Cornish Game Hens With Port Cherry Sauce Recipes

CORNISH GAME HENS WITH PORT CHERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Rinse hens thoroughly and cut in half along the breastbone. Place halves, skin side up, in a shallow baking dish coated with cooking spray. Season with salt, pepper and dried thyme.
• Place in oven and roast for approximately 40 minutes to an hour, until skin is nicely browned. For extra color, brush with melted better during last 15 minutes.
• In a medium saucepan, combine port, chicken broth, cornstarch mixture, raspberry preserves, and dried cherries.
• When hens are done cooking, remove from oven and let them rest on counter. Add pan drippings to the port mixture. Bring to a boil and simmer until desired consistency is reached. Add more preserves if the sauce is too tart. (The sauce can actually be made/reduced ahead of time - just reheat when pan drippings are added). Add more water or chicken broth if the sauce is too thick. Season with salt and pepper if needed.
• Serve with sauce spooned over hens.

CORNISH GAME HEN WITH DOUBLE-CRANBERRY AND THYME SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F. Blend 2 tablespoons butter, sugar, and 2 teaspoons thyme in small bowl. Sprinkle hen halves with salt and pepper. Spread skin of each with half of butter mixture. Heat large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add hen halves, skin side down. Sear until deep brown, about 4 minutes. Turn, skin side up, and sear 1 minute. Remove from heat. Transfer hen halves, skin side up, to small rimmed baking sheet. Reserve skillet (mixture will be dark). Roast hen halves until cooked through and juices run clear when pierced with fork, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, blend remaining 1 tablespoon butter and 1/2 tablespoon flour in small bowl. Add broth, grape juice, cranberry concentrate, and remaining 1 teaspoon thyme to reserved skillet. Boil until sauce is reduced to 3/4 cup, whisking often, about 7 minutes. Whisk in flour mixture and cranberries. Simmer until sauce coats spoon, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer hen halves to plates. Spoon sauce over and serve.

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 GRAPE SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Rinse the hens& pat dry inside& outside with paper towel.
• Place hens on a rack in a roasting pan.
• Season hens equally with salt, pepper, garlic, tarragon, rosemary, sage, thyme& paprika.
• Roast in oven until golden brown, or until juice runs clear& not red when hens are punctured between the thigh& breast.
• While the birds are in the oven, using a double boiler, melt the butter& stir in the flour.
• Once blended, add the chicken stock or broth& allow the mixture to thicken, stirring occasionally.
• Add the grape jelly, grape juice, sugar& the dissolved cornstarch.
• Continue to cook& stir until thickened again.
• To serve, pour some of the sauce onto the 2 plates.
• Place the hens on top of the sauce& then pour the rest of the sauce over the hens.
• Garnish the plates with a few small clusters of grapes& a few sprigs of herbs if desired.

CORNISH HEN WITH TART CHERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Combine sea salt, black pepper, thyme, garlic powder, rosemary, and paprika in a bowl. Place hens on a baking sheet and evenly brush with 5 tablespoons butter. Rub hens with spice mixture.
• Bake hens in preheated oven until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 1 1/2 hours, basting every 1/2 hour with white wine. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone should read 180 degrees F (82 degrees C).
• Mix cherries, red wine, orange juice, and brown sugar in a saucepan; bring to a boil for 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, stir in 2 tablespoons butter, and cook until sugar is dissolved and butter is melted, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle flour into the sauce; whisk until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Drizzle cherry sauce over cooked hens.

CORNISH GAME HENS WITH CRANBERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
• Put the game hens in a shallow, flameproof baking dish without crowding. Rub the hens all over with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cut the onion in half and place the halves, cut side down, around the hens. Arrange the gizzards and livers around the hens.
• Place the baking dish with hens on top of the stove over low heat. Turn the hens around in the dish to coat with the oil. Arrange the hens on their sides. Place in the oven and bake 15 minutes, basting often.
• Turn the hens to other side and continue baking 15 minutes, basting often.
• Turn the hens breast side up and continue baking about 10 minutes, basting often.
• Transfer the hens to a heated serving platter and cover with foil to keep warm.
• Skim off most of the fat from the pan liquid in the baking dish. Put the baking dish on top of the stove and bring the pan liquid to a boil. Add the wine and stir to dissolve any brown particles that may cling to the bottom of the pan. Strain the sauce into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook down to about half and add the honey, chicken broth and tomato paste. Stir. Add any liquid that has accumulated inside or around the hens. Add the cranberries and bring to a boil.
• Cook until the cranberries pop, about 3 minutes, stirring often. Swirl in the butter. Add salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the hens and serve.

STUFFED CORNISH HENS WITH PORT SAUCE

Steps:

• Make stuffing:
• In a fine sieve rinse rice well. In a 1 1/2-quart saucepan bring 2 cups water to a boil with rice and salt and simmer, covered, 45 to 50 minutes, or until rice is tender. Drain rice in sieve.
• While rice is simmering, separately chop fine onion, tomatoes, shallot, and parsley. Remove and discard casings from sausages and in a 12-inch non-stick skillet cook sausages in oil over moderate heat, stirring and breaking up lumps, until no longer pink. Add onion, tomatoes, and shallot and cook, stirring, until onion is softened. Stir in rice and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Cool stuffing completely. (Stuffing may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.)
• Preheat oven to 350° F and butter a 1-quart baking dish.
• Rinse Cornish hens inside and out and pat dry. Season hens inside and out with salt and pepper and fill cavities with some of stuffing. Tie ends of drumsticks of each hen together with kitchen string and transfer remaining stuffing to baking dish.
• In cleaned non-stick skillet heat butter over moderately high heat until foam subsides and brown hens on all sides. Arrange hens on a rack set in a flameproof roasting pan and add 3/4 cup each of Port and broth. Roast hens in upper third of oven, basting every 15 minutes, 50 to 55 minutes total, or until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of a thigh (be careful not to touch bone) registers 170° F.
• During last 30 minutes of roasting hens, add 1/4 cup broth to stuffing in dish and bake, covered, in lower third of oven 30 minutes.
• Transfer hens to a cutting board and let stand 15 minutes. Remove rack from pan and add remaining 1/4 cup Port. On top of stove deglaze pan over moderately high heat, scraping up brown bits, and transfer liquid to a 1-quart saucepan. Boil liquid until reduced to a glaze and add remaining cup broth. Bring broth to a simmer.
• In a small bowl stir together arrowroot and 2 tablespoons water and whisk into broth. Reduce heat to low and cook, whisking, until slightly thickened (do not let boil). Season with salt and pepper. Discard string from hens and with a sharp knife halve hens lengthwise.
• Arrange 1 hen half and some baked stuffing from dish on each of 4 plates and drizzle with sauce.