Marinated Grilled Game Hens Food

GRILLED GAME HENS

Steps:

• Place hens in a large resealable plastic bag. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Pour half into bag; add the hens. Seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade. , Drain and discard marinade from hens. Place hens in a 13x9-in. disposable aluminum pan. Pour reserved marinade over hens; cover pan. , Grill, covered, over medium-hot heat for 35-40 minutes or until a thermometer reads 180° and meat juices run clear, basting frequently. Place hens directly over heat for the last 3-4 minutes of cooking time, turning once.

MARINATED GRILLED GAME HENS

Steps:

• In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the lime juice, oil, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, salt and pepper; add the hens. Seal bag and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight, turning once. , Drain and discard marinade. Grill hens, covered, over medium heat for 20-25 minutes or until a thermometer reads 180°, turning occasionally.

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.

HOISIN MARINATED GRILLED CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Put the hens in a baking dish.
• Mix the hoisin sauce, red wine, scallions, ginger, garlic and sesame oil together in a bowl and pour the marinade over the hens.
• Cover and refrigerate the hens for 1-2 days.
• Preheat grill to medium heat.
• Put the hens on the grill bone side down and grill, covered, about 10 minutes.
• Gently turn them over and continue grilling for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the juices run clear.
• Let the hens rest for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

MARINATED CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Remove bags with liver and necks from hens, wash hens well pat dry.
• Rub hens with oil.
• Prepare marinade, place hens in either glass bowl or 2 plastic bags,pour marinade over hens.
• Let hens marinate overnight in refrigerator turning hens or bags over occasionally.
• Next day remove hens from marinade and place onto a roasting rack.
• Roast hens at 400 F for 50 to 60 minutes, turning once during cooking time and baisting with matinade occasionally.
• Check for doneness by piercing with a fork,
• hens should be fork tender and juices should run clear.
• Can serve whole hens or cut hebs in half lenghtwise to double.

SUNNY'S GRILLED CORNISH HENS AND VEGGIES CHEAT SHEET

Steps:

• Preheat the oven or grill for cooking on indirect heat at 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with nonstick aluminum foil.
• Combine the baby carrots, honey, olive oil, Italian seasoning, Brussels sprouts, potatoes, lemon zest, salt, pepper and juice of 1/2 lemon in a large bowl. Toss to coat and distribute evenly around the edges of the lined baking sheet.
• Place the hens in the middle of the baking sheet. Brush each hen with olive oil all over, then sprinkle with salt, pepper and Hungarian paprika to taste. Stuff each hen with the rosemary and thyme.
• Place the baking sheet on the center rack of the oven or above the indirect heat of the grill. Roast until the hens reach an internal temperature of 155 degrees F and the veggies are caramelized, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the grill or oven and allow the hens to rest until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 5 minutes. Spritz with juice from the remaining lemon half before serving.

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.

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 MARINATED IN HONEY AND MUSTARD

Steps:

• Mix the honey, mustard, garlic, 3 tablespoons oil, thyme and cinnamon together in a bowl and set aside. Remove the wing tips from the hens. Roll the hens in the marinade and marinate overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Season the birds inside and out with salt and pepper. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze over each bird. Put a used lemon half in the cavity of each bird. Truss the birds.
• Set a rack in a roasting pan and brush the rack with several tablespoons vegetable oil. Place the birds, breast side down on the oiled rack. Roast for 30 minutes. Turn the birds breast side up, reduce the heat to 350 degrees and roast an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until the hens are cooked through and the skin is brown. Allow the hens to rest 10 minutes before serving.

GRILLED GAME HEN WITH MOROCCAN SPICES

Steps:

• Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Stir curry powder, coriander, cumin and cayenne in heavy small skillet over medium-low heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add garlic to skillet; mix into spices.
• Using fingertips, loosen skin of game hen pieces. Rub spice paste onto meat under skin. Sprinkle outside of pieces with salt and pepper.
• Place hen pieces on grill. Cover with foil and grill 10 minutes. Uncover; turn pieces over. Cover and continue to grill until golden brown, cooked through and juices run clear when hen is pierced with small knife, turning occasionally, about 10 minutes for breast pieces and 15 minutes for leg-thigh pieces. Serve hot or at room temperature.

GRILLED CORNISH GAME HENS WITH JAMAICAN BASTING SAUCE

Steps:

• Basting sauce instructions; In a small bowl, stir together ginger, onions, garlic, orange zest and juice, lime zest and juice, sugar, soy sauce, salt and pepper, cinnamon, and cloves; add the oil. Mix wel and then let stand 10 minutes (or cover and refrigerate up to 2 days).
• About 10 minutes ahead, preheat gas grill or about 1/2 hour ahead, light charcoal briquettes.
• Use poultry shears to or knife to cut hens in half, cutting through the breast and backbones.
• Grill hens, covered over low to medium heat until golden brown, turning as needed to prevent burning; Basting with sauce during grilling; reduce temperature or transfer hens away from direct heat and finish cooking with indirect heat; Grill until no longer pink at the bone, about 40 to 45 minutes (stop basting at least 10 minutes before cooking time is up to avoid contaminating cooked chicken with raw chicken juices). Discard leftover basting sauce.
• To use sauce as marinade; arrange hens in dish, cover with sauce, cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours, Grill as directed.

MARINATED AND GRILLED SQUAB, QUAIL, OR CORNISH GAME HEN

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine the garlic, shallot, ginger, honey, nuoc mam, and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil, stir once or twice, and cool.
• Split the birds in half-through the breastbone and backbones-and marinate them in this mixture for at least 1 hour and preferably overnight (in the refrigerator for longer marinating times).
• Start a charcoal or gas grill; the fire should be only moderately hot and the rack about 4 inches from the heat source. Drain the birds and grill them for about 6 minutes per side or until done to your taste; squab is at its best when still fairly pink. (Quail will take about the same amount of time; game hens will take about 20 minutes total). Meanwhile, mix the pepper and salt together.
• When the birds are done, drizzle them with the sesame oil and serve, passing the pepper-and-salt mixture at the table.
• Marinated and Sautéed Squab
• In step 3, drain the birds well and dry with paper towels. Place 2 tablespoons oil in one or more large skillets and turn the heat to high. Cook the birds until nicely browned, about 4 minutes. Turn and brown the other side for 2 to 4 minutes, or until the squab are done. (Quail will take about the same amount of time; I would not recommend doing Cornish hens this way.) Finish and serve as directed.
• Deep-Fried Squab
• This is quite a different procedure, more work, but very good. Double the amount of marinade. Bring the marinade to a boil in a large saucepan and cook the birds in it, sequentially if necessary, for about 10 minutes each. Remove and let dry on a rack (you can do this a day ahead of time; let dry in the refrigerator). When you're ready to cook, bring a large pot of corn, grapeseed, or other neutral oil to about 350°F (a pinch of flour will sizzle, and the oil will thin and start to shimmer). Fry the birds, sequentially if necessary, until browned and crisp about 10 minutes. (Quail are excellent this way; reduce the initial cooking time to 5 minutes each; I would not recommend doing Cornish hens this way.) Serve with salt and pepper.

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.

MARINATED CORNISH GAME HENS WITH SWEET CHILI SAUCE

Steps:

• Marinade: thinly slice lower 6 inches of lemongrass stalks, discarding remainder of stalks.
• In a food processor or blender, finely grind together sliced lemongrass, coriander, shallot, garlic, and ginger root.
• Add brown sugar, curry, pepper, salt, fish sauce, and 1 cup of the coconut milk and puree.
• Quarter each hen and divide the hen between 2 large plastic zip lock bags and divide the marinade and seal the bags, pressing out all air.
• Put bags in a large shallow dish and marinate hens, chilled, turning bag once or twice overnight.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. and line a large shallow roasting pan with foil.
• Remove hens from the marinade, reserving marinade, and arrange hens, skin side up, in the prepared pan. Roast 20-25 minutes until cooked through.
• While hens are roasting, in a small saucepan, combine reserved marinade and remaining 1 cup of coconut milk and cook sauce at a slow boil, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, and strain through a sieve into another small saucepan to keep warm.
• Serve hens with the marinade sauce and/or the Sweet Chili Sauce.
• For the Sweet Chili sauce, in a small saucepan, combine all ingredients and simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes. Cool sauce to room temperature. Sauce may be made up to 3 days ahead and kept chilled, covered. Serve at room temperature though. (Yield: 1 1/2 cups).

FLATTENED CORNISH GAME HENS WITH GARLIC-CITRUS MARINADE

Steps:

• Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Combine olive oil, 4 teaspoons chopped thyme, garlic, lemon peel, lime peel, honey, salt, and pepper in baking dish. Stir marinade to blend well.
• Place hen halves on work surface and cover with plastic wrap. 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 halves on plates. Garnish with lemon wedges, lime wedges, and fresh thyme sprigs.

TEQUILA AND LIME GAME HENS (OR CHICKEN)

Steps:

• Split game hens in half.
• In bowl, combine lime juice, tequila, olive oil, Cointreau, garlic and jalapeno.
• Place split hens in oblong baking dish and pour tequila mixture over; turn hens to coat.
• Cover and marinate, turning once or twice, overnight in refrigerator.
• Remove from refrigerator and let set at room temperature about 1 hour before cooking.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Coat a shallow baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• Remove hens from marinade and arrange, skin-side up, in baking pan.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Bake at 400 degrees on upper rack of oven, basting occasionally with marinade, until skin is golden and juices from thighs, pierced at their thickest part, run pinkish-yellow, 30-40 minutes. (Or bbq using your favorite method, spit or on the grill).
• Boil remaining marinade and pour over hens just before serving. (Add more tequila if needed, to make enough sauce).

GRILLED GAME HENS WITH BLOOD ORANGE AND ROSEMARY

Steps:

• Place game hens in a large bowl; drizzle hens with olive oil and blood orange juice. Sprinkle with chopped rosemary and rosemary sprigs. Add Asian chili paste to hens; season with salt and pepper. Stir chickens in the seasonings and juice to coat. Use your fingers to loosen the skin over the breasts and spread a little of the marinade under the skin.
• Refrigerate with breast sides down for 2 hours to marinate.
• Preheat outdoor grill (preferably charcoal) for medium heat (one layer of coals). Drain chickens and discard marinade.
• Place chickens with breast sides down onto grill and cover with grill lid with the vents open. Cook until breast sides are evenly browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Flip chickens and cook on their backs with cover (vents open) until the juices run clear, hip joints move easily, and meat is no longer pink inside. An instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh reads at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C), 30 to 35 more minutes.
• Close the grill vents on the lid halfway. Flip chickens back onto breasts, close lid, and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes.

GRILLED MEDITERRANEAN CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Mix spices in a small bowl.
• Rub all over hens and grill immediately, or cover airtight and refrigerate up to 24 hours.
• Heat barbecue grill.
• Place hens, skin side down, 4 to 6 inches above heat source.
• Grill 20 to 30 minutes, turning once, until meat is opaque near the bone and juices run clear when thigh is pierced.
• Serve with lemon wedges.
• Enjoy!

STEVE RAICHLEN'S GRILLED GAME HENS

Steps:

• 1. For the marinade, whisk together all the ingredients except the game hens and lemons in a large bowl.
• 2. Rinse, drain, and halve the hens lengthwise; place in the bowl, coating thoroughly with marinade. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 8 hours (the longer, the better), turning occasionally.
• 3. Preheat the grill, using the three-tier method (see note below ). When ready to cook, oil the grill rack. Remove hens from the marinade and arrange skin-side down on the rack over the hottest section of the grill; cook until the skin starts to brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. Move the hens to the center section of the grill and continue to cook until the skin is thoroughly browned, 7 to 10 minutes more.
• 4. Turn the hens and move them back to the hottest section of the grill. Brown the second side well, 5 to 7 minutes, then move the pieces back to the center section of the grill to finish cooking. The total cooking time will be about 25 to 35 minutes. When ready, the hens will be crisp and golden-brown outside, and the juices will run clear when the meat is pierced. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.
• Three-Tier Grilling Method:
• Pile 2/3 of the coals on one side of the grill and the remaining 1/3 in the center. Leave a small portion of the grill free of coals. Three-tier grilling gives you a super-hot heat source for searing, a moderately hot heat source for cooking, and an area to place the food if it starts to burn. You control the heat by moving the food from one area to the other.