Best Honey Orange Cornish Game Hens Recipes

CORNISH GAME HENS WITH ORANGE AND HONEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Whisk first 6 ingredients in medium bowl. Pour 2 cups sauce into medium saucepan. Reserve remaining 1 cup sauce.
• Rinse hens inside and out. Pat hens dry with paper towels. Cut and scrape off any visible fat from hens. Sprinkle inside and out with salt and pepper. Place 3 onion quarters and 3 garlic cloves in cavity of each hen. Arrange hens on rack on large rimmed baking sheet.
• Roast hens 10 minutes. Baste with reserved 1 cup sauce. Continue roasting until hens are golden and juices run clear when thickest part of thigh is pierced, basting often with pan juices and reserved 1 cup sauce, about 45 minutes longer.
• Transfer hens to cutting board; tent with foil to keep warm. Transfer pan juices to 4-cup glass measuring cup. Spoon fat off top of pan juices. Pour pan juices into 2 cups sauce in saucepan. Boil until sauce is reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 12 minutes.
• Discard onions and garlic from hen cavities. Using poultry shears, cut hens in half lengthwise. Remove backbones. Spoon some sauce onto plates. Place hens atop sauce. Garnish with watercress. Serve with remaining sauce.

HONEY-ORANGE CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Mix together salt, basil and allspice.
• Sprinkle mixture inside and outside of Cornish hens.
• Place 1/4 orange in each hen and place them in a roasting pan.
• Add water to pan.
• Over low heat, simmer together honey, butter and orange juice concentrate until thickened.
• Drizzle about half the mixture over Cornish hens and roast uncovered for about 25 minutes.
• Roast for another 25 minutes or until juices run clear and hens are not pink inside, basting with the rest of the honey-orange sauce after 10 minutes.

CORNISH GAME HENS WITH ORANGE JUICE AND HONEY

Steps:

• To make the hens, place them on a rack in a shallow baking pan.
• Tie legs together with kitchen cord if desired.
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper(and garlic powder if using).
• Combine the butter, orange juice and honey and spoon over the hens.
• Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F. for 1 hour or until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees F. and juices run clear, basting every 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile for the sauce, combine the orange juice, honey and vinegar in a small saucepan.
• Combine the cornstarch and water in a cup until smooth; stir into the orange juice mixture.
• Bring to a boil; cook for 1 minute or until thickened. Serve with the hens.