Cornish Hens Provencal Style Recipes

ROASTED CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Combine all the dry rub ingredients together in a small bowl.
• Pat the hens dry with paper towels and generously season with the dry rub both inside and out.
• Preheat your oven to 425°F.
• In a roasting pan add the rosemary, thyme, garlic, onion, and half the lemon slices. Place the hens in the roasting pan over the herbs and onions and drizzle the olive oil over the hens.
• Transfer the roasting pan to the preheated oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers at 165°F.
• Remove the hens from the oven and let them rest for 20 minutes. Garnish with additional thyme, lemon slices and rosemary and serve over mashed potatoes.

TUSCAN GRILLED CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Sprinkle the Cornish hens with 1 teaspoon salt on each side.
• Combine the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, rosemary, and 1 teaspoon pepper in a ceramic or glass dish just large enough to hold the flattened hens. Add the hens, and turn to coat. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight, turning once or twice.
• When ready to grill, prepare a hot charcoal fire on one side of a grill (or turn a gas grill on low heat). Spread 1/4 of the coals across the other side of the grill. Place the hens on the cooler side skin-side up and weigh them down with a gratin dish with a foil-wrapped brick inside.
• Cook for 12 minutes, until the underside is golden brown. Turn the hens skin-side down, weigh them down again, and cook for another 12 minutes until the skin is golden brown and the hens are cooked through.
• Place the lemon halves on the cool side of the grill, cut-side down, for the last 10 minutes of cooking. Remove the Cornish hens and lemons to a plate or cutting board, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Cut the hens in half, sprinkle with fleur de sel, and serve with the grilled lemon halves.

ROASTED CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a small mixing bowl, stir together salt, lemon pepper, dried basil and poultry seasoning. Rub olive oil all over the hens and season each with the salt mixture. Place the hens on a baking sheet pan with plenty of space between them. You may need to use 2 pans. Loosely stuff the cavities of each hen with some green bell pepper, celery and onion. Roast the hens in the preheated oven for about 1 hour or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees F and the juices run clear. Remove the hens from the oven, loosely tent with foil and let rest 10 minutes before carving or serving.

BUTTERFLIED CORNISH HENS WITH SAGE BUTTER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Place hens on a sheet tray fitted with a cooling rack in the refrigerator to dry skin out for 1 hour. Meanwhile, in a small pan over medium heat, melt butter with sage, zest, salt and pepper. Remove hens from refrigerator. Preheat 2 large saute pans over medium heat, lightly coat with oil. Season hens with salt and pepper and sear, skin side down, in the pans. Sear until skin caramelizes and turns golden brown and crispy, about 7 to 10 minutes. Flip birds over, and baste with sage butter. Sprinkle tops with chopped bacon and place in preheated oven to finish cooking, 25 to 30 minutes, basting occasionally. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Place the sliced onion in the bottom of a roasting pan. Remove the giblets from the hens, and rinse them inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers and pat the outsides dry. Place the hens on top of the sliced onion.
• Pack the cavities of the hens with the cornbread stuffing.
• Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the hens. Rub the hens with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Roast the hens for 30 minutes, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh.
• Melt the butter in a large saute pan. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat, until translucent. Break the cornbread into pieces and place the pieces in a large bowl. Add the onion mixture to the cornbread. Add the celery, chicken stock, parsley, salt and pepper, and mix together.
• Yield: 2 servings

MEDITERRANEAN CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Cut the hens in half with kitchen shears, cutting along one side of the breastbone. Place the hens on a rimmed baking sheet, cut-side down; season with salt and pepper. Scatter the lemon slices over and around the hens. Roast until the hens are golden, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 minutes. Add the couscous and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly toasted, 3 minutes. Add the broth; season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 8 minutes. Stir in the zucchini, cover and cook until tender, about 3 more minutes; set aside.
• Combine the honey, cumin, paprika and lemon juice. Brush on the hens and continue roasting until cooked through, 5 to 7 more minutes.
• Stir the cilantro and lemon zest into the couscous and season with salt and pepper. Serve with the hens and drizzle with any pan juices.

CORNISH HENS PROVENCAL STYLE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a heavy skillet large enough to hold the pieces of Cornish hen in one layer. Sprinkle the pieces with salt and pepper. When the oil becomes hot, add the pieces, skin side down. Cook over medium-high heat until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Turn and cook 5 minutes more.
• Add the onions, leeks and garlic, and cook, stirring, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, olives, thyme, wine, chicken broth, bay leaf, saffron, Tabasco, salt and pepper. Stir and scrape the bottom of the skillet to dissolve any brown particles on the bottom. Cover closely, and simmer 10 minutes.
• Remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaf. If there is too much liquid, reduce the sauce a bit. Sprinkle with basil and serve.

MOROCCAN-STYLE CORNISH HENS WITH COUSCOUS

Steps:

• Mix 3 tablespoons of the oil with the paprika, 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Rub inside surfaces of hens with 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice, then smear them, inside and out, with the spice paste. Set aside 1 hour.
• Sauté onions in remaining oil in a skillet over medium heat until golden. Stir in raisins and remaining cumin and cook until onions are lightly browned. Fold in cooked couscous and season with salt and pepper.
• Preheat grill or heat oven to 375 degrees. If grilling, sear hens on the skin side over medium heat, then turn them over, basting a couple of times with remaining lemon juice, until cooked through, about 35 minutes. If using oven, roast hen halves skin side up in a roasting pan until cooked through, 35 to 40 minutes, basting a couple of times with remaining lemon juice.
• Reheat couscous, fold in cilantro, and mound on a platter. Arrange hen halves around couscous and serve hot or warm.

CORNISH GAME HENS WITH GARLIC AND ROSEMARY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Rub hens with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Lightly season hens with salt and pepper. Place 1 lemon wedge and 1 sprig rosemary in cavity of each hen. Arrange in a large, heavy roasting pan, and arrange garlic cloves around hens. Roast in preheated oven for 25 minutes.
• Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a mixing bowl, whisk together wine, chicken broth, and remaining 2 tablespoons of oil; pour over hens. Continue roasting about 25 minutes longer, or until hens are golden brown and juices run clear. Baste with pan juices every 10 minutes.
• Transfer hens to a platter, pouring any cavity juices into the roasting pan. Tent hens with aluminum foil to keep warm. Transfer pan juices and garlic cloves to a medium saucepan and boil until liquids reduce to a sauce consistency, about 6 minutes. Cut hens in half lengthwise and arrange on plates. Spoon sauce and garlic around hens. Garnish with rosemary sprigs, and serve.

CORNISH GAME HENS WITH GARLIC AND ROSEMARY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F. Pat hens dry with paper towels. Season cavities lightly with salt and pepper. Place 1 lemon wedge and 1 rosemary sprig in cavity of each hen. Rub hens with 1 tablespoon oil. Season outside of hens lightly with salt and pepper. Arrange in heavy large roasting pan. Scatter garlic around hens.
• Roast hens 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Pour wine, broth and remaining 2 tablespoons oil over hens. Continue roasting until hens are golden brown and juices run clear when thigh is pierced at thickest part, basting every 10 minutes with pan juices, about 25 minutes longer.
• Transfer hens to platter, pouring any juices from cavity into roasting pan. Tent hens with foil to keep warm. Transfer pan juices and garlic to heavy medium saucepan. Boil until reduced to sauce consistency, about 6 minutes.
• Cut hens in half lengthwise. Arrange on plates. Spoon sauce and garlic around hens. Garnish with additional rosemary sprigs and serve.