Cornish hens (what, again?)

 

It's been quite a while since my last Cornish hen posting, and my technique has evolved.

Spatchcock one bird (dinner for two).

Brine in 2 cups water (with 2 Tbs kosher salt dissolved in it) for at least 2 hours; or up to 4.

Rinse well and dry. Drizzle with butter, season with pepper, and place lemon slices under the skin (optional).

Insert temperature probe if you have one and roast in a 350 oven for about 30 minutes.

Place under the broiler to brown the skin. Target temperature is 165 degrees at the thickest part of the breast - where the wing is attached. Let rest 5 minutes.

Is that easy, or what?

Cornish hen sous vide

I have had a fascination with sous vide cooking for several years. Unfortunately I can't afford professional equipment and have made do with attempts to use standard pots and pans and thermometers. Today I had my greatest success ever. Much of it is due to our range which has a center/rear burner for very low simmering. I put a large pot of water on it and managed to hold it right at, or near, 160 degrees for 3 hours. As for the bird, it was brined for 2 hours and then sealed in a freezer bag with a stick of butter, a couple sprigs of sage, some garlic, and some pepper. I was able to squeeze out nearly all the air, enough so that the bag sat down in the water in the pot. The resulting texture was of utmost tenderness and moistness. The flavor was gentle and delicate, all in all a delight.

If you aren't familiar with sous vide, I'd suggest you Google the term. Probably you will find a more comprehensive description than little old me can provide. It's doubtful that things for which I might like a lower temp will be possible, such as seafood, eggs, and such, without a circulating heater. But one can certainly try various cuts that require long cooking. Maybe ribs, roasts.

Flattened Cornish hen

I'm still fighting the camera battle. But, as long as I can find some free web photos it will have to do.

This is very similar to my spatchcocked “weighty” chicken, one difference being the flavors incorporated. And of course these little hens don't take as long to cook.

We served this with roasted green beans (12 minutes at 400 degrees) and smallish baked potatoes (50 minutes at 400 degrees).

Flattened Cornish hen (1 hen serves 2)

With a sharp knife, cut straight down through the backbone of the hen. Oops, I almost forgot – the hen was brined for several hours and then no salt was added after rinsing and drying.

Sprinkle with black or cayenne pepper. Stuff lemon slices under the skin.

Brown the skin side (weighted with another pan) until golden (10 min. or so). Remove from the pan.

Add to the pan: ½ sliced onion and more lemon slices.

Place chicken back in, weight it again (using a piece of foil) and cook over medium heat until finished, about 30-35 minutes until thigh juices run clear.

Let rest 5 minutes, cut in half lengthwise through the breast and chow down.

Boned and stuffed Cornish game hens

I taught myself to completely bone out chickens many years ago. Since the anatomy for game hens is the same, it was easy to bone them. Unless you want to try boning, just leave the birds whole (or use another technique you can see demonstrated online for removing the breast bone and ribs). I post the recipe as if you are not boning the hens.

It was my intent to remove all the bones, but when I got to the wings I realized they were so small that I'd just leave their little bones in. Besides it made the birds still resemble birds after I trussed it up, as above.

What makes this fun is that once the hens are cooked you just slice them like a roast. I wish I could create a YouTube video of my boning technique, but I’m afraid that’s beyond me.

In most supermarkets you can only find a wild rice and white rice mix packaged. It’s fine to use that. Just cook it the way the box says.

Boned Cornish hens with wild rice and mushroom stuffing
2 Cornish hens*
1/2 cup wild rice or wild rice mix, cooked according to the package
4 dried shiitake mushrooms
4 large white button mushrooms
salt and pepper to taste
1 small lemon, sliced, seeds removed
2 tbsp butter, softened to room temperature

Reconstitute the shiitakes in hot tap water for 30 minutes.

Cook the wild rice in water or broth, but be sure to use the mushroom liquid. Drain.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and place a rack in the middle position.

Cut out the shiitake stems and slice thin. Slice the button mushrooms thin. Saute them both in 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter until they’ve released all their water and begun to brown.

Mix the rice and mushrooms together in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. If using whole hens (as you probably are), dry them thoroughly inside and out. Season the cavity with salt and pepper. Lay lemon slices inside the cavity and then spoon in the stuffing. Tie the legs together to provide a cover on the cavity.

Smear butter all over the birds and season all over with salt and pepper. Place them on a rack, breast side down, in a baking pan with 1” sides. After 20 minutes, turn them over and baste with some more butter. Roast to 165 degrees in the thickest part of the thigh and breast. Remove from the oven, spoon out the stuffing and keep it warm, tent birds with foil, and let rest for 10 minutes. Carve and you know the rest. The total roasting time should be in the 35 minute range.

* Since I boned my birds, I lay them open skin side down on a cutting board. Season with salt and pepper. Lay the lemon slices in the middle and top with a pile of stuffing. Gather the meat together in the shape of a roast and tie with kitchen string to hold it together. Slather the skin all over with butter and season all over with salt and pepper. Then roast as above. You won’t need to remove the stuffing before slicing across, but do remove the strings.

Roasted Cornish hens

What an easy solution to late morning musings about dinner. Peter wanted me to get turkey tenders. Safeway doesn’t carry them. They do carry whole turkey breasts – but – they’re frozen…Deal Breaker!

The idea was to use some sage pesto he made last month using sage from our garden. I thought about using chicken breast, not a bad idea…just boring. I hit on Cornish hens. They too were frozen, but thawed sufficiently in 2 hours for me to get them into a brine. (For brining enter “brine” into the search engine of blogspot.)

I’ve done chicken parts many times where I stuck fresh sage leaves under the skin. It’s really good. But the pesto idea would incorporate some parmesan cheese as well.

Once, in the first year we were together, Peter and I made Cornish hens stuffed with prosciutto and larded on the outside with fatback. God, they were good. However, nearly 30 years later, I have issues with weight and body image. I will never look like a GQ model, gut I don’t like to suck in my gut to get my pants fastened. I am 5’ 9” and weigh a skosh below 140 pounds. Doesn’t sound like much does it?

Well, I weighed 137 pounds a few weeks ago when I quit smoking. The last time I quit I gained 15 pounds over the course of several months. Never again! It took me 6 months to lose that 15, combined with the resumption of smoking. It’s a vicious cycle. Do I want to live longer as a fat man, or die younger as a smoker who could still get lucky at the baths? Sorry if I’ve embarrassed you.

Roasted game hens
2 Cornish hens
basil or sage pesto (or fresh sage leaves)

1 cup shredded carrot
olive oil
salt and pepper

Spatchcock the hens. Don’t know what that is? Just cut out the backbone and press down on the breast to flatten the bird. Cut off the end joint of the wings. Slice through the skin near the end of the legs and tuck them through it. Check the first picture above to get a good look at the results.

Preheat the oven to 400°.

If you have pesto, smear it under the skin in as many areas as you can get to. Don’t put it on top, it will burn. No pesto? Put sage leaves under there. Add grated carrot to the "pesto-ed" areas. Stretch the skin back into its original position.

Brush the birds all over with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast skin side up for 40-45 minutes until the internal temperature of the thickest meat is at 165°. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes.