Lemon Tarragon Roast Cornish Hens Recipes

HERB-ROASTED CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Arrange celery stalks next to each other in the bottom of a heavy roasting pan.
• Place 1 onion quarter, 1 lemon quarter, and 1 sprig rosemary in the cavity of each hen. Rub outside of hens with 1 tablespoon olive oil; sprinkle with salt and lemon pepper. Arrange hens atop celery; sprinkle with tarragon, basil, thyme, and chopped rosemary. Scatter garlic cloves and 1 chopped onion around hens.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Whisk wine, broth, and 3 tablespoons olive oil together in a bowl; pour over hens.
• Cook hens until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 50 more minutes, basting every 15 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Turn off oven and let hens rest in the oven for 10 more minutes.

ROASTED ORANGE-TARRAGON CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Remove and discard giblet, if any. Rinse hens inside and out and pat dry. Loosen skin from the breasts and place hens in a large resealable plastic bag.
• Whisk orange juice, orange zest, tarragon, garlic, mustard, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl. Whisking continually, slowly drizzle in olive oil until combined. Pour marinade over the hens in the bag, making sure to get some under the skin. Seal bag and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Remove hens from the bag, letting excess marinade drip off; pour remaining marinade into a small saucepan and set aside. Place hens in a small roasting pan and season with salt and pepper. Tie legs together with kitchen twine and tuck wing tips underneath.
• Roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue cooking, basting with pan juices every 10 to 15 minutes, until hens are golden brown and internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), 25 to 30 minutes more.
• Transfer hens to a serving plate, pouring any cavity juices back into the roasting pan. Tent with aluminum foil and keep warm.
• Scrape pan juices and pour through a strainer into the saucepan with the reserved marinade. Bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes, whisking occasionally. Season sauce with salt and pepper, if necessary.
• Serve Cornish hens whole or cut in half. Spoon pan sauce over hens to serve.

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.

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.

ROASTED CORNISH GAME HENS MARINATED IN HONEY AND MUSTARD

Steps:

• Mix the honey, mustard, garlic, 3 tablespoons oil, thyme and cinnamon together in a bowl and set aside. Remove the wing tips from the hens. Roll the hens in the marinade and marinate overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Season the birds inside and out with salt and pepper. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze over each bird. Put a used lemon half in the cavity of each bird. Truss the birds.
• Set a rack in a roasting pan and brush the rack with several tablespoons vegetable oil. Place the birds, breast side down on the oiled rack. Roast for 30 minutes. Turn the birds breast side up, reduce the heat to 350 degrees and roast an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until the hens are cooked through and the skin is brown. Allow the hens to rest 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.

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.