Game Hens With Cardamom And Oregano Recipes

ROASTED CORNISH GAME HEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
• Pat the hens dry with a paper towel. Use your index finger to loosen the skin on the top of the hen and slip a thin slice of butter under the skin on top of each breast. Add a few rosemary and thyme leaves (or herb of choice). Repeat for each hen. Put a quarter of a lemon in the cavity of each hen along with a clove of garlic and a sprig of fresh rosemary and thyme (or herb of choice). Truss the hens by tying the wings and legs.
• Rub each hen all over with some extra virgin olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place then hens on the rack of a roasting pan lined with aluminum foil, spacing them out so they are as far apart from each other as possible. This will enable their skins to get browned and crispy.
• Place the hens in the preheated oven and roast for 25 minutes.
• While the hens are roasting, combine the chicken broth and wine in a bowl.
• After the hens have been roasting for 25 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Pour the broth/wine mixture over the hens and continue to roast for 30 minutes, basting the hens with the juices at the bottom of the pan every 10 minutes or less. The hens are done when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees F and the juices run clear. If you prefer darker skins, turn up the temperature to broil for a couple more minutes, watching closely to prevent burning.
• Carefully remove the hens and pour the juices from their cavities into the roasting pan. Transfer the hens to a warmed platter, remove the trussing string, and tent with aluminum foil to keep warm. Pour the juices from the roasting pan into a saucepan and boil for about 5 minutes until the liquid is a thin sauce-like consistency. Serve the hens whole per guest or cut in half lengthwise and place cavity-down on each serving plate. Drizzle the sauce over the hens and garnish with fresh herb sprigs and a slice of lemon. Serve immediately.

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.

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°.

GAME HENS WITH LIME, GARLIC AND OREGANO

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix the juice of the 3 limes, garlic, dried oregano and olive oil. Rub all over the hens and set in the refrigerator 1 to 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Remove the hens from the refrigerator. Stuff the cavity of each with half of the fresh oregano, a lime half and half of the onion chunks. Tie the legs together with string and sprinkle all over with salt and pepper. Place on a rack in a roasting pan and roast breast side up, 20 minutes. Turn breast side down and roast another 20 minutes. Then turn over again and roast 20 minutes longer (1 hour total). Serve hot.

GAME HENS WITH CARDAMOM AND OREGANO

Steps:

• Pound the cardamom pods to loosen the husks. Use a mortar and pestle to pound the seeds, releasing their flavor. Add the garlic, salt, and oregano; and continue to pound until the ingredients are well mixed.
• Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and continue to crush until you have a smooth paste.
• Rub 3/4 of the paste over the hens, making sure you cover all of their surfaces.
• Mix the remaining paste with the remaining olive oil, and pour over the birds, reserving a little bit to baste with while grilling.
• Cover and marinate for at least four and up to eight hours, turning occasionally.
• Preheat a grill to high.
• Season the birds with plenty of pepper, then place on the grill and sear being careful of flare-ups, until the skin is golden.
• Move the birds to indirect heat, and grill until completely cooked, basting with the reserved marinate during the last few minutes of cooking.

ROASTED GAME HEN WITH ROOT VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees with racks in top and bottom. Place hen, breast-side down, on a work surface. Using kitchen shears, cut along both sides of backbone to remove. Flip over; split lengthwise with a heavy knife. Pat dry; season with salt and pepper. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss vegetables with 1 tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper. Transfer sheet to bottom rack of oven.
• In an ovenproof skillet, heat remaining oil over medium-high. Add hen, skin-side down; cook until browned, about 3 minutes. Flip; transfer skillet to top rack of oven. Roast, stirring vegetables once, until golden, and a thermometer inserted into thickest part of hen thigh reads 165 degrees, 18 to 20 minutes for hen, and 25 to 28 minutes for vegetables. Transfer hen and vegetables to a platter. Return skillet to medium heat; whisk in mustard, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon water, and capers. Cook until reduced slightly, about 1 minute. Stir in tarragon; spoon over vegetables. Serve, with more mustard.

GREEK YOGURT CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Place Cornish game hens in a large resealable plastic bag.
• Mix Greek yogurt, lemon juice, paprika, olive oil, garlic salt, thyme, black pepper, oregano, rosemary, and savory together in a small bowl. Pour yogurt mixture over game hens, turning to coating them completely and get some of the mixture into their cavities. Seal bag, removing as much air as possible, and refrigerate, 2 hours to overnight.
• Preheat grill for low heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Remove game hens from bags and pat dry. Discard yogurt mixture. Grill until skins starts to brown, about 3 minutes per side. Cover grill and cook game hens, rotating if needed, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest parts of the thigh, near the bone, reads 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), 15 to 20 minutes.
• Remove game hens from the grill and slice open on the breast side, flattening them out like open books. Return to the grill, cut-side down, cover grill, and cook until browned, about 4 minutes.

GAME HENS WITH SUMAC, POMEGRANATE AND CARDAMOM RICE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Season birds inside and out with salt, then tie legs together with butcher twine. In a small bowl, mix together the sumac, cinnamon and black pepper. Sprinkle spice mix evenly over exterior of birds and put a pinch in the cavities, too.
• Place seasoned birds in a roasting pan just big enough to fit and drizzle all over with pomegranate molasses. Turn birds breast-side down and add water to pan to a depth of ½ inch. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 and turn birds breast-side up. Continue cooking for another 20 to 25 minutes, using a brush to baste birds with pan juices frequently, until well browned. Juices in thigh should run clear when pierced with a paring knife.
• Meanwhile, make the rice: Put rinsed basmati rice in a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Add cardamom, cloves, butter, currants, raisins, 2 1/2 cups water (or broth) and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then put on lid and turn heat to very low. Cook rice for 15 minutes, then turn off heat. Leave covered for 10 minutes.
• To serve, fluff rice and mound on a large warmed platter. Surround rice with finished birds and give birds a last dab of the pan juices. Sprinkle pomegranate seeds and pine nuts over everything and garnish with mint. Serve the pleasantly tart pan juices separately.

CORNISH GAME HENS WITH GARLIC AND ROSEMARY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Rub hens with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Lightly season hens with salt and pepper. Place 1 lemon wedge and 1 sprig rosemary in cavity of each hen. Arrange in a large, heavy roasting pan, and arrange garlic cloves around hens. Roast in preheated oven for 25 minutes.
• Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a mixing bowl, whisk together wine, chicken broth, and remaining 2 tablespoons of oil; pour over hens. Continue roasting about 25 minutes longer, or until hens are golden brown and juices run clear. Baste with pan juices every 10 minutes.
• Transfer hens to a platter, pouring any cavity juices into the roasting pan. Tent hens with aluminum foil to keep warm. Transfer pan juices and garlic cloves to a medium saucepan and boil until liquids reduce to a sauce consistency, about 6 minutes. Cut hens in half lengthwise and arrange on plates. Spoon sauce and garlic around hens. Garnish with rosemary sprigs, and serve.

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.

OREGANO CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Remove bags of liver and neck from hens, rinse hens and pat dry.
• Rub skins with oil.
• Season hens inside& out with salt,pepper and oregano, set aside.
• Stuffing:.
• Make stuffing by heating butter till bubbly (do not burn).
• Add onion and celery and cook for 1 minute.
• Stir in bread cubes, oregano, celery salt, pepper and water.
• Loosely stuff each hen with 1/4 of the stuffing.
• Place stuffed hens in a roastin pan and cook at 450 degrees for 20 minutes.
• Reduce heat to 350 and roast for another 30 to 40 minutes or until juices run clear when thigh is pricked with a fork.
• Place on warm serving platter.
• Sauce:.
• Skim off exces fat from juices in pan, add water and butter.
• Simmer for 2 miutes, season to taste and serve with hens.