Citrus Grilled Game Hems Food

ROASTED CITRUS-HERB GAME HEN

Steps:

• Place an oven rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Rinse the game hens and pat dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, shallots, orange zest, lemon zest, thyme, mint, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Rub 2 tablespoons of the zest mixture over the skins of the game hens. Place the remainder of the zest mixture under the skin and into the cavities of the hens. Using kitchen twine, truss the legs together. Place the hens in a shallow 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Add the chicken stock, Marsala wine, lemon juice, orange juice, and cranberries. Roast for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the leg juices run clear. Remove the game hens and set aside. Place the flour in a small saucepan. Whisk in the pan juices. Bring the juices to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes until slightly thickened. Whisk in the butter and season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
• To serve, remove the kitchen twine and place the hens on 2 serving plates. Drizzle with the citrus-herb sauce.

SUCCULENT GLAZES AND RUBS FOR CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• When the juices run clear (when a thigh is pierced with a knife) and a meat thermometer registers 170 F, the hens are done.
• Serve Cornish game hens simply roasted out of the oven or with one of the variations detailed below.

CONTEST-WINNING ORANGE-GLAZED CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to at 350°. Tie legs of each hen together; turn wing tips under backs. Place on a greased rack in a roasting pan. Brush with butter; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour., Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until thickened, 15 minutes. Spoon over hens. Bake until a thermometer reads 170°, about 15 minutes longer.

GRILLED CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• In a large, non-reactive bowl, mix onion, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, white wine, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, pepper, celery salt, and salt. Place Cornish game hens in the bowl, coating evenly with the marinade mixture. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 4 hours.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat, and lightly oil grate.
• Cook hens about 1 hour on the prepared grill, brushing occasionally with remaining marinade, until no longer pink and juices run clear.

GRILLED GAME HENS WITH CITRUS, GINGER, AND SOY

Steps:

• Grate the outer layer of peel from the orange and the lemon; juice half the lemon, and place all marinade ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.
• Butterfly the game hens: cut out the backbone with sharp kitchen shears, turn the hen over (breast up) and bend the breast backward where it attaches to the breastbone; place your thumbs on either side of the breastbone and press down while pulling up on the outer sides of the breast with your fingers (I find this difficult--I just take the heels of my hands and smash it).
• Place hens in a plastic bag with the marinade, force out excess air, seal tight and leave in the refrigerator overnight.
• Set up grill for indirect cooking. Remove hens from marinade and grill, covered, for about 30 minutes or until breast meat registers 165-170F on an instant-read thermometer (mine took about 45 minutes).

FLATTENED CORNISH GAME HENS WITH GARLIC-CITRUS MARINADE

Steps:

• Prepare BBQ (Medium heat).
• Combine olive oil, chopped thyme, garlic,lemon peel, lime peel, honey, salt, and pepper in a baking dish and stir marinade to blend well.
• Place hens on work surface and cover with plastic wrap and pound gently with mallet to flatten slightly.
• Place hen halves in marinade in dish, using fingers, rub both sides of hens with marinade.
• Let marinate 20 minutes at room temperature.
• Grill hen halves until just cooked through and skin is lightly charred, brushing with remaining marinade, about 12 minutes per side.
• Arrange hen on plates and garnish lemon wedges, lime wedges, and fresh thyme sprigs.

BARBECUED GAME HEN

Steps:

• Combine onion, apple cider vinegar, and barbecue sauce. Set aside.
• Coat hens with oil, dry rub, salt, and pepper. Refrigerate overnight.
• Cut aluminum cans in half. Fill cans with onion, vinegar, and barbecue sauce mixture. Place the cans on a hot grill, and set the hens on top of the cans. Grill for approximately 1 hour.
• Brush lightly with barbecue sauce after 1 hour of cooking.

CITRUS GRILLED GAME HEMS

Steps:

• Rinse hens and remove giblets and liver. Butterfly hens by removing backbone with kitchen shears and flattening hen on flat surface. Clip wing tips. Trim any excess or hanging fat so it doesn't drip down into the grill and cause flare-ups. Combine first twelve ingredients in a large bowl. Place hens in heavy duty ziploc bag and pour marinade in. Keep hens in marinade all day, preferably overnight, if possible. When ready to grill, remove hens and discard marinade. Combine next 6 ingredients in a small bowl. this is your basting sauce. Grill hens indirectly over medium heat, basting and rotating every 10- 15 minutes, until a meat thermometer registers doneness.