Spatchcocked Cornish Hen With Mashed Potatoes Recipes

Steps:

• For the Cornish game hen: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Set a wire rack over a baking sheet.
• Toast the coriander and cumin seeds in a small skillet over medium heat until fragrant, a few minutes. Grind in a spice grinder. Combine half of the ground spices, the garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Reserve the remaining ground spices.
• Pat the hen dry with paper towels and season all over with the spice mixture. Drizzle with olive oil and place, skin-side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Roast until cooked through, 35 to 45 minutes. Cut the hen in half.
• For the green mojo: Combine the olive oil, lime juice, cilantro, garlic, serrano and the reserved ground cumin and coriander in a high-powered blender. Blend until bright green and smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
• Pour the sauce over the hen and serve with Mashed Citrus Sweet Potatoes.
• Place the sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover by 1 inch with water. Bring to a boil over high heat and season with salt. Turn down the heat and simmer until the potatoes are cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes. Strain the potatoes, then add them back to the pot to dry. Mash the potatoes in the pan. Add the chicken stock, honey, thyme, lemon zest and juice and orange zest and juice. Add more chicken stock if needed. Season with salt and pepper.

Steps:

• Preheat a panini press on high.
• Place the game hen breast side down on a cutting board. Using scissors or poultry shears, cut from the neck to the tailbone to remove the backbone. Once you remove the backbone you will be able to see the inside of the bird. Make a small slit in the cartilage at the base of the breastbone to reveal the keel bone. Grab the bird with both hands on the ribs and open up like a book, facing down towards the cutting board. Remove the keel bone. Cut small slits in the skin of the bird behind the legs and tuck the drumsticks into them in order to hold them in place. Season on both sides with salt and pepper.
• Spray the bottom of the panini press with the nonstick cooking spray. Place the bird, skin side up onto the press, pray the skin side with non-stick cooking spray and close the lid. Top the press with a 10-pound weight and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until the skin is golden brown.
• Allow to rest 3 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Put the hens on a cutting board, breast side down. Use kitchen shears to cut out the backbones. Open the hens to expose the ribs and then flip them breast side up. Use the palm of your hand to press down between the breasts to slightly flatten the hens. Put the hens in a large resealable zip-top bag, and then add the buttermilk, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, dried rosemary and 1 tablespoon salt. Shake well and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 8.
• About 2 hours before ready to serve, take the hens out of the refrigerator and let them marinate at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Place a wire rack on top of a baking sheet. Fill a Dutch oven with 2 inches of oil and bring to 350 degrees F on a deep-fry thermometer over medium-high heat.
• While the oil heats, remove the hens from the marinade and pat dry. Put the flour in a large, wide, shallow bowl with 1 teaspoon salt. Toss the hens to coat in the flour.
• Put one of the hens in the hot oil, skin side down and reduce the heat to medium. Cover and cook for 5 minutes then uncover and cook for 5 minutes more. Turn the hen over and cook for 5 minutes. Flip and cook for 5 minutes more. Continue to cook, turning occasionally, until cooked through, up to a few minutes more. Carefully remove the hen from the oil and transfer it to the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt.
• Return the oil to 350 degrees F and fry the other hen in the same way. Transfer the second hen to the prepared baking sheet and let them stand at room temperature for 10 minutes.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and leave the bread slices out on the wire rack to dry a little.
• To spatchcock the Cornish hen, get some strong, sharp scissors (or poultry shears) and cut down either side of the spine, take out the spine, then press down on the breast to open it out flat. Cut the Cornish hen in half. Put it into a small roasting pan; you can toss in the spine to give extra flavor for the dressing later.
• Drizzle the hen with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, sprinkle with paprika and thyme sprigs, and throw in the unpeeled garlic cloves. Roast until the Cornish hen is reddish-gold on top, and cooked through, about 30 to 40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, put the golden raisins into a small saucepan with the vermouth or white wine. Bring to a bubble over low heat on the stove top. Remove the pan from the heat, and leave for about 10 minutes or, better still, leave it to cool while the Cornish hen is roasting.
• Toast the pine nuts in a hot, dry frying pan over low heat until golden. Remove the pine nuts from the pan to a small bowl. Slice the crusts from the bread and cut into croutons. Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in the frying pan and fry the croutons until golden and crisp. Remove to a plate.
• Once the bird is cooked, take the pan out of the oven and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes. Discard the spine and thyme sprigs. Arrange the salad leaves on a couple of plates. Whisk together the Dijon mustard, salt, vinegar, and 3 tablespoons of the cold-pressed canola or extra-virgin olive oil in a bowl. Remove the Cornish hen and garlic cloves to a board, add the juices from the roasting pan to the dressing, and whisk again. If you want to get every last bit of pan-flavor out, add a little hot water from a recently boiled kettle and swirl it around the pan Add this liquid to the dressing, then whisk in the soused golden raisins.
• Set each half of Cornish hen on top of the salad on the plates and add 2 garlic cloves (provided they don't look too burned, though scorched and caramelly is good). Give the dressing a final whisk and pour it over the hen and the salad. Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts, croutons, and a few fresh sprigs of thyme.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Season chicken with salt and ground pepper. Using your fingers, loosen skin from breast meat; tuck lemon slices and 2 springs thyme between skin and meat. Place chicken, breast side up, in a pan. In a bowl, toss potatoes, onion wedges, and 2 sprigs thyme with olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Add to pan.
• Roast chicken until juices run clear when pierced between breast and leg (an instant-read thermometer should read 165 degrees when inserted in thickest part of a thigh, avoiding bone), about 30 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before carving.