Wood Pigeon with Rosemary Roast Potatoes and Red Wine Gravy

Name: Wood Pigeon with Rosemary Roast Potatoes and Red Wine Gravy
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 3 - 4
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon + 1 tablespoon plain flour; 1 tablespoon redcurrant jelly; 200ml red wine; 1.5kg Maris Pipers, peeled and cut into similarly sized chunks; 125ml vegetable oil

Drogo

Servings

3 - 4

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

45 minutes

This wood pigeon recipe is a wonderfully comforting way to enjoy this distinctive game bird during the season. Roasted wood pigeon is served with crisp rosemary roast potatoes and a rich, glossy red wine gravy for a classic combination that's ideal for an autumn or winter meal.

Wood pigeon has a characteristically rich game flavour, so it works particularly well with robust accompaniments. Here, red wine, chicken stock and redcurrant jelly create a deeply flavoured gravy, while golden Maris Piper potatoes roasted with rosemary make the perfect side.

If you're wondering how to cook wood pigeon, this recipe keeps things relatively simple: the birds are browned in a frying pan before being transferred to the oven for a short roast, then rested before serving.

Ingredients

Wood Pigeon with Rosemary Roast Potatoes and Red Wine Gravy

1 tablespoon + 1 tablespoon plain flour
1 tablespoon redcurrant jelly
200ml red wine
1.5kg Maris Pipers, peeled and cut into similarly sized chunks
125ml vegetable oil

Directions

Method

Step 1, Preheat the oven to 200C.
Step 2, Combine the chicken stock, red wine and redcurrant jelly in a saucepan and reduce vigorously until you have around 200ml left - it will look a little syrupy at this point. Set aside.
Step 3, Rub the butter and flour together until you have paste and roll into a ball. Set aside.
Step 4, Parboil the potatoes in salted water for 2 minutes. Preheat the oil in the baking tray until really hot.
Step 5, Drain the potatoes and give them a shake in the colander, then sprinkle with the plain flour and mix.
Step 6, Spread the potatoes out in the fat in a single layer. Cook for 15 minutes then turn and cook for a further 15 minutes, adding the rosemary 5 minutes before the end.
Step 7, Brown the pigeons in a frying pan for a couple of minutes, then transfer to the oven and cook for 8 minutes. Set aside to rest.
Step 8, Deglaze the roasting tin with the red wine reduction and heat until bubbling. Add the butter and flour mixture and whisk until glossy. Taste and season and serve with the pigeon and roast potatoes.