Not to stir the pot, but a pigeon is a 'rock dove' by every def I've ever seen. I'd say they are big tough doves. No offense meant, just a bit of clarification.
FWIW, squab [immature pigeon] eats as well as anything on the planet; they may even be the best tasting bird of them all. Squab are not game birds per se since they have yet to fly, but the taste is nonparriel for bird, IMHO.
Eating wise, even a mature mourning dove can be tough, so one should pay attention to whether or not the game bagged is young or old and prepare it accordingly for best results, at least that's been my finding.
I agree that the Euro dove are similar tasting to mourning dove and I detect no real dif if they are simply breasted and placed on the grill impaled w/ a bacon strip and sliced jalapeno.
kind regards, tw
