The entire dove, broken down into constituent bits, grilled and glazed.

An assorted mix of grilled dove cuts—breasts, legs, hearts, gizzards, and handmade meatballs—skewered, glazed with a rich tare sauce, then charred over coals. Serve this with caramelized sweet potatoes and pickled eggplant.

Featured in the Dove Video.

Serves 4

12 doves, broken down into:

24 skin-on boneless breasts, tenderloins removed and reserved

24 skin-on leg quarters (separate the left legs from the right)

12 gizzards, cleaned 

12 hearts

12 livers

½ tsp salt

1 tbsp Panko breadcrumbs

16 1-inch sections of the white parts of green onions/scallions, greens reserved for the tare

1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges

Tare glaze

1 quart dove, turkey or chicken stock

The green parts of the green onions, charred with a torch or over a grill

1 cup light soy sauce

1 cup mirin or rice wine

1 cup sake

1 cup sugar

Sweet Potatoes

2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1” cubes

3 tbsp sesame oil

3 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp honey

Pickled Eggplant

Soak 20 wooden or bamboo skewers in warm water for at least an hour. Flat yakitori skewers work very well, as they keep the skewers from rolling.

Make the tare glaze: char the uncut greens of the onions over a burner or under a hot broiler. Combine this with the dove stock and bring to a simmer. Add the soy, mirin, sake and sugar and simmer for another hour, or until reduced to 2 cups; strain and keep warm.

Skewer the dove breasts onto 6 skewers of 4 breasts each with the skin-side facing down, alternating the pointy tips of the breasts with the rounded lobes. Trim the breasts to make the skewers uniformly square, setting aside the excess trimmings to make the meatballs. Leave about 1” of the tip of the skewer exposed so it can rest on the grill. Sprinkle very lightly with salt.

Thread the 12 hearts onto 2 skewers with 6 hearts each. 

Thread the gizzards onto 4 skewers of 3 gizzard halves each, alternating with the whites of the onions.

Thread 6 leg quarters each onto 4 skewers, aligning the skin to be on one side. Tuck the skewer under the thigh bone between the bone and skin. It’s best to use all right legs on a skewer and all left legs, so they’re facing the same way and will cook at the same pace.

Finely chop 4 sections of the onion, then chop the reserved tenderloins, breast trimmings and liver until a finely chopped and sticky mass is formed. Season this with about ½ tsp salt and the breadcrumbs. Mix very well until sticky. Separate this into 4 equal portions and form it around 4 skewers with wetted hands, making an elongated oval shape that’s pointed at the ends.

You should have 6 breast skewers, 2 heart skewers, 4 gizzard and onion skewers, 4 leg skewers and 4 meatball skewers, or 20 total skewers.

Grilling: 

Start a medium-hot charcoal fire. Arrange firebricks with just enough space between them to accommodate the meat on the skewers.

Combine the sweet potatoes, sesame oil, soy and honey and toss to combine. Wrap this in a double layer of aluminum foil (if cooking in a fire) or spread out onto a baking sheet. Season with a little salt. Roast the sweet potatoes, nestled into the coals, turning the package every 10 minutes or so, for 30 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are tender and starting to brown. Alternatively, roast the sweet potatoes in a 350°F oven, turning them once, for about 30-40 minutes, or until soft and caramelized.

Put the leg skewers, skin-side down, on the bricks so the heat is focused on the skin side. Grill until nicely charred and browned, dipping in the tare and returning to the grill several times to caramelize for a few seconds, then flip and finish the flesh side for a minute, or until it’s just cooked through.

Grill the gizzards on both sides until lightly charred, then dip in the tare and grill for another minute or two, turning often and dipping in the tare so they glaze nicely and become well charred and caramelized.

Grill the meatballs until lightly browned on both sides, then dip in the tare and return to the grill. Repeat the dipping process with the meatballs a couple of times. Until they’re cooked through and nicely charred and deeply glazed. 

Grill the breast, skin-side down, until lightly browned, then dip in the tare and return to the grill, skin-side down for another minute. Flip and finish the flesh side until they’re barely cooked through and still a little bit pink on the inside. Set aside.

Grill the hearts over a very high heat on both sides, dipping in the tare and glaze a few times and returning to the grill. Sprinkle all the skewers with a little salt. Serve immediately with cold beer or sake, the sweet potatoes, lemon wedges and some pickled eggplant.