Salut/Hi James Silverton,

le/on Tue, 4 Oct 2005 08:54:02 -0400, tu disais/you said:-

>I don't think I would be able to bring myself to eat any feral
>bird living in a city

I'd hesitate over city pigeons, mainly because so many of them have bone TB.
However, not so long ago, a gentleman got arrested for selling feral London
Pigeons as woodpigeons to the restaurant trade, where it seems they were
highly appreciated.

> but I have eaten pigeons (farmed) a good deal of my life.

I've had farmed squab a few times, but greatly prefer woodpigeon. And doing
my bit to drag this even further back on topic, I once cooked a magnificent
twice cooked chinese recipe for pigeon. It was so good that I forgave it for
giving me second degree burns all over both feet.

I'd have put up the recipe if it had been in my database. It was a Ken Hom
recipe, cooked more or less like Crispy Duck at first but then deep fried
whole.

> I admit that most preparations of pigeon that I have encountered have been in French-style cusine.

Yup, same here. I remember to this day a dish at the Oak Room in London's
Meridien hotel, before Marco-Pierre White went there and spoilt things.
There were three different sliced breast fillets, each with its own sauce.
Cocky Ollie bird (pheasant for ordinary mortals) duck and pigeon.
magnificent.

--
All the Best
Ian Hoare
http://www.souvigne.com
mailbox full to avoid spam. try me at website