Holiday Game Hens Recipes

HOLIDAY GAME HENS

Steps:

• Rub each Cornish hen inside and out with cut lemon. Sprinkle each cavity with salt and pepper; set aside. In a small skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels; drain, reserving drippings., In a saucepan, cook the pork over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the apple, raisins, broth and bacon. Loosely stuff into hens; skewer openings and tie drumsticks together., In the reserved drippings, brown hens on all sides. Place on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Tuck wings under hens. Bake, uncovered, at 425° for 40-45 minutes or a thermometer reads 180°.

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.

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).

GAME HENS WITH HONEY, VINEGAR AND SPICE GLAZE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Remove giblets from game hens. Pat game hens dry. Tie legs of each game hen together to hold shape. Place game hens in large roasting pan. Combine olive oil, Sherry wine vinegar, honey, ground cumin, aniseed and ground cinnamon in heavy medium saucepan. Simmer until mixture thickens slightly, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes. Remove glaze from heat. Brush some of glaze over game hens. Sprinkle game hens generously with salt and pepper. Roast until last drops of juices run clear when thighs are pierced, basting every 10 minutes with glaze, about 55 minutes. Transfer game hens to plates and serve.

FESTIVE STUFFED CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large skillet, saute onion and celery in butter and 1 tablespoon oil until tender. Add the garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; cook 1 minute longer., In a large bowl, combine the bread, oranges, cranberries, pecans and orange zest. Add onion mixture; toss to coat., Loosely stuff hens with stuffing. Tuck wings under hens; tie drumsticks together. Rub with remaining oil; sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper. Place breast side up on a rack in a shallow roasting pan., Roast 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until a thermometer reads 165° when inserted in center of stuffing and the thigh reaches at least 180°, basting hens occasionally with orange juice. Cover loosely with foil if hens brown too quickly. Cover and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

HERB-ROASTED CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Place parsley, rosemary, thyme, garlic, lemon, salt, and pepper in a food processor. Blend until finely chopped. With machine running, add olive oil.
• Loosen skin from the hens. Put 1 tablespoon of herb mixture under skin of each hen, smoothing to cover breasts. Place the birds on a large rimmed baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
• Remove hens from refrigerator and bring to room temperature (about 1 hour). Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Place hens on a clean rimmed baking sheet (it's okay if they touch). Brush butter over surface of hens and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast in oven, rotating pan once until golden brown and cooked through (meat thermometer should read 165 degrees when placed in the thigh), about 50 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let stand at least 15 minutes before placing on individual plates. No carving necessary!

HOISIN-ROASTED GAME HENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place hens in a roasting pan. Mix together garlic, ginger, and chiles in a small bowl. Rub garlic mixture over hens and under skin; stuff cavities with cilantro sprigs. Tie legs of each hen together with kitchen twine. Cover; refrigerate 20 minutes.
• Remove hens from refrigerator, and brush with 1/2 cup hoisin. Roast 35 to 40 minutes, basting occasionally with extra hoisin. Remove from oven, and serve hot.

MOROCCAN-STYLE CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Finely grind first 7 ingredients in spice grinder or coffee grinder. Transfer to small bowl. Whisk in orange juice, oil and garlic. (Spice mixture can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)
• Rub spice mixture all over hens; place hens in large roasting pan. Sprinkle hens inside and out with salt and pepper. Tie legs together to hold shape. Arrange carrots in pan around hens. Sprinkle carrots with salt and pepper. Roast 30 minutes. Add stock to roasting pan. Roast hens until juices run clear when thickest part of thigh is pierced and carrots are tender, basting hens occasionally with pan juices, about 35 minutes longer. Place 1 hen on each of 4 plates. Arrange carrots alongside. Spoon warm Orange-Honey Sauce over and serve.