Guinness Braised Doves

I love culinary school.

I know, it's only my semester doing it, and i'm only taking 2 of the basic classes I need, but honestly so far it's been great.

Just learning the very basic of things, things I thought I already knew, has been eye-opening! The more we cook and learn the more confident and daring I feel in the kitchen.

If you know the basics of how to do something, such as baking a cake or making a stew, than you can completely change it up and make it your own!

It's simple science and reasoning.

That's how I felt with this recipe. 

We braised foods recently in class, which made me want to braise something at home.

I come from a family that hunts and fishes so we have lots of venison, doves, and fish hidden away in the freezer, so I thought, why not use some of it?

In particular, why not make some dove? 

I've never cooked dove myself before, so it was very exciting. This was one of those, throw it all together and hope it comes out good, meals. 

I know, another one. But hey, you gotta experiment in the kitchen sometimes otherwise you'll never learn!

I'll be completely honest too, this dish surpassed my expectations. 

I was expecting it to come out... less than desirable. Dove meat can be like duck, which if not properly marinated and cooked, it comes out way too gamey tasting, but I was proven very wrong! 

I think Guinness just makes everything better. It definitely added a nice flavor to the meat, if you used something else it would be noticeable. 

This recipe could also be done with beef or any other meats, same way, just adjustments for some cooking. 

I know many people don't have dove available to cook, but I highly suggest you try this with beef. The flavor is comfort at it's best.

Seriously, I just ate this 20 minutes ago and now here I am sharing it with you all, because it was that good!

Guinness Braised Doves

(Recipe by Sarah Eats Austin)

Ingredients

1 lb dove breasts

1 tbls olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 tsp fresh garlic, minced

1 bottle Guinness

splash of balsamic vinegar

Seasonings, to taste

rosemary

thyme

salt

pepper

1 bay leaf

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F.

Place doves on a plate and season with salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil in a medium stew pan or dutch oven over medium heat. Add in onion and sweat. Add in garlic and cook for 1 minute longer. Add in seasoned dove breasts and lightly sear all sides. Pour in the Guinness and balsamic vinegar and continue cooking for about 5 minutes. 

Season with desired seasonings, I used the ones listed above, cover pan and place in oven for 1 1/2-2 hours. 

Uncover and enjoy!