Tarragon Lemon Roasted Cornish Hens Recipes

TARRAGON-LEMON ROASTED CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Remove giblets from hens if they're present; reserve for future use.
• Rinse hens throughly under running water; pat dry.
• Rub olive oil over both hens.
• Season hens, inside and out, with salt and pepper.
• Season hens with tarragon including the cavities of the birds.
• Rub spice well into the skin.
• Place one teaspoon of garlic into the cavity of each hen.
• Quarter the half of lemon and place one quarter inside of each cornish hen's cavity as well.
• Place hens into a roaster and pour warmed chicken broth into the roasting pan.
• Dot both hens with margarine or butter.
• Cover pan and roast in a 400 degree oven for 50 minutes basting occasionally.
• Remove the cover and allow birds to brown for 10 minutes.
• Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

LEMON TARRAGON ROAST CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Rinse hens and pat dry, then arrange, skin sides up, in a large shallow baking pan (1 inch deep). Stir together butter, shallot, zest, tarragon, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl.
• Loosen skin from meat all over hens (including thighs and legs) with your fingers, being careful not to tear skin. Rub half of butter under skin and remaining half on top. Sprinkle hens with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Roast hens in middle of oven until cooked through and skin is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

TASTY TARRAGON CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Make basting sauce by melting butter in small sauce pan and stirring in wine (or broth) and tarrgon.
• Sprinkle inside of each hen with salt, pepper, tarragon, and garlic.
• Lightly coat outside of hen with olive (or other) oil.
• Liberally sprinkle outside of hen with garlic salt.
• Tie hen legs together if possible (I've also made these without doing this step).
• Place hens in oven.
• Let hens cook about 15 minutes before starting to use the basting sauce. After each basting, I will occasionally sprinkle more garlic salt over the hens.
• Continue to baste hens every 15 minutes or so until done. If hen wings or top start to darken too much, cover those areas with foil.
• When hens have finished cooking, remove to serving platter.
• optional - I place the strained drippings in a bowl (skimming off some of the butter) and use this as a 'gravy' for the hens and any suitable rice/potato dish that may accompany them.
• Use your meat thermometer to determine doneness as it varies according to hen weight.

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.

CORNISH HENS ROASTED WITH TARRAGON AND ROOT VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Wash the potatoes under cold running water. Salt and pepper inside of birds cavity. Add tarragon to cavities. Rub each bird with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Place in roasting pan. Toss all vegetables with remaining oil, salt and pepper and place around birds. Place in oven on middle shelf. Lower temperature to 400 degrees. Roast for 50 minutes. Remove tray from oven and drape with aluminum foil. Allow bird to rest for 7 minutes before serving. Place birds on plates with vegetables around. Garnish with tarragon and serve with mustard.