From Boiling Point · 2023-2023 · Reconstructed
Squab Pigeon with Hispi Cabbage
Serve when
Plate it the moment 'squab' is called — it needs to leave the pass while the breast is still resting warm.
In the series
Season 1
- S1E3 · ~00:40:52 Squab pigeon, hogget, and hispi cabbage go out together during a busy stretch of a la carte service
- S1E3 · ~00:59:04 A second squab ticket is called alongside a mushroom terrine and cod later the same night
In the series
The kitchen calls this dish out in the same breath as the hogget that becomes the wedding's headline course a few episodes later — a reminder that a fine-dining menu is built from dozens of these smaller, harder dishes running in parallel every single service, most of which the audience never gets to see land or fail.
Ingredients
Method
- Season the squab breasts well. Sear skin-side down in hot oil until the skin is deeply golden and rendered, about 3 minutes, then flip and baste with butter and thyme for another minute for rare to medium-rare — about 130 F in the thickest part of the breast. Rest the breasts for 5 minutes.
- Braise the legs separately: brown them first, then cook slowly in a little stock until tender, about 45 minutes, and pull the meat for a garnish or a side.
- Char the cabbage wedges in a hot dry pan until deeply blackened at the edges, then finish them in the same pan with butter and a splash of stock until just tender but still holding their shape.
- Slice the rested squab breasts and plate over the charred cabbage, spooning over any resting juices.
Substitutions
- Squab: Squab pigeon is a specialty order from most butchers; quail or a small poussin breast gives a similar delicate, dark-meat character if squab isn't available.
- Hispi cabbage: A small, tightly packed green cabbage — a young Savoy or a sweetheart cabbage — is the closest stand-in and chars the same way.