Oreganocornishgamehens Recipes

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.

BAKED CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• In a small bowl combine the 1/2 cup melted butter, onion, celery, bell pepper, mushrooms, garlic, basil, oregano and parsley.
• Season hens inside and out with salt and pepper to taste, then stuff with equal amounts butter/vegetable mixture. Place stuffed birds in a 9x13 inch baking dish, breast side up. Drizzle with 1/4 cup melted butter.
• Cover dish and bake in the preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours. Remove cover and brown at 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).

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.

FORTY CLOVE CORNISH HENS WITH LEMON AND OREGANO

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cut 6 garlic cloves crosswise into very thin slices. Set aside in a small bowl. In another small bowl, set aside 12 cloves. Pick leaves from 3 or 4 sprigs oregano, and set aside in a small bowl. Set aside 3 sprigs oregano. Place remaining garlic cloves and oregano, onion, celery, and bay leaves in the bottom of a medium nonstick roasting pan.
• With your finger, gently loosen the skin on the breast of the hens. Gently slide a few garlic slices and a few oregano leaves under the skin in a single layer. Place 4 garlic cloves, 1 sprig oregano, and 2 lemon wedges in the cavity of each hen; set aside remaining lemon wedges.
• Tie each hen's legs together with kitchen twine. Tuck wings under breast; place hens in pan over the garlic mixture.
• Add wine and 1/2 cup chicken stock to pan. Brush the skin with melted butter; transfer pan to oven.
• Cook, basting occasionally and adding more chicken stock to pan if dry, until golden brown and internal temperature reaches 165 degrees when measured with a meat thermometer, 45 to 60 minutes. Remove hens from pan, and set aside on a board to rest 5 minutes before serving with reserved lemon wedges.

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.

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-BRINED CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine the salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, sage, garlic, thyme, rosemary and 1 quart water. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Remove from the heat. Add the cold water to cool the brine to room temperature., Place a turkey-sized oven roasting bag inside a second roasting bag; add hens. Carefully pour cooled brine into bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible; seal bags and turn to coat. Place in a roasting pan. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours, turning occasionally. Drain and discard brine; pat hens dry., Meanwhile, place the peppercorns and garlic in a food processor; cover and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add the butter, 3 tablespoons olive oil and herbs; cover and process until smooth. With fingers, carefully loosen skin from hens; rub half the butter mixture under skin. Secure skin to underside of breast with toothpicks; tie drumsticks together. Rub remaining butter mixture over skin., In a 15x10x1-in. baking pan, toss the Brussels sprouts and onions with remaining olive oil, salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer. Place hens, breast side up, on top of the vegetables. Bake at 450° until thermometer inserted in breast reads 165°, 35-40 minutes. Cover loosely with foil if hens brown too quickly., Remove hens and vegetables to a serving platter; cover and let stand for 10 minutes before carving. If desired, garnish with additional herbs.