Cornish Game Hens With Sage And Garlic Recipes

HERB-BRINED CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine the salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, sage, garlic, thyme, rosemary and 1 quart water. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Remove from the heat. Add the cold water to cool the brine to room temperature., Place a turkey-sized oven roasting bag inside a second roasting bag; add hens. Carefully pour cooled brine into bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible; seal bags and turn to coat. Place in a roasting pan. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours, turning occasionally. Drain and discard brine; pat hens dry., Meanwhile, place the peppercorns and garlic in a food processor; cover and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add the butter, 3 tablespoons olive oil and herbs; cover and process until smooth. With fingers, carefully loosen skin from hens; rub half the butter mixture under skin. Secure skin to underside of breast with toothpicks; tie drumsticks together. Rub remaining butter mixture over skin., In a 15x10x1-in. baking pan, toss the Brussels sprouts and onions with remaining olive oil, salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer. Place hens, breast side up, on top of the vegetables. Bake at 450° until thermometer inserted in breast reads 165°, 35-40 minutes. Cover loosely with foil if hens brown too quickly., Remove hens and vegetables to a serving platter; cover and let stand for 10 minutes before carving. If desired, garnish with additional herbs.

STUFFED CORNISH GAME HEN WITH GARLIC AND SAGE

Steps:

• Make your bread stuffing with Anjou pear, baby bella mushroom and red onion first, set aside and preheat oven to 450.
• Chop 5-7 leaves of fresh sage and 6 cloves of garlic into pieces small enough to mix evenly in a food processor. you don't have to mince.
• In a food processor, add 4 tbsp. of softened unsalted butter, 2 tbsp. olive oil, juice from half a lemon and the chopped garlic and sage. Process till creamy with small flecks of sage and garlic. Set aside.
• Pat 5 Cornish game hens with paper towel, and place them in a 4 quart baking pan or pyrex. Cut about 1½ feet of baking string and tie their legs close to their body by wrapping each leg first, then securing them together with a bow.
• Fill each cavity with stuffing, but don't over-stuff. Leave most of the stuffing to serve as a side dish.
• Lift the skin of the breast and spoon in some of the garlic-sage butter. Make sure it's nicely distributed under the skin (It helps to use a spoon to separate it first).
• Roll up your sleeves and give the hens a luxurious massage with the garlic-sage butter. Make sure to cover every part of them, including between the legs and breast.
• Sprinkle them with 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper, making sure to evenly distribute all over the hens. Bake for 45 minutes or until a meat thermometer shows 165 F (74 C) in the thickest parts, like the thigh and breast. Allow to sit for 15 minutes under tin foil before 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 GAME HENS WITH HERBS

Steps:

• Place 2 whole garlic cloves and 2 lemon wedges in each hen.
• In a small bowl, combine oil,smashed garlic, rosemary, sage, tarragon, thyme, salt and pepper.
• Gently separate skin from breast and thigh of each hen and rub meat with herb mixture.
• Rub any extra over skin.
• Arrange birds on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
• Roast birds in a preheated 400°F oven for 45 minutes or until well browned and cooked through.
• Baste occasionally.
• Place birds on a platter and transfer pan juices to measuring cup.
• To make sauce, remove fat from pan juices.
• Place juices in a saucepan with stock, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a boil.
• Cook a few minutes.
• In a small bowl, combine flour and margarine.
• Stir into sauce and cook until just slightly thickened.
• Adjust seasonings.
• Serve hens with sauce on the side.

ROAST CORNISH HENS WITH SAGE BUTTER

Steps:

• In a small bowl blend together well 2 tablespoons of the butter with the sage,the zest, and the salt. Loosen the skin covering the breast meat on each hen by slipping your fingers under the skin and sliding them between the skin and the meat. Divide the butter mixture between the hens, inserting it under the skin of each hen and smoothing it evenly by rubbing the outside of the skin, and season the hens with salt and pepper. Tie each hen's legs together with kitchen string.
• In a large ovenproof heavy skillet or small flameproof roasting pan heat the remaining 1 tablespoon butter over moderately high heat until the foam subsides, in it sauté the hens, breast sides up, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the underside is golden brown, and roast them in the middle of a preheated 450°F. oven, basting them with the pan juices every 10 minutes, for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a meat thermometer inserted in the fleshy part of the thigh registers 180°F. Let the hens stand for 5 minutes and discard the string.

HERB-ROASTED GAME HENS

Steps:

• Place hens, breast side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Spoon over hens. , Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 50-60 minutes or a thermometer reads 180°.

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.