Roasted Cornish Game Hens With Sausage Stuffing Recipes

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.

STUFFED CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• In a large skillet or saucepan, saute celery and onion in 2 tablespoons butter until tender. Remove from the heat. Stir in cornbread, bread crumbs, pimientos, broth, egg, poultry seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; mix well. , Stuff each hen with 3/4 cup stuffing. Place extra stuffing in a greased 1-qt. baking dish; refrigerate. Place hens breast side up on a rack in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Cover loosely with foil; bake at 375° for 45 minutes. , Meanwhile, in a saucepan, melt the remaining butter; add garlic, lemon zest, mint and remaining salt and pepper. Brush over hens. Bake 15-30 minutes longer or until a thermometer reads 180° for hens and 165° for stuffing. Bake the extra stuffing, covered, for 30 minutes.

CORNISH HENS FARCI BOURGEOISE (GAME HENS STUFFED WITH SAUSAGE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Remove the necks, livers, hearts and gizzards from the hens. Trim off the tough membranes from the gizzards. Put the tender gizzard meat and hearts in the container of a food processor and blend well. Chop the livers finely.
• Melt one tablespoon of the butter in a saucepan and add the chopped onion. Cook, stirring, until wilted and add the sausage meat and gizzard and heart mixture. Cook, stirring with the side of a spoon to break up the lumps. Add the chopped livers and cook until the mixture loses its red color. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the egg, parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Add the bread crumbs and stir. Let cool.
• Stuff the hens with equal portions of the mixture. Truss, if desired.
• Melt the remaining butter in a baking dish and add the hens, turning them in the butter until coated all over. Sprinkle the hens with salt and pepper to taste. Arrange the birds on their sides. Place the onion in the center and scatter the necks around.
• Place the hens in the oven and bake 10 minutes, basting often. Turn the hens on their other sides and bake 10 minutes, basting. Turn them on their backs and bake 15 minutes longer, basting.
• Add the wine to the roasting pan and stir. Remove the hens and untruss. Serve half a chicken per person with the pan juices spooned over.

ROASTED CORNISH GAME HENS WITH SAUSAGE STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F; spray baking pan with nonstick spray.
• Remove and discard giblets.
• Rinse and pat dry inside and out of the hens.
• Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper; set aside.
• In a medium skillet, cook and stir sausage over a medium heat until no longer pink.
• Add the onion and celery.
• Cook until tender, about five minutes.
• Add stuffing mix, 1/3 cup of water, and 1/2 teaspoons of sage; mix well.
• Spoon warm filling evenly into the inside of the hens.
• Blend the 1/4 teaspoons of poultry seasoning with the butter.
• Rub evenly over the hens.
• Place the hens in a baking pan.
• Roast for 1 hour 30 minutes or until no longer pink and thermometer says 180°F Let stand for five minutes before serving.
• With a knife, split each hen length wise through the center of the breast and through the backbone, cutting just to one side of the backbone.

ROASTED CORNISH HENS WITH CHORIZO CORNBREAD STUFFING

Steps:

• For the Cornish hens: The night before you plan to cook, rub the chickens all over with Aaron's Achiote Paste (underneath the skin, on the skin, inside the cavities). Let them marinate, covered, overnight in the refrigerator.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• For the stuffing: Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Cook Aaron's Chorizo, breaking it up with a spoon and stirring occasionally as it cooks, until it begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, carrots, celery and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have browned, about 10 minutes. Add the cornbread and cilantro. Gradually stir in enough of the stock so that the stuffing is not too dry but at the same time not too wet. Stir gently and well.
• Divide the stuffing equally and spoon into the cavity of each bird. Arrange the birds with plenty of space between them on a rack on a baking sheet or in a roasting pan. Roast the chickens until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 180 degrees F, about 40 minutes.
• Combine the lime juice, orange juice, olive oil, achiote paste, oregano, cumin and garlic in a blender. Puree until the mixture is the consistency of a smooth vinaigrette. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
• Put the ground beef and pork in a large bowl. Add the vinegar, salt and garlic, and mix well (your hands are the best tools for this job). Sprinkle with the oregano, canela, pepper, star anise and cloves, and mix well. Add the wine and sugar and mix well.
• Bring 1 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Put the chile powder in a small bowl, pour in the boiling water and stir well to make a paste. Let it cool to room temperature. Work the paste into the meat with your fingers until it's well incorporated. Cover and refrigerate overnight before you use it. Store in 2-ounce portions in zip-top bags in the refrigerator for up to a week, or freeze for up to 3 months.

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

ROASTED CORNISH HENS WITH DRIED CHERRY STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F
• In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the dried cherries, sage and broth and cook for 2 more minutes. Stir in the cubed bread, salt and pepper and set aside.
• Season the Cornish hen halves with salt and pepper.
• Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Form the stuffing into 4 mounds on the baking sheet. Place 1/2 of a Cornish hen on top of each mound of stuffing. Roast the hens for 45 minutes or until thoroughly cooked.
• When the hens are finished, transfer them to a serving platter and let rest for about 5 minutes before serving.

ROAST CORNISH GAME HENS WITH SAVORY FRUIT STUFFING

Steps:

• Thaw hen, if frozen. Rinse hen with cold water and pat dry. For stuffing, in a small saucepan combine water and margarine or butter; cook until margarine melts. Remove from heat. Stir in croutons, fruit bits, onion, and bouillon granules.
• Spoon stuffing into body cavity. Combine mayonnaise and poultry seasoning; coat hen with mayonnaise mixture.
• Place hen, breast side up on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Roast, uncovered, in a 375 degree F oven for 1 to 1-1/4 hours or until drumstick moves easily in socket.
• Meanwhile, in a small saucepan combine cranberries, brown sugar, and orange juice concentrate. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 3 to 5 minutes or until cranberry skins pop.
• Serve with cranberry sauce, if desired.

ROAST CORNISH GAME HENS WITH CORNBREAD STUFFING

Steps:

• Remove the giblets from the hens, rinse with cold water and pat dry.
• Prepare the marinade- combine the vegetable oil, the wine, the chopped medium onion, the garlic, half of the rosemary, the 1/2 teaspoons salt and coarsely ground black pepper and the unsalted butter.
• Place the hens in a large food storage bag and pour the marinade over them.
• Close the bag securely and refrigerate for at least three hours.
• Shake the bag occasionally to coat the hens with the marinade.
• Prepare the stuffing- in saute pan, melt the salted butter.
• Saute the 1 cup chopped onions and celery in the butter until tender.
• In a large bowl, toss the bread cubes with the sauteed onions and celery.
• Mix in the poultry seasoning, sage and remainder of the rosemary.
• Add the eggs and enough chicken broth to slightly moisten and barely bind the ingredients.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Remove the hens from the bag and pat dry with paper towels.
• Season the hens to taste inside and out with salt and pepper.
• Stuff the cavity loosely with the cornbread stuffing.
• Brush butter over the skin of the hens and place them breast side up in a roasting pan with enough space to allow room between the hens.
• Roast for 15 minutes to brown.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and baste frequently with pan drippings for 45 minutes.

CORNISH GAME HENS WITH SAGE STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a roasting pan with foil.
• Melt the butter and stir in 1/2 teaspoons salt and pepper, sage, onion, and celery. Cook until the veggies are soft, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook 3 minutes.
• Stir in the stuffing and 1/4 cup water. Stir until absorbed and cool for 10 minutes.
• Sprinkle the hens with the remaining salt and pepper. Fill the cavities of the hens with the stuffing and truss.
• Roast until the meat thermometer in the thigh reads 180 degrees, about an hour and 15 minutes.