Mediterranean Cornish Hens Recipes

ROAST CORNISH GAME HENS WITH SAVORY FRUIT STUFFING

Steps:

• Thaw hen, if frozen. Rinse hen with cold water and pat dry. For stuffing, in a small saucepan combine water and margarine or butter; cook until margarine melts. Remove from heat. Stir in croutons, fruit bits, onion, and bouillon granules.
• Spoon stuffing into body cavity. Combine mayonnaise and poultry seasoning; coat hen with mayonnaise mixture.
• Place hen, breast side up on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Roast, uncovered, in a 375 degree F oven for 1 to 1-1/4 hours or until drumstick moves easily in socket.
• Meanwhile, in a small saucepan combine cranberries, brown sugar, and orange juice concentrate. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 3 to 5 minutes or until cranberry skins pop.
• Serve with cranberry sauce, if desired.

GRILLED CORNISH HENS WITH RASPBERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Remove giblets and necks from Cornish hens, and set aside.
• Rinse hens under cold running water, and pat dry.
• Remove skin, and trim excess fat; split hens in half lengthwise.
• Set aside.
• Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat; add giblets and necks.
• Cook 5 minutes or until very brown.
• Add broth, onion, 1/4 cup wine, and next 2 ingredients; bring to a boil.
• Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes.
• Strain broth mixture through a sieve into a bowl, reserving 1 1/2 cups; discard solids.
• Set aside broth mixture.
• Combine remaining 1/4 cup wine, lemon juice, gingerroot, and minced garlic in a large bowl.
• Add hen halves; cover and marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes, turning hens occasionally.
• Remove hens from marinade, reserving marinade.
• Coat grill rack with cooking spray; place hen halves on rack over medium heat.
• Cook 15 minutes on each side or until juices run clear, basting occasionally with reserved marinade.
• Set aside, and keep warm.
• Combine reserved broth mixture and 1/2 cup raspberries in a saucepan; boil until reduced to 1 cup (about 5 minutes).
• Strain and discard seeds; return puree to pan.
• Combine water and cornstarch; stir well, and add to puree.
• Bring to a boil, and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
• Remove from heat; stir in parsley, sugar, and salt.
• Spoon 3 tablespoons sauce onto individual serving plates; arrange hen half on each plate, and top with 2 tablespoons raspberries.

CHUTNEY-GLAZED CORNISH HENS WITH HAZELNUTS AND DRIED-FRUIT STUFFING

Steps:

• Make the stuffing:
• In a large heavy skillet cook the shallot, the onion, and the garlic in the butter over moderate heat, stirring, until the vegetables are golden. Stir in the sage, the cloves, the raisins, the apricots, and salt and pepper to taste and cook the mixture, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the wine and boil the mixture until the liquid is evaporated. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the bread cubes, the hazelnuts, and salt and pepper to taste. Let the mixture cool before stuffing the hens.
• Divide the stuffing among the cavities of the hens, packing the cavities loosely. Truss the hens, sprinkle them with salt and pepper, and arrange them so that they do not touch on the rack of a large, foil-lined broiler pan. Brush the hens with the butter and roast them in the upper third of a preheated 400°F. oven for 1 hour.
• While the hens are roasting, in a small saucepan combine the lemon juice, the chutney, and salt and pepper to taste, bring the glaze just to a boil, stirring, and in a blender or food processor purée it. Brush the hens with the glaze, roast them for 15 to 25 minutes more, or until they are golden brown and cooked through, and discard the trussing string.
• To toast and skin hazelnuts:
• Toast the hazelnuts in one layer in a baking pan in a preheated 350°F. oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until they are colored lightly and the skins blister. Wrap the nuts in a kitchen towel and let them steam for 1 minute. Rub the nuts in the towel to remove as much of the skins as possible and let them cool.

ROASTED CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pat the hens dry with a cloth. Slice lemon in half and squeeze juice into a medium bowl. Stuff hen cavities with half lemon, 2 cloves garlic and 1/2 branch of fresh rosemary. Add honey, oil and salt and pepper to lemon juice and blend together. Baste the hens with the lemon honey sauce. Place in a small roasting pan and roast for 20 minutes. Reduce heat and continue roasting for 20 to 30 minutes basting the hens occasionally. Roast the hens until the juices run clear from the thigh. Transfer hens to cutting board and let sit for 10 minutes. Place roasting pan on stove burner and stir in white wine. Bring to a simmer and scrape brown bits from bottom of pan. Stir in chicken stock and simmer. Serve hens hot with sauce.

CORNISH GAME HENS WITH SAGE AND GARLIC

Steps:

• Blend 3 Tbs of butter with the sage, garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper.
• Separate breast and leg skin from hens.
• Press the mixture under the skins and spread evenly.
• Melt remaining butter and add paprika Brush this butter over the hens.
• Place hens in single layer in shallow oiled pan.
• Roast at 400 F, uncovered, 40 to 45 minutes.
• Baste twice with pan drippings.

CORNISH GAME HENS WITH ORANGE STUFFING

Steps:

• Finely shred 1/4 tsp peel from the orange.
• Remove and discard the remaining peel.
• Section orange over a bowl, squeezing juice out.
• Halve sections and set aside.
• Add water to the sections to equal 3 tablespoons.
• In a small pan, cook green onion and celery in hot oil until tender but not brown.
• For stuffing, toss together peel, orange sections, onion mixture, stuffing mix and enough of the juice to moisten.
• In a large rectangular cake pan, spoon stuffing into 4 mounds.
• Rinse hens and pat dry with paper towels.
• Place hens, cavity side down over the stuffing mounds.
• Cover loosely with foil.
• Roast in a 375°F oven for 30 minutes.
• Uncover and roast another 20 minutes.
• Stir together honey and 1 tablespoon water. Brush over hens.
• Roast uncovered for another 15 minutes or until hens are tender.
• Use a wide spatula to transfer hens and stuffing to dinner plates.