Thyme Roasted Poussin Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove neck from inside of poussin cavity, and set aside. Rinse inside and outside of poussin, and pat dry.
• Season each of the poussin cavities with salt and pepper. Fill each of the cavities with 2 onion quarters, 3 prunes, and 1/3 bunch thyme. Tie the poussin's legs together with kitchen twine, and set aside. Strew the bottom of a large roasting pan with the remaining onion quarters and celery.
• Rub poussin with 2 tablespoons soft butter; season with salt and pepper. Arrange poussin in roasting pan; place in oven. Roast poussin until golden brown and thigh juices run clear when pierced with a fork, about 55 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter.
• Add brandy and chicken stock to pan; stir with a wooden spoon to scrape up brown bits from bottom of pan. Strain gravy, and discard solids. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in remaining tablespoon butter. Use gravy to glaze poussin, or serve on the side.

Steps:

• First, make the sauce. Bring the white wine to the boil and pour it on top of the dried mushrooms. Cover with cling film and leave to soak and rehydrate for 1 hr. After this time, pass the wine through a fine sieve into a saucepan and put the mushrooms to one side. Add the shallots and garlic to the wine. Put the pan on a medium-high heat until the wine has reduced by two-thirds, and the shallots are soft and translucent. Add the tied-up sprigs of thyme, the mushrooms and double cream. Bring the cream to the boil and gently simmer until it has reduced by a third. Remove from the heat, season, pour in the Sherry and turn off the heat until serving. Can be made 2 days ahead.
• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Stuff the cavity of each poussin with 2 garlic cloves, 4 sprigs of thyme and a piece of lemon peel. For neat presentation, you can now tie the poussin legs together, but this isn't essential. Smear the butter over the poussins, put in a shallow roasting tin and cook for 30-35 mins until the legs easily come away from the bird, or until a digital cooking thermometer reads 75C when inserted in the breast. Take out of the oven, baste with the buttery cooking juices and leave to rest for 15 mins.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place the poussins in a roasting pan, and bring to room temperature.
• In a small bowl, stir together the thyme leaves, orange zest, aniseed, mustard and olive oil. Add salt and pepper. Spread a little of the mixture inside the birds. Place two onion quarters inside each bird. Spread remaining mustard paste on skin.
• Roast until birds' thigh juices run clear, 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. Remove birds to cutting board and let rest 10 minutes.
• To prepare gravy, place roasting pan over medium-high heat, and add the vermouth. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up pan drippings. Bring vermouth to a boil. Add 1/2 cup water; bring to boil. Stir in the cream. Taste, and adjust seasoning. Carve birds. Serve, passing gravy on side.

Steps:

• With a mortar and pestle coarsely crush lavender and in a small bowl stir together with butter, thyme, zest, and salt and pepper to taste until combined well. Spoon mixture onto a sheet of plastic wrap and form into a 4-inch-long log. Chill compound butter, wrapped well in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 30 minutes, and up to 3 days.
• Preheat oven to 475° F.
• Discard gizzards from birds and trim necks flush with bodies if necessary. Rinse birds inside and out and pat dry. Starting at neck end of each bird, slide fingers between meat and skin to loosen skin (be careful not to tear skin). Cut butter into sixteen 1/4-inch-thick slices and gently push 4 slices under skin of each bird, putting 1 slice over each breast half and thigh. Tie legs of each bird together with kitchen string and secure wings to sides with wooden picks or bamboo skewers.
• Arrange birds in a flameproof roasting pan large enough to hold them without crowding. Gently rub birds with lemon halves, squeezing juice over them, and season with salt and pepper. Roast birds in middle of oven 30 minutes (for poussins) to 45 minutes (for Cornish hens), or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of a thigh (be careful not to touch bone) registers 170° F.
• Transfer birds to a platter and loosely cover with foil to keep warm. Add Sauternes to roasting pan and deglaze over moderate heat, scraping up brown bits. Transfer jus to a small saucepan. Skim fat from jus and simmer until reduced to about 1/2 cup.
• Garnish birds with herbs and serve with jus.