Citrus Baked Cornish Hens Recipes

Steps:

• Bring the vegetable broth, 4 1/2 cups of water, the allspice berries, black peppercorns, and kosher salt to a boil in a large pot, stirring to dissolve the salt. Remove the brine from the heat, and set aside to cool. When the brine is cool, place the Cornish hens into the brine and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Remove the game hens from the brine, and pat dry. Discard the brine.
• Place the cut-up grapefruit, orange, lemon, lime, rosemary, and thyme into a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on High for 2 minutes; with tongs, stuff the fruit and herbs into the cavities of the Cornish hens. Slather each hen with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Place the stuffed hens into a roasting dish, breast sides up.
• Roast in the preheated oven until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 1 hour and 45 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone should read 180 degrees F (82 degrees C). For extra-crispy skin, turn the oven heat up to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for the last 15 minutes of cooking. Allow the hens to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to at 350°. Tie legs of each hen together; turn wing tips under backs. Place on a greased rack in a roasting pan. Brush with butter; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour., Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until thickened, 15 minutes. Spoon over hens. Bake until a thermometer reads 170°, about 15 minutes longer.

Steps:

• Place an oven rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Rinse the game hens and pat dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, shallots, orange zest, lemon zest, thyme, mint, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Rub 2 tablespoons of the zest mixture over the skins of the game hens. Place the remainder of the zest mixture under the skin and into the cavities of the hens. Using kitchen twine, truss the legs together. Place the hens in a shallow 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Add the chicken stock, Marsala wine, lemon juice, orange juice, and cranberries. Roast for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the leg juices run clear. Remove the game hens and set aside. Place the flour in a small saucepan. Whisk in the pan juices. Bring the juices to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes until slightly thickened. Whisk in the butter and season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
• To serve, remove the kitchen twine and place the hens on 2 serving plates. Drizzle with the citrus-herb sauce.

Steps:

• Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Combine olive oil, 4 teaspoons chopped thyme, garlic, lemon peel, lime peel, honey, salt, and pepper in baking dish. Stir marinade to blend well.
• Place hen halves on work surface and cover with plastic wrap. Pound gently with mallet to flatten slightly. Place hen halves in marinade in dish. Using fingers, rub both sides of hens with marinade. Let marinate 20 minutes at room temperature.
• Grill hen halves until just cooked through and skin is lightly charred, brushing with remaining marinade, about 12 minutes per side.
• Arrange hen halves on plates. Garnish with lemon wedges, lime wedges, and fresh thyme sprigs.

Steps:

• Remove giblets and necks from hens. Tie the legs of the hens together and turn the wing tips under the backs.
• In a saucepan, combine all sauce ingredients. Simmer 5 minutes. Brush the hens with sauce and arrange, breast side up, on a rack in a large roasting pan.
• Bake at 350 degrees for about 1-1/4 hours or until tender. Brush hens occasionally with sauce.