My young daughter loves “bird.” Meaning she happily devours anything that has wings—-chicken, turkey, quail, and yes, even Cornish game hens. Only she thinks all white meat is chicken (including pork). Not wanting to mess with a good thing (she eats every bite of white meat without complaint) I simply refer to dishes with white meat as “bird.”
And it’s not as though she hasn’t seen me prepare the recipes. She simply accepts that birds come in different sizes and as long as the cooked meat is not over seasoned, drenched in gravy or (Heaven forbid) touching any other food item on her plate, she is perfectly content. Which leads me to the following recipe for Cornish game hens.
Cornish game hens are young chickens, which typically weigh less than 2 pounds and are about 5 weeks old. You’ll know them when you see them because they are significantly smaller than traditional full-size chickens. You can buy them fresh or frozen and they are ideal for smaller families.
I like them because they can be easily thrown into a Crock Pot, though most recipes call for them to be oven roasted, which is just as easy if you plan to be around to monitor the cooking process. (Cornish game hens render a ton of fat so you’ll want to skim off as much of the grease as possible if you are oven roasting your bird.)
The following recipe is quite simple and calls for the hens to be cooked on the stovetop in a Dutch oven. It’s flavored with fresh thyme and rosemary and cooks up relatively quickly. If you have never prepared Cornish game hens before this is a great starter recipe that your whole family will enjoy.
STOVE TOP CORNISH GAME HEN
Ingredients:
2 Cornish game hens (about 22 ounces each)
1 teaspoons dry thyme, or 1 tablespoon fresh leaves
1 teaspoon dry rosemary, or 1 tablespoon fresh, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water
Directions:
Rinse hens with cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Split hens in half by cutting down backbone, then through breastbone.
Combine herbs, garlic, salt and pepper. Rub mixture over both sides of hens.
Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown hens well on all sides.
Add water; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 45 minutes, until juices run clear when thigh is pierced with a fork. Remove hens; cover.
Strain juices in pot and skim fat.
Bring to simmer and stir in cornstarch mixture. Stir until slightly thickened. Serve sauce with hens.
Serves 4.
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