Herbed Cornish Hens Recipes

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.

Steps:

• Place the hens on a wire rack in a large roasting pan. In a bowl, combine lemon juice, butter, paprika and 1 teaspoon each of thyme, seasoned salt and garlic powder. Pour half over the hens; set the remaining mixture aside for basting. Combine salt, pepper and remaining thyme, seasoned salt and garlic powder; sprinkle over hens. Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 30 minutes. Baste with reserved lemon juice mixture. Bake 30 minutes longer, basting occasionally, or until the meat is tender and juices run clear.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place hens in a roasting pan, breast sides up. Place 2 thyme sprigs and 1 lemon half in cavity of each hen. Loosen skin from breast, and place remaining thyme and the parsley underneath. Squeeze remaining lemon halves over hens. Rub butter all over hens. Season generously with salt and pepper.
• Roast hens, rotating pan halfway through, until skin turns golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 180 degrees, 45 to 50 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut hens in half lengthwise. Garnish with thyme sprigs, and serve with lemon wedges.

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.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°. Rub cavities of hens with salt and pepper. Place hens, breast sides up, on rack in shallow roasting pan.
• Mix remaining ingredients; brush hens with part of mixture. Insert meat thermometer so tip is in thickest part of inside thigh muscle and does not touch bone. Roast uncovered about 1 hour, brushing with butter mixture 5 or 6 times, until juice of hens is clear when thickest pieces are cut to bone (at least 165°F). Discard any remaining butter mixture.
• To serve, cut each hen in half with scissors, cutting along backbone from tail to neck and down center of breast.

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a small bowl mix a dash of each seasoning.
• In a second small bowl, melt 1-2 T of butter.
• Brush Hen with butter.
• Rub seasoning onto hen.
• Place hen on bakeware.
• Bake for 1 hour 30 min on 350.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and put a baking rack on top.
• Mix together the grill seasoning, dressing, and chopped herbs in a small bowl. Reserve 2 tablespoons. Generously rub the hens inside and out with the herb and dressing mixture. Stuff each hen with a sprig of each herb and a piece of lemon.
• In a large bowl, combine the carrots, onions and potatoes with the reserved 2 tablespoons of dressing mixture, a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Put the vegetables in a large roasting pan and arrange the hens on top. Roast them until the juices run clear and an instant-read thermometer registers 180 degrees F when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, about 50 to 55 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, cover with foil and let the hens rest for 5 minutes before serving. Transfer the hens to a large serving tray with the roasted vegetables.

Steps:

• Heat a gas grill to high. Using sharp kitchen scissors or poultry shears, remove the backbone of each hen by cutting on either side of it through the ribs. Turn the hens skin side up on the cutting board and press on the breastbone to flatten. Rinse each hen and pat dry. Spread the hens out flat on a large shallow baking sheet and sprinkle them on both sides with salt and pepper. Bend the wingtips under the breasts to protect them from burning.
• Pour 1/4 cup of the olive oil into a small bowl and add the garlic, a generous amount of pepper, and all but 1 teaspoons each of the thyme and rosemary. Brush the hens liberally on both sides with the seasoned oil then add more pepper.
• Grill the hens skin side down, uncovered, until the skin develops nice grill marks (rotate the birds a quarter turn after first 3 minutes to create a crosshatch pattern). Turn the hens and sear them on the second side, again uncovered, about 4 minutes.
• Sprinkle the skin side with the reserved herbs and salt, close the lid, and reduce the heat to medium. Cook until the hens are tender throughout and the skin is crisp and very golden; an instant read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh should read 180°F, 10 to 15 minutes. Put the hens on a large serving platter.
• Whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup oil and the lemon juice. Serve the hens drizzled with the lemon oil.

Steps:

• Place parsley, rosemary, thyme, garlic, lemon, salt, and pepper in a food processor. Blend until finely chopped. With machine running, add olive oil.
• Loosen skin from the hens. Put 1 tablespoon of herb mixture under skin of each hen, smoothing to cover breasts. Place the birds on a large rimmed baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
• Remove hens from refrigerator and bring to room temperature (about 1 hour). Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Place hens on a clean rimmed baking sheet (it's okay if they touch). Brush butter over surface of hens and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast in oven, rotating pan once until golden brown and cooked through (meat thermometer should read 165 degrees when placed in the thigh), about 50 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let stand at least 15 minutes before placing on individual plates. No carving necessary!

Steps:

• Place each hen breast-side up; with poultry shears, starting at body cavity, cut straight along one side of breast-bone to neck cavity. Spreading hen open, cut along one side of back-bone to make two halves. Cut along other side of bone to remove bone; discard backbones. Wash and pat dry. Place in shallow glass baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stir together next 7 ingredients. Drizzle mixture over hens, turning until evenly coated. Cover and marinate 1 hour at room temperature.
• Preheat broiler. Drain hens from marinade. Place hens on rack of broiler pan, skin-side down. Broil 6" from heat source 8 minutes. Turn hens; brush with butter. Sprinkle each with 1/4 teaspoon of the sugar. Broil 8-10 minutes longer until golden brown. Turn off broilerb and leave hens in oven 5 minutes. Arrange on serving platter.
• Tomato Salad: In a large bowl, blend together first 5 ingredients. Toss with vegetables.

Steps:

• Place 2 whole garlic cloves and 2 lemon wedges in each hen.
• In a small bowl, combine oil,smashed garlic, rosemary, sage, tarragon, thyme, salt and pepper.
• Gently separate skin from breast and thigh of each hen and rub meat with herb mixture.
• Rub any extra over skin.
• Arrange birds on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
• Roast birds in a preheated 400°F oven for 45 minutes or until well browned and cooked through.
• Baste occasionally.
• Place birds on a platter and transfer pan juices to measuring cup.
• To make sauce, remove fat from pan juices.
• Place juices in a saucepan with stock, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a boil.
• Cook a few minutes.
• In a small bowl, combine flour and margarine.
• Stir into sauce and cook until just slightly thickened.
• Adjust seasonings.
• Serve hens with sauce on the side.