Per person: 1 young roast pigeon, black pepper, juniper berries, salt, 6 garlic cloves, butter, olive oil; white bread.
Preheat the oven to 250°. Rub the pigeons inside and out with the freshly ground pepper, crushed juniper berries, and salt.
Heat the butter and olive oil in a heavy saucepan and brown the pigeons in it on all sides. Turn each bird on its side. Now add the unpeeled garlic cloves to the pot, salt lightly and place the pot in the hot oven. After 10 minutes, turn the pigeons to the other side, also turning the garlic cloves. Return the pot to the oven; after another 10 minutes, turn the pigeons onto their backs to brown the breasts. Don't leave them in the oven too long, so that the pigeons are cooked but the breasts are still pink inside.
Also, the garlic is cooked, and the insides of the cloves can be easily squeezed out of the skins. It tastes excellent, spread on fresh white bread, for instance, with the aromatic meat of the pigeons, reminiscent of wildfowl. With it a red wine of the best.
With Waldemar Thomas at Tauben-Appel in Florstadt
In the land of milk and honey, the roasted pigeons are supposed to fly straight to your mouth. That is interesting, because not about higher poultry, such as snipe, partridges or pheasants, thus embody the permanent good life, but of all things the modest little pigeon is supposed to take the crown. Here and today, this may alienate many, because pigeons are not exactly popular in our kitchens, as meat suppliers they do not play a major role. Yet pigeon meat is of a very special delicacy, is tender and is characterized by a pronounced aroma reminiscent of game birds. In a word, it has character.
In view of all these virtues, culinary interest in pigeons can't be all bad, and indeed the Appels are already quite happy with sales of both their roast and the older, heavier so-called "soup pigeons". Both cost €3.10 each. Although they are on the farmers market only recently to have, Werner Appel could already win a number of regular customers for the pigeons from the Wetterau.
In older cookbooks, you can read a lot about how and how to recognize whether you have young animals in front of you. With Appel pigeons, you can get by without such knowledge, since the danger of catching an old bird among the roast pigeons is zero. Because Regina Appel rings the young pigeons when they are about 2 months old - and go through a critical phase: colds can give the young birds a hard time. The age of the pigeons is therefore easy to read at any time by the different colors of the rings.
The Appels slaughter their roast pigeons at the age of half a year. They are offered already ready to cook, plucked dry. Because scalding affected the flavour of the meat. Of course, they are also gutted; liver, heart and stomach can be found cleaned inside. If you appreciate particularly aromatic meat, ask for pigeons that have flown a lot, recognizable by the even darker meat that resembles wildfowl. Because on the way the birds find still so all kinds of Beikost and are not only dependent on the grain in the domestic stable. This is mainly corn, which is available in the form of cobs at the Appels all year round. Since what the animals themselves like is almost always the most suitable accompaniment to their meat, roast pigeon with fresh corn is a delicious and wholesome combination to boot. But I love even more whole, softly braised garlic cloves with pigeon.
Better things can be made from the so-called soup pigeons than bland sick food, too. A wonderfully intense power broth namely, pigeon consommé. It appears on the menus of fine restaurants from time to time, and only rarely do I miss it.
Regina and Werner Appel
Fußhain 15
61197 Florstadt
Phone: 06035 - 6231
Opening hours: Sale ex farm by appointment
Markets: Fri: Roßbach v.d.H., Sat: Bauernmarkt Frankfurt, Konstablerwache
from Waldemar Thomas