We are in the middle of the hunting season, and it seems difficult to imagine French gastronomy without game. Some dishes have become part of the national heritage, such as the hare à la royale. And all cookbooks, from the oldest to the most modern, devote many chapters to game.
We used to hunt for food, which is no longer necessarily true today. It is advisable for the hunters to take care to respect the balances in nature. Thierry Costes, political advisor to the French hunting federation, explains that hunters practice both a fun activity and a watch on biodiversity.
“Hunting is the protection of territories and biodiversity because people who hunt do so less than 10 kilometers from their home, so they have a particular attachment to their territory.”
Thierry Costes, political advisor to the French Hunting Federationto franceinfo
However, the hunt does not only have defenders. There are many who denounce the act of killing animals for fun. It is not for us here to reconcile the two positions, the “for” and “against”, even by putting forward arguments of balance or respect for nature, but to evoke the dishes which consecrate the game.
To accompany this sequence, Thierry Marx offers you a roasted wood pigeon recipe.
Ingredients for six :
3 wood pigeons, 5 dl of Armagnac, 150 g of butter, 2 shallots, 30 g of flour, 1 bottle of red wine, 1 slice of Bayonne ham, 200 g of button mushrooms, 20 small onions, salt and pepper.
Preperation :
For each pigeon, separate the thighs from the breast. Roast for 2 to 3 minutes in an oiled pan. To book.
Mince the shallots. Peel the baby onions. Cut the ham into cubes. Add everything to the butter cut into pieces in a sauté pan. Let come back and deglaze with the red wine. Let this sauce reduce for 15 minutes. Filter. Adjust seasoning.
Cover the wood pigeons with this sauce. Return to the oven to cool for 3 minutes. Serve with fresh pasta.