Orange Balsamic Cornish Hens Recipes

ORANGE GLAZED CORNISH HEN

Steps:

• Mix olive oil, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, lemon zest and juice, orange zest and juice, garlic, salt, and black pepper together in a large resealable bag. Add hens, seal bag, and coat hens with marinade. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, flipping the bag 1 or 2 times to redistribute marinade.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Mix orange juice, soy sauce, honey, 1/4 cup Dijon mustard, onion, ginger, and black pepper together in a bowl.
• Remove hens from marinade and transfer to a roasting pan, discarding leftover marinade.
• Roast hens in the preheated oven for 50 minutes. Brush hens with orange glaze and roast for 5 more minutes. Flip hens, brush with more glaze, and roast until meat is no longer pink in the center, about 5 more minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).

CONTEST-WINNING ORANGE-GLAZED CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to at 350°. Tie legs of each hen together; turn wing tips under backs. Place on a greased rack in a roasting pan. Brush with butter; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour., Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until thickened, 15 minutes. Spoon over hens. Bake until a thermometer reads 170°, about 15 minutes longer.

ORANGE BALSAMIC CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°.
• Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with foil; set a baking rack in each pan.
• Using poultry shears or a sharp chef's knife, cut along both sides of each hen's backbone and discard.
• Open the birds up and turn skin side up, pressing lightly on the breastbones to flatten them a bit.
• Arrange 3 hens on each baking rack, skin side up, and season liberally with salt and pepper.
• Mix the orange juice concentrate, balsamic vinegar, and oil together; pour evenly over the hens, and sprinkle with rosemary.
• Roast hens for 15 minutes at 425°, then decrease heat to 375° and roast for 30 minutes more, OR until the juices run clear (I'd check doneness with an instant read thermometer).
• Let the hens rest for 5 minutes before serving.

ORANGE GLAZED LOVE (CORNISH) HEN

Steps:

• Put all the sauce ingredients into a saucepan. Over medium heat bring it to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer for 1/2 hour. At the same time mix the marinade together, and rub it all the over hens. Marinate for at least 1 hour. Roast hens in a preheated 375 degree F oven for 25 minutes, and then brush with sauce. Finish the hens on a preheated grill for another 7 minutes, turning and brushing with more sauce to glaze.

HERB ROASTED CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and put a baking rack on top.
• Mix together the grill seasoning, dressing, and chopped herbs in a small bowl. Reserve 2 tablespoons. Generously rub the hens inside and out with the herb and dressing mixture. Stuff each hen with a sprig of each herb and a piece of lemon.
• In a large bowl, combine the carrots, onions and potatoes with the reserved 2 tablespoons of dressing mixture, a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Put the vegetables in a large roasting pan and arrange the hens on top. Roast them until the juices run clear and an instant-read thermometer registers 180 degrees F when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, about 50 to 55 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, cover with foil and let the hens rest for 5 minutes before serving. Transfer the hens to a large serving tray with the roasted vegetables.

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

ORANGE-CRANBERRY GLAZED CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 475 degrees F. Cut the hens in half with kitchen shears, removing the backbone and cutting through the middle of the breastbone. Divide the onion, oranges and rosemary sprigs between 2 rimmed baking sheets. Arrange the hens skin-side up on the baking sheets and season all over with salt and pepper. Set aside at room temperature, 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine the orange juice, cranberries, maple syrup, 1 teaspoon coriander, the chile powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook, mashing the cranberries as they start to burst, until the mixture is thickened and reduced to about 3/4 cup, 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in the vinegar and season with salt. Set aside.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and add the chopped rosemary, garlic and the remaining 2 teaspoons coriander. Cook 30 seconds, then remove from the heat.
• Pat the hens dry with paper towels, then brush with the flavored butter. Roast the hens until the skin is browned and a thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 165 degrees F, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and switch to the broiler setting. Brush the hens with the orange-cranberry sauce, then broil, one baking sheet at a time, until glazed and dark brown in spots, 2 to 3 minutes.

CHRISTMAS CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
• Spread the vegetables and orange out evenly in the roasting pans. Place the Cornish game hens over the vegetables. Drizzle with olive oil. Rub the oil into the hens and sprinkle with the seasoning mixture, remembering to season the cavity. Place some vegetables and an orange wedge in the cavity of the birds.
• Place in the oven and roast for 45 minutes or until the juices run clear and they are browned. Let the hens rest 10 minutes before carving.
• Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine.

MAHOGANY-GLAZED CORNISH HEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°. Place hen in a greased shallow roasting pan, skin side up. Combine butter, ginger and orange zest; rub under skin., In a small bowl, whisk preserves, vinegar, soy sauce and mustard. Reserve half of the mixture for basting. Spoon remaining mixture over hen; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour 1/2 cup chicken broth into pan., Roast 20-25 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in thigh reads 180°, adding broth to pan as necessary and basting with remaining glaze halfway through cooking. Serve with pan juices.

MOROCCAN STYLE BALSAMIC CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Rinse the game hens under running water. Pat dry and cut them in half lengthwise (kitchen scissors work fine).
• Arrange orange slices in bottom of a 9x13" glass baking dish. Top with game hens.
• Mix 4 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped garlic and 1 1/4 teaspoons cumin in bowl. Rub mixture all over hens. Wash your hands well with soap and hot water.
• Whisk together port, sherry, oil, vinegar, and honey in small bowl. Taste it to see if the mixture is to your taste, then if it is, pour over hens. (There is quite a difference between the taste of balsamic vinegar - which is sweet - and red wine vinegar, so if you use wine vinegar you'll definitely want to taste the mixture and adjust the amount of honey to your preference before pouring it over the hens.).
• Tuck dates and olives between hens and season with salt and pepper.
• Cover and refrigerate at least 12 hours or overnight, turning hens once. (I've made this recipe beginning in the morning and marinated it 6-8 hrs during the day, too, and it was still delicious.).
• Remove hens from refrigerator and place on counter, covered, for at least 30 minutes. (You don't want to put a chilled baking dish straight into a preheated oven.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Turn the hens skin side up, then bake hens with marinade, dates and olives until hens are cooked through, basting occasionally, about 40 minutes.
• Transfer hens, dates and olives to serving platter. Discard orange slices. Pour the pan juices into a heavy small saucepan.
• Add remaining 1/4 teaspoon cumin and 1 tsp butter and simmer until reduced to about half, whisking frequently, about 5 minutes.
• Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spoon some sauce over hens. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro.
• Serve, passing remaining sauce separately in a gravy or sauce bowl.
• Note: when I first made this recipe, I didn't have fresh cilantro on hand, and couldn't even find dried in our herb stash, which surprised me. Mike collects herbs and spices, and we have a huge collection in the pantry. (I call him Condiment Man.) I had a bunch of a nice Italian dried herb mix (basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, savory, sage), so used that instead. I know it's not really an equivalent to cilantro, but it smelled wonderful anyhow and it tasted great, too. I also add lots more green olives and dates, which the recipe reflects :)
• Note #2: if you want/need to serve more than two people, you can use the above marinade for up to 6 hens, then you'll need to begin adding more ingredients.