Roasted Cornish Hen Recipes

EASY ROASTED CORNISH HENS FOR EASTER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 F.
• Spread out chopped vegetables and rosemary in the bottom of 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
• Rub olive oil lightly over the Cornish hens. Set aside.
• In a bowl, mix together spices and sprinkle generously over the hens, being sure to season the inside cavity as well. ( Want more flavor? See note)
• Place the hens on top of the bed of vegetables.
• Run your fingers under the skin to loosen it.
• Place a slice of butter under the skin of each hen.
• Tie the legs together with kitchen string or foil paper. (I like to sprinkle on more parsley at this point but that's optional)
• Bake for 50-60 minutes, depending on size of hens.
• Let hens rest for 15 minutes before eating.

HERB-ROASTED CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Place hens breast side up on a rack in a shallow roasting pan.
• In a small bowl combine the remaining ingredients.
• Brush over hens and bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for 50-60 minutes or until juices run clear.

ROASTED CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Combine all the dry rub ingredients together in a small bowl.
• Pat the hens dry with paper towels and generously season with the dry rub both inside and out.
• Preheat your oven to 425°F.
• In a roasting pan add the rosemary, thyme, garlic, onion, and half the lemon slices. Place the hens in the roasting pan over the herbs and onions and drizzle the olive oil over the hens.
• Transfer the roasting pan to the preheated oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers at 165°F.
• Remove the hens from the oven and let them rest for 20 minutes. Garnish with additional thyme, lemon slices and rosemary and serve over mashed potatoes.

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.

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.

CRISPY BAKED CORNISH HEN RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
• Remove the innards from the cavity of the hen and discard (or freeze for later.) Pat the hens fry with a paper towel and place on a baking sheet.
• Coat the hens, liberally, with the olive oil. Season the inside and outside with salt and pepper.
• Stuff half the lemon, garlic and herbs into the cavity of the hens. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine and tuck the wing tips under the back of the hen. (This prevents the tips from burning.)
• Roast the cornish hens for 40 minutes until the skin is golden crispy and the juices run clear. Your cornish hen is done when the temperature reaches 165˚F on an instant read thermometer.
• Remove your cornish hens from the oven and cover with foil. Allow the hens to rest for 10 minutes prior to 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°.

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.

HERB-STUFFED ROASTED CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. Gently lift skin from hen breasts and place sage leaves under skin. Place lemon wedges and a third of the onions in the cavities. Tuck wings under hens; tie legs together. Place in a small greased roasting pan. , Combine butter, oil, lemon juice and garlic; spoon half of mixture over hens. Sprinkle with salt and pepper., Bake 30 minutes. Add potatoes and remaining onions to pan. Brush hens with remaining butter mixture. Bake until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh reads 170°-175° and potatoes are tender, 40-45 minutes longer., Remove hens to a serving platter. Stir potatoes and onions to coat with pan drippings. Serve with hens.

ROASTED CORNISH HEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450°F.
• Pat the cornish hen dry (including cavity) with paper towels.
• In a small bowl, combine all dry rub seasoning mixture ingredients. Rub seasoning mixture over both sides and underneat the skin of the hen.
• Season the cavity of the hen with salt and pepper then stuff with one lemon wedge, head of garlic halved, and 3 rosemary sprigs.
• Tuck wing tips under the back of the hen; tie ends of legs together with twine.
• Put the chopped vegetables in a large roasting pan, then drizzle with oil. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste then pour in the dry white wine.
• Put the hens, breast side up, directly on top of vegetables. Make sure the hens are not touching the wine! Brush the hens on both sides with oil.
• Roast the hens and vegetables, uncovered, for about 50-60 minutes (depending on the size) or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F and the vegetables are tender. Rotating the pan halfway through roasting.

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 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.