Cooks Illustrated Article on Roasting Cornish Game Hens, posted by Keri C for Rich G
Written: 9/1/1997
Author(s): Melissa Hamilton - Pam Anderson
Roasting Cornish Hens
(Note from Keri to Rich: I've never smoked game hens, but this approach to roasting works very well. You could convert over to the WSM pretty easily, I would think. A couple of chimneys of full-burning charcoal would probably get you up into the high 300's long enough to do these little hens. Cherry smoke would be nice, as it add a wonderful reddish color to poultry. I have to admit that I didn't look to see if Chris had a step-by-step on Cornish Game Hens, though... -keri c )
"Brine these little birds to deepen their flavor, then roast them at relatively high heat and brush them with a glaze to ensure good color.
The challenge: Cornish hens are small and easy to handle, and they make a very nice presentation for company. As we discovered, though, they present their own particular challenges to the cook. Because they are good dinner-party fare, we wanted to cook enough for at least six people. Cooking six Cornish hens at once is not easy. Crowding them into a roasting pan will have the effect of steaming them; we wanted the browning and caramelization that come with roasting. As with all poultry, if roasted breast side up, the breast will overcook before the legs and thighs get done. Being small, these birds cook quickly, and while this is good for the purpose of getting dinner on the table, it leaves a very small window of opportunity for the birds to brown. Stuffing the birds is a bit of a problem as well. Because the cavity is the last spot to heat up, getting the stuffing to reach a safe internal temperature of 160 degrees means overcooking the meat.
The solution: To prevent steaming, we lifted the birds up and out of the roasting pan and onto a wire rack set over the pan. We also spaced the birds as far apart as possible; crowding food while it?s roasting inhibits browning. To induce browning, we considered turning the heat up to 500 degrees. After thinking it through, we decided against it; six birds produce a lot of fat, and a lot of fat translates into a lot of smoke. We had no desire to set off the smoke alarm. The ideal roasting temperature, as it turned out, was 400 degrees, with a quick crank up to 450 degrees at the end of cooking to promote browning. Adding water to the pan once the fat starts to render also helps to inhibit smoking, and it automatically deglazes the pan, thereby eliminating the step of deglazing over two burners once the birds are done.
Preventing the breast from overcooking and drying out meant starting the bird breast-side down and then turning it once during cooking to brown the breast. Unfortunately, "brown" was still a bit of misnomer, and so we opted to glaze the birds with balsamic vinegar; this gave them a pleasant, spotty brown barbecued look. As more insurance against dry meat, we brined the hens (immersed them in a solution of salt and water) before cooking them. Brining also has the effect of giving roasted poultry more flavor, something that can be lacking in the mass-produced hens available at most supermarkets.
Our final challenge was how to roast the birds stuffed without overcooking them?especially the breasts. To guard against contamination by salmonella, always a concern when cooking poultry, the stuffing must be brought up to 160 degrees before the bird can be removed from the oven. We found two things that helped. First was to initially cook the birds breast-side down, as mentioned above; this protects the breast meat from the direct heat of the oven for at least awhile. Second was to heat the stuffing before putting it in the birds. Using this method, when the stuffing reached 160 degrees, the breast meat registered about 172 to 174 degrees. We thought this might be high enough to have dried the meat out a little, but the breasts were still tender and juicy. The leg and thigh meat was perfect."
ROAST STUFFED CORNISH HENS
Serves 6
Brining the birds breast side down ensures that the meatiest portions are fully submerged. Pouring a little water into the roasting pan at the 25 minute mark, once the birds have been turned, both prevents them from smoking during cooking and makes instant ?jus,? eliminating the need to deglaze the pan over two burners. To enrich the flavor of the jus to use as a sauce, pour it into a small saucepan, spoon off the fat that collects on the surface, and simmer it with a little vermouth or white wine.
2 cups Diamond kosher or 1 cup table salt
6 Cornish hens, (each less than 1 1/2 pounds if possible), trimmed of extra fat, giblets removed, rinsed well
1 recipe stuffing (see below), heated until very hot
6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup dry vermouth or white wine
1. Dissolve salt (2 cups Diamond Kosher salt, 1 1/2 cups Morton Kosher salt, or 1 cup non-iodized table salt) in 5 quarts cold water in small clean bucket or large bowl. Add hens breast side down; refrigerate 2 to 3 hours. Remove, rinse thoroughly, pat dry, and prick skin all over breast and legs with point of a paring knife.
2. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk balsamic vinegar and oil in small bowl; set aside. Spoon 1/2 cup hot stuffing into cavity of each hen; tie its legs together with 6-inch piece of kitchen twine. Leaving as much space as possible between each bird, arrange them breast side down and wings facing out, on large (at least 19-by-13?inch) wire rack, set over equally large roasting or jelly-roll pan. Roast until backs are golden brown, about 25 minutes. Remove pan from oven, brush bird backs with vinegar and oil glaze (re-blending before each bird), turn hens breast side up and wings facing out, and brush breast and leg area with additional glaze. Returned pan to oven, add 1 cup water, roast until meat thermometer inserted into the stuffed cavity registers about 150 degrees, about 15 to 20 minutes longer. Remove pan from oven again, brush birds with re-blended glaze, return pan to oven, add another 1/2 cup water to pan and increase oven temperature to 450 degrees. Roast until birds are spotty brown and cavity registers 160 degrees, 5 to 10 minutes longer, depending on bird size. Remove birds from oven, brush with remaining glaze, and rest for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, pour hen ?jus? from roasting pan into small saucepan, spoon off excess fat, add vermouth or wine, and simmer over medium-high heat until flavors blend, 2 to 3 minutes. Drizzle about 1/4 cup sauce over each hen and serve, passing remaining sauce separately.
COUSCOUS STUFFING WITH CURRANTS, APRICOTS, AND PISTACHIOS
Makes about 3 cups, enough to stuff 6 Cornish hens
Toasted slivered almonds can be substituted for the pistachio nuts.
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, minced (1/2 cup)
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 cup plain couscous
1 1/3 cup chicken stock or low-sodium canned chicken broth
1/4 cup dried apricots (8 to 9 whole), chopped fine
3 tablespoons currants
1/4 cup shelled, toasted pistachio nuts, chopped
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1 teaspoon juice from one small lemon
Salt and ground black pepper
Heat butter over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Add onions, garlic, cinnamon, ginger, and turmeric; saut? until onions soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add couscous; stir until well coated, 1 to 2 minutes. Add chicken stock, bring to simmer, remove from heat, cover, and let stand until couscous has fully rehydrated, about 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with fork; stir in dried fruit, nuts, and parsley and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to microwave-safe bowl; set aside.
WILD RICE STUFFING WITH CARROTS, MUSHROOMS, AND THYME
Makes about 3 cups, enough to stuff 6 Cornish hens
The wild rice blend in this stuffing holds together when pressed with a fork. You can use wild rice, but the cooked grains will remain separate.
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, rehydrated in 1 cup hot water
1 1/4 cups chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth, or more if necessary
1 cup wild rice blend
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, minced (1/2 cup)
1 small carrot, minced (1/4 cup)
1/2 small celery stalk, minced (1/4 cup)
4 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced thin
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
Salt and ground black pepper
1. Lift rehydrated porcini from liquid, squeeze dry, and chop coarse. Strain rehydrating liquid through sieve lined with paper towel and reserve (should be approximately 3/4 cup).
2. Add enough chicken stock to mushroom liquid to equal 2 cups. Bring liquid to boil in medium saucepan, add rice blend, and return to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until rice is fully cooked, 40 to 45 minutes. Turn rice into a medium microwave-safe bowl; fluff with fork.
3. Meanwhile, heat butter in medium skillet over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and celery; saut? until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add shiitake mushrooms; saut? until tender and liquid evaporates. Add porcini mushrooms and thyme; cook, stirring until well coated and blended with other ingredients, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Add this mixture to rice; toss to combine. Add parsley and season to taste with salt and ground black pepper.
WILD RICE STUFFING WITH CRANBERRIES AND TOASTED PECANS
Makes about 3 cups, enough to stuff 6 Cornish hens
2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium canned chicken broth
1 cup wild rice blend
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped fine (1/2 cup)
1/2 small celery stalk, diced fine (1/4 cup)
1/4 cup toasted pecans, chopped coarse
1/4 cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
1. Bring chicken stock to boil in medium saucepan. Add rice blend; return to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until rice is fully cooked, 40 to 45 minutes. Turn rice into medium microwave-safe bowl; fluff with fork.
2. Meanwhile, heat butter in medium skillet over medium heat. Add onions and celery; saut? until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add this mixture, as well as pecans, cranberries, and parsley and thyme, to rice; toss to coat.
Written: 9/1/1997
Author(s): Melissa Hamilton - Pam Anderson
Roasting Cornish Hens
(Note from Keri to Rich: I've never smoked game hens, but this approach to roasting works very well. You could convert over to the WSM pretty easily, I would think. A couple of chimneys of full-burning charcoal would probably get you up into the high 300's long enough to do these little hens. Cherry smoke would be nice, as it add a wonderful reddish color to poultry. I have to admit that I didn't look to see if Chris had a step-by-step on Cornish Game Hens, though... -keri c )
"Brine these little birds to deepen their flavor, then roast them at relatively high heat and brush them with a glaze to ensure good color.
The challenge: Cornish hens are small and easy to handle, and they make a very nice presentation for company. As we discovered, though, they present their own particular challenges to the cook. Because they are good dinner-party fare, we wanted to cook enough for at least six people. Cooking six Cornish hens at once is not easy. Crowding them into a roasting pan will have the effect of steaming them; we wanted the browning and caramelization that come with roasting. As with all poultry, if roasted breast side up, the breast will overcook before the legs and thighs get done. Being small, these birds cook quickly, and while this is good for the purpose of getting dinner on the table, it leaves a very small window of opportunity for the birds to brown. Stuffing the birds is a bit of a problem as well. Because the cavity is the last spot to heat up, getting the stuffing to reach a safe internal temperature of 160 degrees means overcooking the meat.
The solution: To prevent steaming, we lifted the birds up and out of the roasting pan and onto a wire rack set over the pan. We also spaced the birds as far apart as possible; crowding food while it?s roasting inhibits browning. To induce browning, we considered turning the heat up to 500 degrees. After thinking it through, we decided against it; six birds produce a lot of fat, and a lot of fat translates into a lot of smoke. We had no desire to set off the smoke alarm. The ideal roasting temperature, as it turned out, was 400 degrees, with a quick crank up to 450 degrees at the end of cooking to promote browning. Adding water to the pan once the fat starts to render also helps to inhibit smoking, and it automatically deglazes the pan, thereby eliminating the step of deglazing over two burners once the birds are done.
Preventing the breast from overcooking and drying out meant starting the bird breast-side down and then turning it once during cooking to brown the breast. Unfortunately, "brown" was still a bit of misnomer, and so we opted to glaze the birds with balsamic vinegar; this gave them a pleasant, spotty brown barbecued look. As more insurance against dry meat, we brined the hens (immersed them in a solution of salt and water) before cooking them. Brining also has the effect of giving roasted poultry more flavor, something that can be lacking in the mass-produced hens available at most supermarkets.
Our final challenge was how to roast the birds stuffed without overcooking them?especially the breasts. To guard against contamination by salmonella, always a concern when cooking poultry, the stuffing must be brought up to 160 degrees before the bird can be removed from the oven. We found two things that helped. First was to initially cook the birds breast-side down, as mentioned above; this protects the breast meat from the direct heat of the oven for at least awhile. Second was to heat the stuffing before putting it in the birds. Using this method, when the stuffing reached 160 degrees, the breast meat registered about 172 to 174 degrees. We thought this might be high enough to have dried the meat out a little, but the breasts were still tender and juicy. The leg and thigh meat was perfect."
ROAST STUFFED CORNISH HENS
Serves 6
Brining the birds breast side down ensures that the meatiest portions are fully submerged. Pouring a little water into the roasting pan at the 25 minute mark, once the birds have been turned, both prevents them from smoking during cooking and makes instant ?jus,? eliminating the need to deglaze the pan over two burners. To enrich the flavor of the jus to use as a sauce, pour it into a small saucepan, spoon off the fat that collects on the surface, and simmer it with a little vermouth or white wine.
2 cups Diamond kosher or 1 cup table salt
6 Cornish hens, (each less than 1 1/2 pounds if possible), trimmed of extra fat, giblets removed, rinsed well
1 recipe stuffing (see below), heated until very hot
6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup dry vermouth or white wine
1. Dissolve salt (2 cups Diamond Kosher salt, 1 1/2 cups Morton Kosher salt, or 1 cup non-iodized table salt) in 5 quarts cold water in small clean bucket or large bowl. Add hens breast side down; refrigerate 2 to 3 hours. Remove, rinse thoroughly, pat dry, and prick skin all over breast and legs with point of a paring knife.
2. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk balsamic vinegar and oil in small bowl; set aside. Spoon 1/2 cup hot stuffing into cavity of each hen; tie its legs together with 6-inch piece of kitchen twine. Leaving as much space as possible between each bird, arrange them breast side down and wings facing out, on large (at least 19-by-13?inch) wire rack, set over equally large roasting or jelly-roll pan. Roast until backs are golden brown, about 25 minutes. Remove pan from oven, brush bird backs with vinegar and oil glaze (re-blending before each bird), turn hens breast side up and wings facing out, and brush breast and leg area with additional glaze. Returned pan to oven, add 1 cup water, roast until meat thermometer inserted into the stuffed cavity registers about 150 degrees, about 15 to 20 minutes longer. Remove pan from oven again, brush birds with re-blended glaze, return pan to oven, add another 1/2 cup water to pan and increase oven temperature to 450 degrees. Roast until birds are spotty brown and cavity registers 160 degrees, 5 to 10 minutes longer, depending on bird size. Remove birds from oven, brush with remaining glaze, and rest for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, pour hen ?jus? from roasting pan into small saucepan, spoon off excess fat, add vermouth or wine, and simmer over medium-high heat until flavors blend, 2 to 3 minutes. Drizzle about 1/4 cup sauce over each hen and serve, passing remaining sauce separately.
COUSCOUS STUFFING WITH CURRANTS, APRICOTS, AND PISTACHIOS
Makes about 3 cups, enough to stuff 6 Cornish hens
Toasted slivered almonds can be substituted for the pistachio nuts.
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, minced (1/2 cup)
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 cup plain couscous
1 1/3 cup chicken stock or low-sodium canned chicken broth
1/4 cup dried apricots (8 to 9 whole), chopped fine
3 tablespoons currants
1/4 cup shelled, toasted pistachio nuts, chopped
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1 teaspoon juice from one small lemon
Salt and ground black pepper
Heat butter over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Add onions, garlic, cinnamon, ginger, and turmeric; saut? until onions soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add couscous; stir until well coated, 1 to 2 minutes. Add chicken stock, bring to simmer, remove from heat, cover, and let stand until couscous has fully rehydrated, about 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with fork; stir in dried fruit, nuts, and parsley and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to microwave-safe bowl; set aside.
WILD RICE STUFFING WITH CARROTS, MUSHROOMS, AND THYME
Makes about 3 cups, enough to stuff 6 Cornish hens
The wild rice blend in this stuffing holds together when pressed with a fork. You can use wild rice, but the cooked grains will remain separate.
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, rehydrated in 1 cup hot water
1 1/4 cups chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth, or more if necessary
1 cup wild rice blend
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, minced (1/2 cup)
1 small carrot, minced (1/4 cup)
1/2 small celery stalk, minced (1/4 cup)
4 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced thin
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
Salt and ground black pepper
1. Lift rehydrated porcini from liquid, squeeze dry, and chop coarse. Strain rehydrating liquid through sieve lined with paper towel and reserve (should be approximately 3/4 cup).
2. Add enough chicken stock to mushroom liquid to equal 2 cups. Bring liquid to boil in medium saucepan, add rice blend, and return to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until rice is fully cooked, 40 to 45 minutes. Turn rice into a medium microwave-safe bowl; fluff with fork.
3. Meanwhile, heat butter in medium skillet over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and celery; saut? until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add shiitake mushrooms; saut? until tender and liquid evaporates. Add porcini mushrooms and thyme; cook, stirring until well coated and blended with other ingredients, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Add this mixture to rice; toss to combine. Add parsley and season to taste with salt and ground black pepper.
WILD RICE STUFFING WITH CRANBERRIES AND TOASTED PECANS
Makes about 3 cups, enough to stuff 6 Cornish hens
2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium canned chicken broth
1 cup wild rice blend
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped fine (1/2 cup)
1/2 small celery stalk, diced fine (1/4 cup)
1/4 cup toasted pecans, chopped coarse
1/4 cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
1. Bring chicken stock to boil in medium saucepan. Add rice blend; return to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until rice is fully cooked, 40 to 45 minutes. Turn rice into medium microwave-safe bowl; fluff with fork.
2. Meanwhile, heat butter in medium skillet over medium heat. Add onions and celery; saut? until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add this mixture, as well as pecans, cranberries, and parsley and thyme, to rice; toss to coat.
