He was famous for his dinner parties and for his dinner guests. Squab was on the menu, raised in his own lofts. “Pigeon in compote”, a French recipe, was one of his favorite dishes.

William Randolph Hearst, in his day, was one of the richest and most powerful men in America. Like Jefferson, he too was famous for his dinner parties and extensive menus. The estate was well known for its squab and squab dinners, served to other celebrities and American royals lucky enough to be included on the guest list. If they were very lucky, “Hearst Ranch Squab,” a stuffed roasted bird, would be on the table.

So folks, try a squab today. If it’s good enough for a prophet, an American founding father, and one of the richest men in the world, it’s good enough for me. After all, 1.4 billion Chinese, with a “B”, can’t be wrong.

By the way, did I mention that you can raise them in a small backyard? You don’t have to be born to royal bloodlines either, but you can dine the way you do. They are, a more “delightful” bird.

Recipes

Trid: Moroccan Stuffed Pigeon Pancakes

1 1/2 pounds squab meat, cut into about 20 pieces. Salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, a good pinch of saffron, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 tablespoon chopped chervil, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, 3 large onions (chopped), 1/2 cup water , 1 cup of olive oil, 3 heaping cups of flour.

Simmer meat, salt and pepper, spices and herbs, onions, water, and 1/2 cup olive oil in a heavy saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Make a simple dough with flour and very little water. Work well, then make about 20 balls the size of small chicken eggs. Flatten each one on a lightly oiled board into a very thin disk. Cook each on a dry griddle, not too hot but cooked through on both sides.

Place half of these cooked pancakes in a baking dish, overlapping each other and coming up the sides of the dish. When the meat is tender, remove the cinnamon stick and place the meat on top of the pancakes. Top with the remaining pancakes. Pour some of the cooking liquid over the trid, and serve the rest as a sauce.

From Gourmet Game: Recipes and stories from around the world by Philippa Scott.

Squab in Compote

6 fat squabs, 2 tablespoons butter, 1 cup finely chopped onion, 1 finely chopped carrot, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 slices diced bacon, 1/4 pound sliced ​​mushrooms, 1/3 cup sherry or wood.

Tie the cushions. Melt the butter in a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Add the squabs along with the onion, carrot and salt. Sauté until delicately browned on all sides, turning birds frequently. Next, add the bacon, mushrooms, and sherry or Madeira. Cover tightly and simmer in the oven on low heat for 40 to 45 minutes or until tender when tested with a fork. Don’t overcook them or they will fall apart. Remove the birds and serve with the sauce on the side.

Hearst Ranch Squab

6 fat squabs, 3 cups breadcrumbs, 4 eggs, 2 cups grated Romano cheese, 2 garlic cloves, 2 teaspoons chopped parsley, 3 chopped onions, a pinch of marjoram, salt and pepper to taste, 1/2 cup of olive oil, 1 cup burgundy.

Drain the nestlings until dry, cut off the wingtips. Mix the ingredients, except the oil and the claret. Fill the birds with the mixer and close the skewer. Brush the birds with oil and place the breast in an uncovered baking dish. Bake in preheated oven at 400 degrees until golden (35 minutes). Paint with oil, spray with claret. Serve on thin toast with a Borderlino or California red wine.