Dove Skewers with Spicy Peanut Sauce
A must-try recipe for medium-rare dove breasts with peppers, onions, and pineapple, drizzled with peanut sauce
I feel like for every new dove recipe I write, my introduction needs to convince a jury box that dove poppers is not the correct verdict—at least not for every dove you put on death row. But the argument needs the proper ratio of ethos, logos, and pathos.
Ethos (speaker’s trustworthiness): I let my recipes do the talking.
Logos (appeal to reason or logic): Dove poppers are dull and dry out dove breasts. Plus, bacon-wrapped anything is overrated.
Pathos (appeal to emotions): Tastebuds don’t have emotions. If they did, they would yearn for this recipe.
But the bottom line remains: If dove poppers are something you look forward to every September, go for it. If you find yourself folding more doves than you expected and want to try something new, you can’t go wrong with this recipe here.
This recipe uses the spice rub: The Provider’s Fowl. Alternative marinade listed below.
Ultimate Dove Skewer Recipe: Sizzle with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
Skewer
- Breasts from a dozen doves
- Suggested spice rub: The Provider’s Fowl
- 1 Red onion chopped
- 5-6 large jalapeños seeded and chopped
- 1 fresh pineapple chopped into small cubes
Optional marinade instead of spice rub
Spicy Peanut Sauce
- 1 ⅓ cups unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 ½ cups creamy peanut butter
- 3 tbsp red curry paste
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- Juice from half a lime
- ¼ cup brown sugar
Garnish
- Freshly chopped cilantro
- Fresh lime slices
Instructions
- Breast out your doves. If you plucked your birds, you can leave the skin on. The night or morning before grilling them, in a large mixing bowl, mix the breasts with the spice rub or make the marinade.
- Add ingredients other than the oil to a medium saucepan to make the marinade—heat on medium-low. Let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring intermittently. When it’s done, add the olive oil and allow it to cool before adding the dove breasts to the marinade.
- To assemble the skewers, start by soaking wooden skewers in water. Alternatively, use stainless steel skewers. Chop the red onion into thick squares. Remove the stems, pulp, and seeds from the jalapeño peppers, cut them in half, and chop them into large squares. Cut the rind off the pineapple and chop it into cubes, being sure to remove the center (which is a tough texture).
- With the skewers, alternate between onion, pineapple, peppers, and dove breasts. Pack each ingredient tightly up and down the skewer. You may wish to fold dove breasts in half when adding them to a skewer.
- Add all ingredients to a small or medium saucepan to make the peanut sauce. Heat on low, stirring occasionally. Be careful not to let it burn.
- To cook the skewers, preheat a grill to a hot temperature, a minimum of 500 degrees Fahrenheit. I’ve been using an infrared grill from Schwank Grills. It gets up to 1,500 F. I put my skewers on the tray and raised it toward the ceiling (where the infrared heat is), charred one side, flipped, repeated, then removed my skewers. The whole process took 2 minutes. Regardless of your grill, you want to grill all sides of the skewers until there is a nice char on all sides. Hot and fast is the goal, so get a nice texture on the outside but keep your dove breasts medium-rare.
- Drizzle with the peanut sauce prior to serving. You may wish to add the peanut sauce to a squeeze bottle, but that isn’t necessary. Drizzle it on top of the skewers by spooning out the sauce from the saucepan or serving the sauce on the side as a dipping sauce. Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro, and add some fresh lime slices.
Notes
