ROASTED CORNISH GAME HENS WITH GRAND MARNIER STUFFING

ROASTED CORNISH GAME HENS WITH GRAND MARNIER STUFFING image

Yield 12 servings (1/2 hen ea

Number Of Ingredients 13

Stuffing:
3 sausages (either spicy or sweet italian pork, chicken or turkey) taken out of casings
1/3 cup good olive oil
2/3 cup grand marnier
1 cup orange juice
2 Lg yellow onions, finely diced
1 lb cremini mushrooms - quartered
1 lb assorted dried fruit - apricots, prunes, dates, apples, figs, cut into small pieces
4 cloves garlic crushed
salt and pepper
2 Lg oranges, cut in half
Olive oil
6 sprigs fresh rosemary

Steps:

Preheat ove to 400 degrees. Saute sausage for 5-7 minutes in a skillet over medium-high heat until slightly browned. Set aside. In a large bowl, pour in the oil, Grand Marnier and orange juice. Stir together, Add the onions, mushrooms, dried fruit, garlic and sausage. Stir to combine and coat evenly with marinade. Add the Herbs de Provence and salt and pepper. Set aside until ready to stuff hens. Rinse hens under hot water and pat dry. Place hens in roasting pan and rub with cut oranges, squeezing out juice over the top of hens. Stuff cavities with stuffing. If there is leftover stuffing, spoon it around the sides of the birds to bake with them in the oven. Drizzle a little oil over the hens and top with fresh rosemary. Roast for 1 1/4 hours. Let rest for 5 - 10 minutes. To serve, cut each in half and spoon stuffing around the meat. *Note: the stuffing will create a lot of juice in bottom of pan. Would also work with chickens. Probably 3 small for this amount of stuffing.