Recipe: Dove Breast Buffalo Wings

Today I would like to introduce you all to one of my other favorite hobbies, EATING!!!  I have a recipe to share with you all.

Dove Breast Buffalo Wings

Ingredients:

8 dove breast, filleted
2 eggs
Flour
Frank's Red Hot (or Louisiana style hot sauce of your choice)
Cheyenne pepper
Paprika
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Bacon grease or peanut oil (for frying) 


Directions:

Fillet dove breasts with a sharp knife.  Having a sharp knife makes this a much easier task.  Thinking of which, that would make for a great blog post. Take your sharp knife and slowly peel the dove breasts away from the sternum  with your off thumb and slice towards the inside of the breast.  You should also be feeling the breast fillets for shot as you are handling them, this is a great time to get any stray pieces out. Filleting is somewhat tedious, recruit help if you're doing a large batch. ;)



After you have filleted your breasts, soak the meat in a saltwater brine while you prep everything else.  This helps draw out any clotted blood in the meat as well as adds a little salt flavor.

Next, pour an ample amount of flour onto a plate or cookie sheet, 1-2 cups should do.  You will want to heavily season your flour.  Add about a half tsp of Cheyenne pepper, 1 tablespoon of paprika,  about a half a teaspoon each of garlic & onion powder, as much fresh finely ground pepper as you feel like grinding, and about a half a teaspoon of finely ground salt.  Don't use iodized salt, it just doesn't taste as good.  I prefer Kosher or sea salt.

(insiders tip, when seasoning flour you want your seasonings finely ground such that they become suspended in the flour.  If the particles are too large they will settle to the bottom of your dish and won't stick to your meat.)

Taste your dry flour by dipping the tip of your finger in the mix, you should be able to taste your seasonings.  If you can't, go back and add more now.

Next, crack your eggs and dump them into a medium sized bowl, 6-8" diameter is fine.  To this add salt and pepper as you would season your breakfast eggs.  I season all components of my dishes so that you don't have any flat tasting components.  Whisk in 1-2 tablespoons of your Frank's Red Hot into your egg wash. 

Now is a great time to start warming up your favorite cast iron skillet with a fair amount of bacon grease or peanut oil.  I like about an 1/8" thick layer across the bottom of my pan.  This should be close to enough to cook the entire batch in, but keep in mind you may need to add some more oil as it is consumed by the "wings".

Remove your breasts from the salt water brine and pat them dry with a paper towel.  Once dry, coat them with your flour mix and replace them on a dry plate.  Test the heat of your oil/ grease with a bit of flour.  If it sizzles then it is ready to fry, if not let your pan warm up more.

After ensuring your pan is ready, move your plate and bowl close to your pan, you don't want to make more of a mess than this is already bound to create.  Quickly and gently wash your breasts, one at a time in the egg wash and coat them with your seasoned flour.  After thoroughly coating both sides with flour gently set them in the pan.  I try to keep a few going at a time and rotating them out as they finish.  I keep an assembly line attitude towards this.  One out, one in until they are all done.

Cook on each side until browned to your liking.  After removing them from the pan place them onto a paper towel lined cookie sheet or plate.  While they are draining you can quickly wash your egg bowl and then pour a few tablespoons of your hot sauce into the bowl.  You're going to coat the "wings" in the hot sauce and then finish them an oven on a cookie sheet at about 400 degrees Fahrenheit for around 5-7 minutes or until crisp.

All that's left is to remove them from the oven and let them cool before plating and consuming them.  Hope you enjoyed cooking these as much as I did.  I'm sure you and your guests will love them.

Keep shooting,
Dave