Cajun Cornish Game Hens Food

CAJUN CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Brown sausage in saucepan. Stir in rice; cook 2 minutes.
• Add undrained tomatoes, onions, pepper, garlic and thyme. Bring to boil. Cover; simmer 20 minutes (rice will be firm).
• Rinse hens; drain well. Stuff with rice mixture. Place breast side up on rack in shallow pan. Brush with butter.
• Bake at 375°F 1 hour or until done.

TUSCAN GRILLED CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Sprinkle the Cornish hens with 1 teaspoon salt on each side.
• Combine the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, rosemary, and 1 teaspoon pepper in a ceramic or glass dish just large enough to hold the flattened hens. Add the hens, and turn to coat. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight, turning once or twice.
• When ready to grill, prepare a hot charcoal fire on one side of a grill (or turn a gas grill on low heat). Spread 1/4 of the coals across the other side of the grill. Place the hens on the cooler side skin-side up and weigh them down with a gratin dish with a foil-wrapped brick inside.
• Cook for 12 minutes, until the underside is golden brown. Turn the hens skin-side down, weigh them down again, and cook for another 12 minutes until the skin is golden brown and the hens are cooked through.
• Place the lemon halves on the cool side of the grill, cut-side down, for the last 10 minutes of cooking. Remove the Cornish hens and lemons to a plate or cutting board, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Cut the hens in half, sprinkle with fleur de sel, and serve with the grilled lemon halves.

ROASTED CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a small mixing bowl, stir together salt, lemon pepper, dried basil and poultry seasoning. Rub olive oil all over the hens and season each with the salt mixture. Place the hens on a baking sheet pan with plenty of space between them. You may need to use 2 pans. Loosely stuff the cavities of each hen with some green bell pepper, celery and onion. Roast the hens in the preheated oven for about 1 hour or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees F and the juices run clear. Remove the hens from the oven, loosely tent with foil and let rest 10 minutes before carving or serving.

CAJUN-FRIED CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Combine the Cajun season and pepper; rub over the inside and outside of the hens. Tie the legs together. Place flour in a large, heavy duty, zip-top plastic bag. Add the hens one at a time; shake to coat.
• Pour oil to a depth of 4 inches into the deep pot of a propane cooker; heat to 350°F.
• Carefully lower the hens in the oil; fry for 18 to 20 minutes or until the meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast reads 180°F.
• Remove the hens from oil and drain on paper towels. Remove string before serving.

CAJUN-FRIED CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Combine Cajun seasoning and pepper; rub over inside and outside of hens. Tie legs together with one end of a 30-inch string.
• Place flour in a large heavy duty, zip top plastic bag; add hens, 1 at a time, and shake to coat thoroughly.
• Pour oil to a depth of 4 inches into a deep pot of a propane cooker; heat to 350°F carefully lower hens into hot oil, using string.
• Fry 18-20 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest part registers 180°F remove hens from oil, and drain on paper towels; remove string before serving.

CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Place the sliced onion in the bottom of a roasting pan. Remove the giblets from the hens, and rinse them inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers and pat the outsides dry. Place the hens on top of the sliced onion.
• Pack the cavities of the hens with the cornbread stuffing.
• Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the hens. Rub the hens with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Roast the hens for 30 minutes, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh.
• Melt the butter in a large saute pan. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat, until translucent. Break the cornbread into pieces and place the pieces in a large bowl. Add the onion mixture to the cornbread. Add the celery, chicken stock, parsley, salt and pepper, and mix together.
• Yield: 2 servings

CORNISH GAME HEN WITH BACON AND ONIONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Wrap a brick in aluminum foil and place into the oven to heat.
• Place the game hen breast side down on a cutting board. Using scissors or poultry shears, cut from the neck to the tailbone to remove the backbone. Once you remove the backbone you will be able to see the inside of the bird. Make a small slit in the cartilage at the base of the breastbone to reveal the keel bone. Grab the bird with both hands on the ribs and open up like a book, facing down towards the cutting board. Remove the keel bone. Cut small slits in the skin of the bird behind the legs and tuck the drumsticks into them in order to hold them in place. Season on both sides with salt and pepper.
• Fry the bacon in a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once crisp, remove the bacon from the skillet and reserve. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan. Immediately add the two birds to the pan, skin side down. Add the onions to the pan around the edges. Top the birds with the brick and allow to remain on the heat for 5 minutes. Place the pan into the oven and cook 10 to 15 minutes or until the thigh meat reaches 170 degrees F. Remove from the oven and allow the bird to rest for 5 minutes before serving with the onions and bacon.

CREOLE CORNISH GAME HENS (CREOLE CHICKEN)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Inject the breasts of the hens with the injection sauce (contamination prevention - always pour a portion for the current use into a separate container so that the injector needle never touches marinade that will go back into the refrigerator after it has touched raw poultry).
• Coat the inside of each hen with Bayou Magic sausage mix (this ingredient can be a bit hard to come by outside of South LA, but worth the search for those who like things spicy; great on other wild game as well).
• Sprinkle each hen with poultry magic, then sprinkle with paprika for color.
• Bake until fully cooked: 50-60 minutes (about 20 minutes per pound).