Grilled Game Hens With Blood Orange And Rosemary Recipes

GRILLED GAME HENS WITH BLOOD ORANGE AND ROSEMARY

Steps:

• Place game hens in a large bowl; drizzle hens with olive oil and blood orange juice. Sprinkle with chopped rosemary and rosemary sprigs. Add Asian chili paste to hens; season with salt and pepper. Stir chickens in the seasonings and juice to coat. Use your fingers to loosen the skin over the breasts and spread a little of the marinade under the skin.
• Refrigerate with breast sides down for 2 hours to marinate.
• Preheat outdoor grill (preferably charcoal) for medium heat (one layer of coals). Drain chickens and discard marinade.
• Place chickens with breast sides down onto grill and cover with grill lid with the vents open. Cook until breast sides are evenly browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Flip chickens and cook on their backs with cover (vents open) until the juices run clear, hip joints move easily, and meat is no longer pink inside. An instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh reads at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C), 30 to 35 more minutes.
• Close the grill vents on the lid halfway. Flip chickens back onto breasts, close lid, and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes.

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.