CookEat Recipe
Roast Pigeon Stuffed with a Veal Roll
A pigeon filled with a seasoned veal cutlet rolled around butter, cooked separately first, then spit-roasted inside the bird.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: 1 professionally dressed, eviscerated farmed food-grade pigeon, about 400–500 g, with head, neck and feet removed; 1 veal cutlet, about 100 g, sized to fit the pigeon cavity; 15 g butter, cut into small pieces; Salt and black pepper; A small pinch ground mixed cooking spices.
Step 2
Keep the prepared pigeon and veal chilled until assembly. Pound the veal cutlet thin and evenly between clean sheets of food-safe material. Season the cutlet with salt, pepper and the small pinch of ground spices, and scatter the butter pieces over it.
Step 3
Preheat an oven to 180°C. Roll the seasoned cutlet compactly and tie temporarily with food-safe kitchen string. Put it in a small covered ovenproof dish and bake for about 20–30 minutes, until at least 74°C at its centre. While the roll cooks, preheat the rotisserie for indirect cooking at about 190–200°C with a drip pan below, following the equipment instructions. Keep the roll’s buttery juices. Remove the temporary tie, place the cooked roll and its juices inside the pigeon without overfilling, and sew the opening with food-safe kitchen string. Tuck the wings and legs close and secure the bird on the rotisserie. Begin roasting immediately after filling; keep the raw pigeon refrigerated until this point.
Step 4
With the rotisserie already hot, roast for about 50–70 minutes, checking early if the bird is small. Baste with its cooking juices if needed. Check the thickest pigeon meat reaches at least 82°C and the centre of the veal roll at least 74°C; continue cooking if either is below its endpoint.
Step 5
Rest for about 10 minutes, remove every stitch and tie and divide the bird so both portions include some of the veal roll. Serve promptly.
Step 6
For the truffle variation, spread about 10 g thin truffle slices over the seasoned veal before rolling, then precook the roll as above before putting it in the pigeon, keeping the same butter and final cooking checks. For the giblet variation, use only the professionally cleaned gizzard and liver from the farmed food-grade pigeon. Cut the gizzard small and simmer gently in a little ready-to-use meat jus or with about 10 g butter and a little water until tender, about 30–45 minutes; add the liver for the last 5–8 minutes and check both reach at least 74°C. Pound finely, cool briefly, spread over the veal cutlet, then roll and precook the filled cutlet to 74°C before putting it in the pigeon and roasting without delay using the same final temperature checks. Do not use wild-game viscera or any unprepared internal organs.
Step 7
A small professionally dressed chicken, about 900 g–1 kg, may replace the pigeon. Use a veal cutlet of about 180–200 g, 25 g butter and seasonings to fit its cavity, then roll and precook the cutlet in a small covered dish at 180°C for about 25–35 minutes, or until 74°C at the centre. Remove its temporary tie, put the cooked roll and buttery juices in the chicken immediately and roast in the same way for about 1–1½ hours, allowing longer if needed. This larger version needs longer than the main listed duration. Check at least 82°C in the thickest chicken and 74°C in the veal-roll centre. Rest, remove all string and divide into three or four small portions.
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