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Freezing a dove

Every year I load up with doves at Labor Day. I have always just wrapped them up with freezer paper and then placed them in a zip lock freezer bag. I get mixed results after doing this. Has anyone ever put them in a bag of water and froze them in a block of ice. I do fish this way and they come out great after thawing.

Best advise for freezing any meat ..Get a vacuum sealer ! ;)

Agree. I breast out all game birds (dove, pigeon, pheasant, ducks, geese). Then, just vacuum pack the breasts. They'll stay in the freezer for at least a year...

Any raw meat exposed to air in the freezer is going to freezer burn at some point, and birds are hard to get 100% coverage with freezer paper. Vacuum bags work, but I use the ice method, cheap and easy. You only need just enough to cover them.

nchunter, that is exactly what I do with all small game. Use the freezer grade ziplock of appropriate size, cover game with water, force out air and then seal. I then put this ziplock in a second ziplock of same size to contain the occasional water leak, and I then wrap with freezer paper and label. Has worked great for me with doves, squirrels, quail. No freezer burn at all for as long as 2 years and would probably last quite a bit longer. I think it prevents freezer burn better than vacuum sealing. Only downside is it is a little more bulky.

you can breast them out, put them in a muffin tin, cover with water and freeze, then turn out and put in Ziploc bags

I cut the top, above the handle, off of a plastic milk jug. Gallon, half gallon....depending on the number of birds I intend to cook at one time. Rinse the doves off after cleaning, throw them in the jug, then top off with water and freeze.

They never make it to summer. :-)

Same technique for fish.

Another vote for the vacuum! Best money you'll spend on preserving game. I breast them out and vacuum seal. Last as long as I need them to.

Freeze whole - I do ptarmigan this way - stay good and no freezer burns. Only places that will freezer burn is where you find pellet holes so... shoot them in the head :)

Put in Ziploc, cover with water and freeze, they will actually stay good for years like this. I found some pheasants in my chest freezer a couple of years ago that were like five years old, tasted great! Works for fish too! Haven't tried it with mammal meat.

Isn't that what they used to do with woolly mammoth? They still turn one up every now and then..... don't know how good they are, likely have some freezer burn over all that time....

LOL TD "don't knot how good they are." You know, a prehistoric bowhunter was preserved the same way. Google "otzi the iceman" for the details.

typo, should be "know" not "knot"

Thanks, I know it has always worked great for fish so i will try freezing my doves this year in water and ziplocks.I love dove hunting cause my whole family comes out and does it. Even it we don't see it dove it great fun.

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