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Having access to some woodpigeons I decided to make some bangers to see how they would turn out.
I removed the breasts (200 in total) and put through the coarse mincer with around 5lb of good pork shoulder. Pigeon is a very dry meat with virtually no fat so it does need quite a bit of fat content added. I added 2 tins of cider, half a bottle of white wine, a good handful of ground black pepper, a little salt, garlic powder, onion powder, 2 jars of wholegrain mustard and 6 large table spoons of whole mustard seeds. I then added a kilo of pin head rusk and two packets of sage, thyme and red onion stuffing mix. 2 small bags of dried cranberries were cut up and added before running the entire mix back through the coarse grinder again. I dont like a mushy sausage so I did not mince any finer as the consistency felt just right. I made 150 fat sausages and let them dry a little before packing them down. I can only say WOW, well worth the bother !!! really good flavour and the warmth of the black pepper and mustard seeds is really pleasant.

That sounds like a wonderful recipe. I have access to wood pigeons and will give this try in the new year.

Jen

200 breasts is a lot of work, I'm glad it was worth the effort. How would you describe the taste of woodpigeons? Are they close to duck?

Probably closer to quail

NCPaul wrote: How would you describe the taste of woodpigeons? Are they close to duck?

I used to 'confit' Woodpigeon in butter, sealed into a pot with dough paste. Once cooked slowly this way, they would have a flavour similar to a beef brisket. It is a dark meat but wouldn't say its anything like duck - wild or domestic.