Deviled Breaded Cornish Hens 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.

BAKED CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• In a small bowl combine the 1/2 cup melted butter, onion, celery, bell pepper, mushrooms, garlic, basil, oregano and parsley.
• Season hens inside and out with salt and pepper to taste, then stuff with equal amounts butter/vegetable mixture. Place stuffed birds in a 9x13 inch baking dish, breast side up. Drizzle with 1/4 cup melted butter.
• Cover dish and bake in the preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours. Remove cover and brown at 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).

DEEP-FRIED CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Don't fill your stockpot more than half full with shortening/oil, to allow for the inevitable boiling up when the hens are added.
• Also, be sure the hens are at room temperature so the fat temperature doesn't drop dramatically from the shock of an ice-cold bird.
• Rinse the hens and pat completely dry, inside and out, with paper towels. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Place a large wire cake rack over a jelly roll pan/cookie sheet.
• In a stockpot, melt vegetable shortening over high heat to a depth of 2 to 3 inches and heat it to 375 degrees F.
• Carefully put 1 Cornish hen in the hot shortening. Deep fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown.

PAT'S DEEP-FRIED CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Whisk together the first six ingredients in a small bowl. Set half of this mixture aside.
• Divide the remaining seasoning mixture between two large mixing bowls, and pour the buttermilk evenly between the two bowls, whisking to combine. Put half of the onion and thyme in each bowl. Place three game hens in each mixing bowl, and turn to coat. Cover the bowls with plastic wrap, and leave in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight (the longer the better; allow the seasonings and flavors to permeate the game hens).
• Heat the peanut oil to 375 degrees F in a large Dutch oven or deep-fryer. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees F, and cover two heavy-duty sheet trays with wire racks. Remove the game hens from the buttermilk mixture while the oil is heating.
• Whisk together the flour and the remaining seasoning mixture in a large casserole. Working with one game hen at a time, put one game hen in the flour and toss to coat, then shake off the excess. Slip the coated game hens, in batches according to the size of your fryer, into the hot oil, and fry for 13 minutes, until beautifully golden brown. Place each fried hen on the wire-rack-fitted sheet tray, and hold in the warm oven. Repeat with remaining hens.
• ALTERNATIVE
• Baked Cornish Game Hens Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cover two heavy-duty rimmed sheet trays with wire racks, and spray with nonstick spray.
• Drain the hens from the buttermilk marinade, and pat dry. Place the hens on the sheet trays, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.
• Put the pan in the oven, and roast for 45 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees F and the juices run clear.
• Pat's Guide to Deep-Frying
• One of the things I think people really don't know about me is that I was frying food before I was grilling! (Nowadays my love of fried food comes second only to my love of grilling.) Fried food in the South is like pizza in Chicago: if you grew up in Memphis, you grew up with it. My grandfather used to fry whole rabbits, and my grandmother used to fry chicken for breakfast, served up with biscuits!
• 1 CHOOSE YOUR OIL Neutral oils like peanut, safflower, canola, and vegetable oil all have a high "smoke point," so they work well at high frying temperatures. We often like to use peanut oil, because it adds a very subtle peanut flavor; the flavor of canola oil is less pronounced.
• 2 PICK YOUR POT If you don't have an electric fryer, select a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven for deep-frying. You'll usually need at least 3 or 4 inches of oil in the bottom of the pan, but more if you're frying something larger, like Cornish game hens or chicken.
• 3 FILL IT UP Be careful not to overfill your pot! If you don't leave room for the items you're frying, the oil may spill over the sides, causing a mess or, even worse, a fire. To check how much oil you need, you can first do a test run with water. Fill the pot up with water, then slip in the food you're going to try. Wherever the water rises to, that's how high your oil is going to go-so mark that place on the pot, and don't fill it too high!

DEVILED GAME HENS

Steps:

• Pat hens dry with paper towels. Place on baking sheet. Mix oil, red pepper and rosemary in bowl. Rub all over hens. Let stand 1 hour at room temperature.
• Heat 2 heavy large skillets over medium-high heat. Sprinkle hens with salt. Add 3 hen halves, skin side down, to each skillet. Place 1 heavy large pot atop hens in each skillet. Place weights (such as several bricks or rocks) in each pot. Cook until juices run clear when thickest part of thigh is pierced, about 18 minutes per side.

DEVILED BREADED CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Preheat the broiler to high. If the oven has a separate temperature control, set the oven heat to 450 degrees.
• Place the split hens on a flat surface and pound lightly with a flat mallet. Sprinkle the hens on all sides with salt and pepper to taste and the oil.
• Combine the mustard and wine in a small bowl and set aside.
• Arrange the halves neatly in one layer, skin side down, on a baking sheet and place under the broiler about three inches from the source of heat. Broil about eight or nine minutes and turn the halves.
• Return to the broiler and broil about three minutes. Remove the halves and brush the skin side with the mustard and wine mixture. Turn the halves and brush the second side with the mustard mixture. Brush with the pan drippings and sprinkle with bread crumbs.
• If the oven and broiler have dual heat controls, turn off the broiler and set the oven heat to 450 degrees. Put the hens in the oven and bake 15 minutes. Serve with sauce diable.

DEVILED CORNISH HENS WITH MUSTARD SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat broiler to high.
• Place hens on a flat surface and pound them with a meat pounder or mallet. Sprinkle the hens on all sides with salt, pepper, rosemary and oil.
• Combine mustard, cumin, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and white wine in a small bowl and set aside.
• Arrange hen halves neatly in one layer, skin side down, on a baking dish and place them under the broiler about 3 inches from source of heat. Broil about 8 to 9 minutes; turn halves and broil about 3 minutes more.
• Turn off broiler and set oven heat to 450 degrees.
• Brush mustard mixture on both sides of the hens. Brush with pan drippings and sprinkle both sides with bread crumbs. Put hens in oven skin side up and bake 15 minutes. Transfer to a serving plate and pour butter over the hens.

WEEKNIGHT DEVILED CORNISH HEN

Steps:

• Adjust rack to lowest position and heat oven to 425 degrees.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add thyme and bread crumbs; toast until fragrant and golden, a couple of minutes.
• Lightly sprinkle hens all over with salt and pepper. Place on a rimmed baking sheet large enough for them to comfortably fit in a single layer. Brush hens with mustard and sprinkle with bread crumbs.
• Roast until impressively golden brown and juices run clear when leg thigh is pricked with a fork, about 30 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes. Halve and serve.