Cornish Hens Recipe
Cornish hens are so versatile and utterly delicious. These The Ultimate Roasted Cornish Game Hens can easily take on your favorite whole chicken recipe in a fraction of the time. Perfect for that WOW factor at a dinner party!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1.25 hours
- Yield: 6 hens
- Category: Poultry
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 6 Rock Cornish Hens, thawed (~1.4 lb each) *See note
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
- 3 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F. Remove birds from wrapping, remove gizzards (inside stuff), and pat dry inside and out. Place a cooling rack on a baking pan. Place them breast-side up on the cooling rack inside the pan.
- In a bowl, combine the butter, garlic, rosemary, and thyme to make a soft, but spreadable herbed butter. Carefully separate the skin from the breast. Spread about two tablespoons of the butter between the skin and breast of each bird. Smooth skin back down to cover the meat. Rub the olive oil all over the birds and sprinkle with the salt and pepper.
- Roast at 450°F for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350°F. Continue roasting about 40 more minutes or when the thickest part of the meat reaches 165°F. Baste occasionally (about every 25-30 minutes) with pan juices. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
If your hens are larger than 1.4 lbs each you’ll want to increase the cooking time when the temperature is reduced to 350F to about 50-60 minutes.
The most important thing is to check the temp!