Honey Orange Cornish Hens Recipes

ROASTED CORNISH GAME HENS WITH WILDFLOWER HONEY & ORANGE

Steps:

• Discard the giblets from the hens or reserve for another use. Using kitchen shears, cut along both sides of the backbones and remove them. Then cut each hen in half along the breastbone. Trim off the wing tips and put the hens in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine the 6 Tbs. wine, honey, thyme, bay leaves, and red pepper flakes, and stir to dissolve the honey (it's all right if it doesn't dissolve completely). Using a vegetable peeler, peel the zest from the orange in large strips, letting the strips drop into the bowl with the hens. Add the honey mixture and the sliced onion to the bowl. Toss well, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight, tossing the hens occasionally. About half an hour before cooking, remove the hen halves from the marinade and gently pat them dry, trying not to disturb the thyme clinging to them. Arrange the hens on a heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. (Discard the remaining marinade.) Position a rack in the top third of the oven and heat the oven to 450°F. When ready to roast, season the hen halves on both sides with the salt and several grinds of pepper. Turn them skin side up. Roast the hens, basting occasionally with the melted butter and rotating the pan for even browning as needed, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the meaty part of a thigh registers 175° to 180°F (be careful not to hit the bone), about 30 minutes. If the skin is somewhat pale, baste the hens, turn the broiler to high, and broil, rotating the pan frequently, until the hens are nicely golden, about 2 minutes. (Watch carefully to prevent burning.) Transfer the hens to a serving platter and tent with aluminum foil. While the rimmed baking sheet is still hot, add the remaining 1/3 cup wine and use a wooden spoon to scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Pour the wine and juices into a small saucepan and add the chicken broth. Boil the sauce over high heat until it thickens ever so slightly, 2 to 3 minutes; it should be more like a jus than a thick sauce. Off the heat, whisk in the remaining 1 Tbs. butter. Taste and add salt and pepper, if needed. Keep warm. To serve, pour a small amount of the sauce on and around the hens and pass the remainder at the table.

CONTEST-WINNING ORANGE-GLAZED CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to at 350°. Tie legs of each hen together; turn wing tips under backs. Place on a greased rack in a roasting pan. Brush with butter; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour., Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until thickened, 15 minutes. Spoon over hens. Bake until a thermometer reads 170°, about 15 minutes longer.

HONEY-ORANGE CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Mix together salt, basil and allspice.
• Sprinkle mixture inside and outside of Cornish hens.
• Place 1/4 orange in each hen and place them in a roasting pan.
• Add water to pan.
• Over low heat, simmer together honey, butter and orange juice concentrate until thickened.
• Drizzle about half the mixture over Cornish hens and roast uncovered for about 25 minutes.
• Roast for another 25 minutes or until juices run clear and hens are not pink inside, basting with the rest of the honey-orange sauce after 10 minutes.

CORNISH GAME HENS WITH ORANGE JUICE AND HONEY

Steps:

• To make the hens, place them on a rack in a shallow baking pan.
• Tie legs together with kitchen cord if desired.
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper(and garlic powder if using).
• Combine the butter, orange juice and honey and spoon over the hens.
• Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F. for 1 hour or until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees F. and juices run clear, basting every 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile for the sauce, combine the orange juice, honey and vinegar in a small saucepan.
• Combine the cornstarch and water in a cup until smooth; stir into the orange juice mixture.
• Bring to a boil; cook for 1 minute or until thickened. Serve with the hens.

HONEY ORANGE CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Place game hen halves with skin sides up into a 9x13-inch roasting pan.
• Roast hens in the preheated oven for 35 minutes.
• Stir orange juice, honey, soy sauce, and vinegar together in a small bowl; brush mixture over hens.
• Roast hens for 5 more minutes and baste again with orange juice mixture. Roast until skin is browned and meat is no longer pink inside, about 10 more minutes.

ORANGE GLAZED LOVE (CORNISH) HEN

Steps:

• Put all the sauce ingredients into a saucepan. Over medium heat bring it to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer for 1/2 hour. At the same time mix the marinade together, and rub it all the over hens. Marinate for at least 1 hour. Roast hens in a preheated 375 degree F oven for 25 minutes, and then brush with sauce. Finish the hens on a preheated grill for another 7 minutes, turning and brushing with more sauce to glaze.

CORNISH GAME HENS WITH ORANGE AND HONEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Whisk first 6 ingredients in medium bowl. Pour 2 cups sauce into medium saucepan. Reserve remaining 1 cup sauce.
• Rinse hens inside and out. Pat hens dry with paper towels. Cut and scrape off any visible fat from hens. Sprinkle inside and out with salt and pepper. Place 3 onion quarters and 3 garlic cloves in cavity of each hen. Arrange hens on rack on large rimmed baking sheet.
• Roast hens 10 minutes. Baste with reserved 1 cup sauce. Continue roasting until hens are golden and juices run clear when thickest part of thigh is pierced, basting often with pan juices and reserved 1 cup sauce, about 45 minutes longer.
• Transfer hens to cutting board; tent with foil to keep warm. Transfer pan juices to 4-cup glass measuring cup. Spoon fat off top of pan juices. Pour pan juices into 2 cups sauce in saucepan. Boil until sauce is reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 12 minutes.
• Discard onions and garlic from hen cavities. Using poultry shears, cut hens in half lengthwise. Remove backbones. Spoon some sauce onto plates. Place hens atop sauce. Garnish with watercress. Serve with remaining sauce.