Apricot Ginger Game Hens Food

APRICOT GINGER GAME HENS

Steps:

• In shallow dish, mix the soy sauce, apricot preserves, ginger, garlic, wine, and sugar. Place the hens in the dish, and coat with the marinade. Cover, and allow to marinate in the refrigerator 8 hours, or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Arrange the hen halves in a baking dish. Pour remaining marinade over the hens. Bake uncovered 1 hour and 15 minutes in the preheated oven, basting frequently with the marinade, until hen juices run clear.

CORNISH GAME HENS WITH CURRY APRICOT GLAZE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400º.
• Rinse and dry game hen halves and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on foil lined baking sheet.
• Combine jam, chutney, and curry powder in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Once mixture comes to a boil brush two tablespoons over the game hens. Reserve the rest of the mixture for a sauce.
• Bake games in the oven for about 35 minutes or until golden.
• Add chicken broth to the remaining mixture in the sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened.
• When ready to serve, place games hens on a plate of rice and top with lime juice, spoon sauce around the plate. Sprinkle with green onions and crushed peanuts.

APRICOT-GLAZED CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• In a large skillet, saute celery and onion in butter until tender; remove from heat. Add the bread, mushrooms and seasonings. Toss with enough chicken broth just to moisten. , Stuff hens. Tie drumsticks together. Place on a rack in a large shallow baking pan. Cover and bake at 350° for 1 hour. , Brush with preserves. Bake, uncovered, 30-45 minutes longer or until meat juices run clear, basting every 10-15 minutes. , If using green onions, first soften them in boiling water or the microwave for a few seconds, then tie over the string used to tie the drumsticks together. Garnish platter with rosemary if desired.

APRICOT-GLAZED CORNISH HENS FOR TWO

Steps:

• Combine the salt and cayenne. Rub a third of the mixture inside hens. Brush 1 tablespoon butter over hens; sprinkle with remaining seasoning mixture. Place on a rack in a shallow baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30 minutes., Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine the preserves, honey, onion, nutmeg and remaining butter. Cook and stir until preserves are melted. Brush over hens. Bake 35-40 minutes longer or until golden brown and a thermometer reads 180°. Cover and let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.

CORNISH GAME HENS WITH APRICOT SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450. Using kitchen twine, tie hens legs together; tuck wing tips underneath. Rub hens with a total of 1 tablespoon oil and 3/4 teaspoon thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Place hens, breast side up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh (avoiding bone) registers 165, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a platter. Cover loosely with aluminum foil; let rest 5 to 10 minutes.
• While hens are roasting, make sauce: In a large skillet with a lid, heat remaining oil over medium; add onion and garlic, and cook until soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add wine, and simmer until reduced by half, 3 to 5 minutes. Add broth, cream, honey, lemon juice, and apricots; raise heat to high, and boil until mixture (including solids) is reduced to 2 cups, 12 to 15 minutes. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids. Return sauce to skillet; season with salt and pepper. Cover and keep warm.
• Meanwhile, prepare couscous according to package instructions. Add remaining thyme, and season with salt and pepper; fluff with a fork. Halve hens; serve with couscous and sauce.

GLAZED CORNISH GAME HENS WITH APRICOT PISTACHIO DRESSING

Steps:

• Brining the hens before roasting improves their flavor: Dissolve 2 cups of kosher salt in a clean bucket filled with 5 quarts of water. Add prepared hens and soak for 2 hours. Rinse thoroughly; pat dry.
• Adjust oven rack to upper middle position, and heat oven to 450 degrees.
• Heat oil in a large skillet. Saute onions until softened, about 7 minutes. Stir in apricots, then spread mixture onto a large (about 18-by-12-inch) lipped cookie sheet. Lay hens over the mixture. Mix jam and vinegar, and brush all but a few tablespoons over hens.
• Bake hens, brushing 2 or 3 times with remaining jam mixture and accumulated pan juices, until hens are golden brown and juices run clear, about 45 minutes. Turn heat from bake to broil, then cook until hens are spotty brown, watching carefully so they don't burn, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Transfer hens to a large platter with tongs, then cut in half at the breastbone to create individual servings.
• Return apricot dressing to the oven and broil to evaporate some of the excess liquid, about 5 minutes longer. Stir in pistachios and parsley. Spoon in a mound next to hens.

CORNISH GAME HENS WITH APRICOT-FIG STUFFING

Steps:

• Hens:.
• Preheat an oven to 400°F
• Rinse the birds and pat dry.
• Rub inside and out with the salt and pepper, then with the sage/thyme and rosemary.
• Discard the herbs or, if you prefer, leave some of them clinging to the skin or tucked under the skin. (This is my preference).
• Stuffing:.
• Place half of the bread chunks in a large bowl mixed with the dried figs and apricots, rosemary, thyme, walnuts, salt and pepper and set aside.
• In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.
• Add the onion and garlic and sauté until translucent, 4 to 6 minutes.
• Add the boiling water and pour the mixture over the stuffing mixture, turning it to soak all the pieces, about 10 minutes.
• Mix stuffing well with your hands, forming a bit of a 'paste'.
• Remove 1/2 cup of the paste and set aside.
• Add the remainder of the bread chunks to the main stuffing mixture and stir lightly to incorporate.
• Spoon 1/4 to 1/3 cup stuffing into the cavity of each bird. Do not pack the cavities too full.
• Gently slip your fingers between the skin and the meat of the breast to make a pocket, and tuck some of the 'paste' stuffing under the skin and gently massage the breast of the bird to even it out.
• Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wings under the breasts.
• Place the birds, breast side up, on a rack in a roasting pan and roast for 35 minutes.
• Glaze:.
• In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the jam and vinegar and heat, stirring occasionally, until a syrup forms, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Remove the birds from the oven and, using a pastry brush, coat them with the glaze.
• Return the birds to the oven and roast until the juices run clear when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced with the tip of a knife, about 20 - 30 minutes more.
• Remove the birds from the oven, garnish with rosemary sprigs and serve. Serves 4.