Originally posted by Keri Cathey in the New WSM Owners Forum on 5/22/04
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Simple Brined and Smoked Cornish Game Hens
2 quarts water
1/4 cup table salt OR 1/2 cup Diamond-brand Kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup pickling spice (1/2 of a 1-1/2-ounce jar)
4 Cornish game hens, 1 to 1-1/2 pounds each
Combine water, salt, and pickling spice in a large pot; bring to a boil. Remove from heat, let come to room temp, and then chill COMPLETELY - VERY IMPORTANT! If your brine is luke-warm, you're liable to breed nasty beasties in the poultry.
Rinse thawed game hens and submerge hens in COLD brine, breast side down. Chill in refrigerator about 2 - 3 hours. Remove hens from brine, rinse well with running water, and let sit uncovered in the refrigerator overnight if possible, to help the skin cook better. I like to use kitchen shears and cut along the backbone, opening up the carcass and pressing it flat (aka "spatchcocking".) If you do that, you'll cook a little faster as well as more evenly. I also pop the leg out of joint on chickens and game hens. It helps the joint to cook a little better to help avoid that slightly bloody look in the leg joint.
Fire up the WSM for a 2 to 3 hour cook. I do Minion method for all cooks, myself (except when I'm running it up to 350 or so for turkeys and chickens, then I'll do a fully-lit load) About a half a charcoal ring with 15 to 20 lit coals on top should be plenty.
Place hens on cooking grate(s) in WSM, skin-side up if you "spatchcocked" them. Smoke ABOUT 1 3/4 to 2 1/2 hours with cherry wood, at about 275 in the lid, or until meat thermometer inserted into breast reads about 160, and the juices run clear and not pink. After about the first hour, check their progress and flip them around if one side is browning more than another. If you'll run the temp up closer to 350, you'll probably complete the cook in closer to an hour to an hour and a half or so. (In the oven at 400, they'll roast in about 30 to 40 minutes). I'm sorry I can't more precise on time, but my times have varied greatly when I've game hens.
Try basting them near the end of the cook with a mixture of 1/2 cup apricot jam and 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (simmered together for a few minutes) for a wonderful flavor. Another tasty fruit glaze is 1/2 cup peach preserves and 1/2 cup butter. Also just plain Balsamic vinegar and olive oil is good - say 6 Tbs balsamic vinegar to 3 Tbs olive oil. For the best chance at a crispy rather than slightly rubbery skin, though, don't baste them at all.
That's it. That's all I know.
Keri C, still smokin on Tulsa Time
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Simple Brined and Smoked Cornish Game Hens
2 quarts water
1/4 cup table salt OR 1/2 cup Diamond-brand Kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup pickling spice (1/2 of a 1-1/2-ounce jar)
4 Cornish game hens, 1 to 1-1/2 pounds each
Combine water, salt, and pickling spice in a large pot; bring to a boil. Remove from heat, let come to room temp, and then chill COMPLETELY - VERY IMPORTANT! If your brine is luke-warm, you're liable to breed nasty beasties in the poultry.
Rinse thawed game hens and submerge hens in COLD brine, breast side down. Chill in refrigerator about 2 - 3 hours. Remove hens from brine, rinse well with running water, and let sit uncovered in the refrigerator overnight if possible, to help the skin cook better. I like to use kitchen shears and cut along the backbone, opening up the carcass and pressing it flat (aka "spatchcocking".) If you do that, you'll cook a little faster as well as more evenly. I also pop the leg out of joint on chickens and game hens. It helps the joint to cook a little better to help avoid that slightly bloody look in the leg joint.
Fire up the WSM for a 2 to 3 hour cook. I do Minion method for all cooks, myself (except when I'm running it up to 350 or so for turkeys and chickens, then I'll do a fully-lit load) About a half a charcoal ring with 15 to 20 lit coals on top should be plenty.
Place hens on cooking grate(s) in WSM, skin-side up if you "spatchcocked" them. Smoke ABOUT 1 3/4 to 2 1/2 hours with cherry wood, at about 275 in the lid, or until meat thermometer inserted into breast reads about 160, and the juices run clear and not pink. After about the first hour, check their progress and flip them around if one side is browning more than another. If you'll run the temp up closer to 350, you'll probably complete the cook in closer to an hour to an hour and a half or so. (In the oven at 400, they'll roast in about 30 to 40 minutes). I'm sorry I can't more precise on time, but my times have varied greatly when I've game hens.
Try basting them near the end of the cook with a mixture of 1/2 cup apricot jam and 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (simmered together for a few minutes) for a wonderful flavor. Another tasty fruit glaze is 1/2 cup peach preserves and 1/2 cup butter. Also just plain Balsamic vinegar and olive oil is good - say 6 Tbs balsamic vinegar to 3 Tbs olive oil. For the best chance at a crispy rather than slightly rubbery skin, though, don't baste them at all.
That's it. That's all I know.
Keri C, still smokin on Tulsa Time