Did you ever wonder how to prepare Cornish Hens? It’s a really easy substitute for roasting larger birds. This tasty one-pan dish may be prepared quickly for a weekday supper with the family or elegantly for the holidays, especially as an easy Christmas main course. After brushing them with herb butter, the cornish chickens are baked. The meat of roasted cornish chickens is moist and soft, and the herb butter gives the birds a lovely roasted appearance.
Roasted Cornish Hens
Because the cornish game chickens are so little, this meal is easy to cook and requires very little cleanup—it just takes an hour. After a hectic workday, this is a simple family supper to prepare on a weeknight. Additionally, it’s a vibrant and festive dish that’s ideal for impressing visitors, romantic dinner nights, and holidays like Christmas. Everything you need to know about cooking Cornish chickens is included in this recipe.
Easy one-pan fancy dinner
This is a fantastic one-pan supper to prepare any time of year, but on a chilly Fall or Winter night, it’s especially warm and inviting. No matter what, cornish chickens are quite easy to manage and always turn out delicious and full of flavor whether baked or roasted!
- First, fresh thyme, butter, olive oil, and Italian seasoning (also known as Herbs from Provence) are combined to make a herb butter that is drizzled over the cornish chickens.
- The Cornish Hens are then roasted in an oven roasting pan.
- Add the cubed sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts to the roasting pan around the Cornish chickens and below them halfway through baking, and cook everything together!
- As everything is prepared in a single pan, cleaning is a breeze!
Holiday main course
A great Christmas recipe is roasted cornish chickens. This is the perfect option if you don’t want to cook a huge piece of ham or a turkey!
The meat of the cornish chickens is succulent, juicy, and flavorful after just about an hour of baking at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
What are Cornish game hens?
It’s interesting to note that the chicken breed known as cornish hens has some English ancestry. They are a hybrid of the White Plymouth Rock, an American domestic chicken breed, and the Cornish, a British game chicken species that originated in the counties of Devon and Cornwall in southwest England. Cornish hens are therefore essentially a specific breed of broiler chicken.
The difference between chicken and cornish hens
Compared to ordinary chickens, Cornish game hens have less fat and leaner meat. Additionally, the flesh from Cornish chickens is more white than dark.
Cornish chickens are distinguished from our typical chicken by their smaller stature—they typically weigh between one and two pounds. This gets us to the next point.
Cornish game chickens are petite (when compared to a standard chicken), so they present well and may be served as a main meal on their own. Alternatively, cut each fowl in half and serve it with roasted vegetables.
At what temperature to roast Cornish hens in the oven and for how long?
Bake Cornish Hens for 45 to 1 hour at 400 degrees Fahrenheit in a preheated oven, depending on their size. Once the meat has roasted for around 40 minutes, use an instant meat thermometer. When it is put into the thickest area of the hen without coming into contact with any bones, it should register an internal temperature of 165 F.
How to cook cornish hens
- Get the Cornish chickens ready. Using paper towels, pat them dry both inside and out. Add minced garlic and salt & pepper to season the insides.
- Compose a herb butter. Mix together olive oil, fresh thyme, Italian seasoning, softened (not melted) butter, salt, and pepper. Apply this mixture evenly throughout the chickens.
- Bake the chickens for 15 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit in the roasting pan that has been prepared.
- Get the veggies ready. Cut the sweet potatoes into cubes and slice the brussels sprouts in half. Take the chickens out of the oven and surround the chickens with the vegetables.
- Add the vegetables and roast the Cornish chickens for an additional 40 to 45 minutes. Your one-pot dinner is prepared!
Cooking tips and variations
- Include veggies. About halfway through the roasting procedure, I’ve added cubed sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts to the roasting pan in this dish. Any additional vegetables, including bell peppers, mushrooms, green beans, tiny potatoes, carrots, and zucchini, can be added.
- Plants. The best option is to brush the exterior of the chickens with a mixture of butter and dried herbs! Use whatever kind of dried herb combination you choose, like Italian seasoning or Provence herbs. You may also add fresh chopped herbs like oregano, sage, and thyme.
- For added taste, rub minced garlic, salt, and pepper into the cornish chickens!
- Should Cornish chickens be cooked uncovered or under cover? Cook them completely uncovered to get a gorgeous golden-brown hue. Additionally, you may occasionally brush the chickens with softened butter.
- How can one determine when the Cornish Hens are done? Make use of a quick meat thermometer! When it is put into the thickest area of the hen without coming into contact with any bones, it should register an internal temperature of 165 F.
- When roasted Cornish chickens are cooked through and ready to serve, brush the exterior with butter. This will result in a stunning display.
- It is easy to cut the recipe in half or to double it. A couple of cornish chickens may easily feed four people (particularly if the vegetables are also roasted) at a ratio of one-third of each bird plus vegetables per person.
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Roasted Cornish Hens
Ingredients
Poultry
- 2 cornish hens patted dry
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 cloves garlic minced
Herb Butter
- 5 tablespoons butter softened not melted
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- fresh thyme to taste
- salt and pepper generous amounts
Vegetables
- 8 oz brussels sprouts
- 2 sweet potatoes medium
- 1 tablespoon butter
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Prepare the poultry
- Set oven temperature to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Using paper towels, pat dry Cornish birds both inside and out.
- Season Cornish chickens on the interior with salt and pepper. Fill within with finely chopped garlic.
Make herb butter
- Mix together 5 tablespoons softened (not melted) butter, 2 tablespoons olive oil, fresh thyme, Italian seasoning, and a good pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl. Toss to blend thoroughly.
- Nestle the breast sides of the Cornish chickens into a large roasting pan or ovenproof braising dish. A 3.5-quart Staub cast-iron pan was what I used.
- Give Cornish chickens a thorough exterior rubdown with this blend of herbs. Add a tiny bit of Italian seasoning on the outside (breast side) of the cornish hens, along with more salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Roast Cornish hens
- Roast Cornish hens at 400 Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.
- While the cornish hens are baking for 15 minutes, get the veggies ready. Brussels sprouts should have their yellow leaves removed and each cut in half. Cut the medium-sized sweet potatoes into cubes after peeling them.
- Take the roasting pan out of the oven after the Cornish chickens have cooked for fifteen minutes. Place half of the Brussels sprouts and diced sweet potatoes in the bottom of the pan. Place some sweet potatoes below the raised Cornish chickens. As you work, combine the vegetables with the butter and the bird juices. Place the vegetables in relation to the birds. Add more salt and freshly ground black pepper to vegetables. Apply more butter (one tablespoon or more) on the exterior (breast side) of the Cornish chickens.
- After about 40 minutes of roasting, the Cornish chickens should register 165°F on an instant meat thermometer placed into the thickest section of the breast. Ensure that the thermometer stays away from the bone. Additionally, utilize the meat thermometer (after the first 25 or 30 minutes) before to the 40-minute mark.
- Remove the hens from the oven and let them rest for 10 minutes.
- Arrange the roasted veggies and cooked Cornish chickens on a plate. Cut Cornish Hens in half or serve them whole. Use fresh thyme sprigs as décor.