Best Garlicky Smothered Cornish Hens Recipes

CORNISH GAME HENS WITH GARLIC AND ROSEMARY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F. Pat hens dry with paper towels. Season cavities lightly with salt and pepper. Place 1 lemon wedge and 1 rosemary sprig in cavity of each hen. Rub hens with 1 tablespoon oil. Season outside of hens lightly with salt and pepper. Arrange in heavy large roasting pan. Scatter garlic around hens.
• Roast hens 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Pour wine, broth and remaining 2 tablespoons oil over hens. Continue roasting until hens are golden brown and juices run clear when thigh is pierced at thickest part, basting every 10 minutes with pan juices, about 25 minutes longer.
• Transfer hens to platter, pouring any juices from cavity into roasting pan. Tent hens with foil to keep warm. Transfer pan juices and garlic to heavy medium saucepan. Boil until reduced to sauce consistency, about 6 minutes.
• Cut hens in half lengthwise. Arrange on plates. Spoon sauce and garlic around hens. Garnish with additional rosemary sprigs and serve.

CORNISH GAME HENS WITH GARLIC CLOVES AND ONION

Steps:

• Sprinkle the seasoning salt on the birds.
• Stuff 2 cloves in each hen. Sprinkle the rest of the cloves in the baking dish.
• Place the hens on top of the garlic. Add the onions.
• Preheat oven 350*.
• Cover with dish with foil.
• Bake 1 hour.
• Note: Uncover after 1 hour to brown the birds. About 15 to 20 minutes or so. Check.
• Mixed Sauce for Mashed Potatoes:.
• Take all cooked garlic cloves and cooked onion pieces and the drippings. Place in a blender and pulse twice.
• Add to mashed dry potatoes. Add milk, salt and pepper. Serve with margarine or butter.

GARLIC & ROSEMARY CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450.
• Rinse and pat dry game hens.
• Season cavities lightly with salt& pepper.
• Cut lemon into 4 wedges.
• Place 1 wedge inside each hen along with 1 sprig of the rosemary and 1 clove peeled garlic Rub outside of hens with 1 tbl of oil.
• Season outside of hen lightly with salt& pepper.
• Place hens in pan placing peeled garlic around all.
• Roast hens for appx 25 minutes at 450.
• Reduce temp to 350 and pour wine, broth and remaining oil over hens.
• Continue to cook for about 25 minutes (or until juice from thickest part runs clear) Be sure to baste about every 10 minutes in this final cooking time.
• Remove hens from pan and pour remaining juices as well as any juices from the cavities into medium saucepan Boil juices about 6 to 8 minutes (or until desired consistency).
• Arrange hens on plates and spoon sauce and garlic over and around each, add additional rosemary as a garnish if you like.
• The 4-8 servings is that you can cut the hens in half to double the servings.
• This goes very well with a light salad and rice pilaf (and of course a glass of wine).

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.

SMOTHERED CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Brown hens in the butter in a large skillet over a medium-high heat.
• Then place with breast up in a 13x9 baking dish.
• Add flour into the skillet stirring until smooth.
• Cook 2 minutes; stirring constantly over medium heat.
• Slowly stir in the broth and sherry; cook over medium heat, constantly stirring, until mixture is thickened and bubbly.
• Stir in salt and pepper.
• Pour sauce over hens and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour covered.

BUTTERFLIED CORNISH HENS WITH SAGE BUTTER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Place hens on a sheet tray fitted with a cooling rack in the refrigerator to dry skin out for 1 hour. Meanwhile, in a small pan over medium heat, melt butter with sage, zest, salt and pepper. Remove hens from refrigerator. Preheat 2 large saute pans over medium heat, lightly coat with oil. Season hens with salt and pepper and sear, skin side down, in the pans. Sear until skin caramelizes and turns golden brown and crispy, about 7 to 10 minutes. Flip birds over, and baste with sage butter. Sprinkle tops with chopped bacon and place in preheated oven to finish cooking, 25 to 30 minutes, basting occasionally. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

CORNISH HENS WITH SWEET VERMOUTH GARLIC GLAZE

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F. Pat hens dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast, cut sides down, in a large heavy shallow baking pan (1 inch deep) until just cooked through, about 30 minutes.
• While hens roast, simmer vermouth, garlic, thyme, and 1/2 cup water, uncovered, in a 2-quart heavy saucepan until garlic is soft, about 15 minutes. Discard thyme. Mash garlic into sauce with a fork and simmer until reduced to a glaze (about 3 tablespoons). Brush glaze onto hens and roast 5 minutes more. Pour remaining 1/2 cup water into saucepan, swirling to dissolve any remaining glaze, and reserve.
• Transfer hens to a serving dish and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 5 minutes. Straddle baking pan over 2 burners, then add reserved liquid from saucepan and deglaze baking pan by boiling over moderate heat, scraping up brown bits, until reduced slightly. Season pan juices with salt and pepper and pour over hens.