Cornish Delight

Posted Sun, 03/30/08

 

I didn't begin Sunday with the intention of going into a great deal about food preparation, but that's how it worked out. Sometimes I just start writing and can't seem to stop . . .

 

The last time I had Cornish Game Hens was about eighteen years ago. That's a long stretch by any measure. It's not that I dislike hens, I simply never thought about them in the context of a main meal. However, today was different. I decided if I was going to put together a meal including game hens I wanted it to be something special and not the typical humdrum affair.

 

I thawed three hens overnight, and then cleaned them thoroughly. I placed salt and black pepper inside the cavities, along with a pat of butter. I also filled the cavities with a stuffing I'd made earlier in the day (see recipe below). I placed the hens on a roaster with a rack and tied the legs together individually. On the outside of the hens, I rubbed a mixture of cold margarine, minced garlic, black pepper, fresh basil and parsley, and a touch of Lawry's seasoned salt. I baked the hens at 375-degrees F for about an hour and a half (more or less), basting them every twenty minutes or so.

 

The meat was moist and tender, the skin lightly crispy and the flavor of the stuffing was melt-in-the-mouth divine. On the side I had stuffing (see below) and fresh green beans tossed with olive oil, kosher salt, black pepper and crumbled bacon.

 

Cornish Stuffing

1 loaf of white bread, toasted & small-cubed

1 C celery, diced

3/4 C yellow onion, diced

1/2 stick butter

Salt & black pepper

Poultry seasoning

Parsley

Sweet Basil

Lawry's Seasoned Salt

Chicken Broth

 

Toast the bread; allow to cool. Two slices at a time, cut into strips and then into cubes. Place bread into a large bowl. Dice celery and onion. In a pan, sauté the celery and onion with butter, until tender and translucent. Stir into bread mixture. Add seasonings, mix well. Pour in chicken broth (start out with about 1/2 cup), add more as necessary to create moist stuffing. Spray a baking dish with non-cooking spray and spread stuffing evenly. Cover with oil. Bake at 375-degrees F for about forty minutes. Note: Use stuffing inside Cornish Game Hens, chickens or turkeys. Place leftover stuffing in a baking dish and put into oven the last forty minutes of bird cooking time.

As a whole, the meal was very satisfying. Despite their small size, the hens offered up plenty of leftover meat for a sandwich or another poultry concoction. All in all it was a good cooking day.

 

Sorry, no pictures. I'm a terrible food shot and I finally gave up trying.

 

Blog Tags: Poultry

 

Blog Tag Tags: Poultry; Side Dishes  Send a comment about this blog entrySend Comment >