Squab (food)

In culinary terminology, squab is the meat from a young domestic pigeon; formerly adult birds from several species were called by the same name. ["OED" gives earliest usage 1640 as a young bird, 1694 as a young pigeon.] Squab for the table are roughly a month old; they have reached adult size but have not yet flown. Consumed throughout much of recorded history, squab is not usually a staple food where it is a part of modern cuisine, and it may be considered peculiar or exotic.

History

Historically, squab, or pigeon in general, have been consumed in many civilizations, including Ancient Egypt, Rome and Medieval Europe. The term squab formerly used to include the meat of all dove and pigeon species, such as the Wood Pigeon, the Mourning Dove, and the now-extinct Passenger Pigeon. Such birds were hunted for their meat, as a cheap and readily available source of protein. The meat from older and wild pigeons is tougher than today's squab, and requires a long period of stewing or roasting to tenderize. The modern preference for young pigeon likely began because it is much easier to collect birds that have not yet flown from the nest. From the Middle Ages a dovecote (French "pigeonnier") was a common outbuilding on an estate that aimed to be self-sufficient; in it squabs were raised for the table. More recently, squab is almost entirely from domestic pigeons—which may be of specialized meat utility breeds—kept on large commercial farms. The meat of Dove and Pigeon gamebirds hunted primarily for sport is rarely called squab.

In cuisine

Usually considered a delicacy, squab is tender, moist and richer in taste than many commonly-consumed

In some parts of the developed world, squab meat is thought of as exotic or distasteful by many consumers, often as a result of the image of the feral pigeon as an unsanitary urban pest. However, squab produced from specially-raised utility pigeons continues to be a part of the menus at American haute cuisine restaurants such as Le Cirque and The French Laundry. [cite news |first=Frank |last=Bruni |title=In Defense of Decadence |url=http://events.nytimes.com/2008/02/06/dining/reviews/06rest.html?scp=1&sq=squab&st=nyt |work= The New York Times |date=February 6, 2008 |accessdate=2008-02-24 ] cite book |title=The French Laundry Cookbook |last=Thomas |first=Keller |authorlink= Thomas Keller |year=1999 |publisher=Artisan |isbn=1579651267 ] Accordingly, squab is often sold for much higher prices than other poultry, sometimes as high as eight USD per pound. In Chinese cuisine, squab is a part of celebratory banquets for holidays such as Chinese New Year. The greatest volume of U.S. squab is sold within Chinatowns currently.

References

ee also

*American Giant Runt
*Carneau
*King (pigeon)