Orange Glazed Cornish Game Hen – we're trying new meats. Holley and I are both very adventurous when it comes to food, so any time either of us comes across an ingredient that we haven't tried before, we're both interested in trying it out (I think I mentioned somewhere that I tried a bunch of insects in Thailand. My general rule with food is to try everything at least twice). So you can expect to see some interesting elements incorporated into future recipes.
Cornish game hens, it turns out, aren't as fancy as they sound. For one thing, they're not game at all. They are a hybrid of Cornish Game and White Rock chickens, and can be either male or female. They are slaughtered after 4-6 weeks (sooner than typical roasting chickens).
Learning stuff. Love it. Enough of that though, I want to eat Orange Glazed Cornish Game Hen.
Orange Glazed Cornish Game Hen
- Yield: 2-4 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 2 Cornish game hens
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tbsp coconut aminos
- 1 Tbsp almond butter
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 1/2 tsp ginger powder
- 1 Tbsp onion powder
- 1 Tbsp coarse ground Dijon mustard
- 1–2 clove garlic (minced)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- zest of 1/4 orange
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Cut each hen in half. If using kitchen shears, cut along each side of the backbone (remove vertebrae) and along the breastbone. If using a sharp chef's knife, cut down the middle of the breast then through the bone.
- Mix all remaining ingredients together.
- Put hen halves in a large freezer bag and pour in the sauce.
- Let marinate for 15 minutes in the fridge.
- Place hens in a baking dish, skin side up, and pour sauce over it.
- Cook for 45-60 minutes, basting with drippings every 10 minutes for the first half hour.
- Chicken is done when thigh temperature is 165 F (using meat thermometer) or juices run clear.
- Serve. Make sure you get lots of those pan drippings on your plate!
- Method: Oven
He says they aren’t fancy… They are amazing in this orange glaze, so you feel like they are fancy. The perfect dish for a dinner party, or dinner for one. It’s versatile. It’s slightly sweet, and citrus poultry, I’m drooling thinking about it. But don’t take my word for it… try it out!