Disclaimer: I am a beginner cook, and birds always make me a little nervous if just because I don’t cook them so often (and they’re ALWAYS done before I’m ready for them to be done), so keep that in mind.
For Thanksgiving this year it’s going to be my boyfriend, my brother, and me. This is the first year I’m doing the cooking more or less all by myself (though I’ll probably recruit the boys to do some chopping/can-opening/whatever). Instead of doing a giant turkey (because there are only three of us) we decided to do Cornish game hens instead. I’ve never, ever worked with them before, so I’m a little nervous and have some questions. I want to avoid a frantic phone call to my mother in North Carolina at 3 PM on T-day.
How do I cook them? Do I need a roasting pan? How do I know they’re done? How do I keep them from drying out (I HATE dry poultry)? Any flavoring techniques you can recommend? Any recipes? Any other general advice would be greatly appreciated.
Just put them in a roasting pan (or any pan, really) and baste with a little butter. Cornish hens also don’t dry out easily; if you follow the cooking times on the label, they’ll stay moist.
You might not want to do this, but I grill them all the time. Cut them in half, and just cook like you would any chicken over coals. They are really delicious, but maybe that’s because they have a high skin-to-meat ratio!
They’re just young chickens, neither Cornish nor game. Roast at 350 for about an hour (read the label; more if roasting more than one), basting a few times with butter. Put herbs on or in, as desired. I’d use a rack for them, and use the drippings to make chicken gravy.
I am also doing Cornish game hen for thanksgiving. They’re great. I love them. Always tender and moist. A very forgiving bird to cook. This is what I’m planning on doing to them this year:
Take 2 birds, thaw them for a day or so in the fridge if frozen. Make sure there are no giblets or anything in the body cavity (sometimes there are.) Make an herb butter: chop some fresh sage fine, add salt and pepper, and add some room temperature butter. Mix it all up. Now stuff that herb butter under the skin. Salt and pepper the inside and outside of the birds. (This is where you can stuff it with a bread stuffing if you wish. This year I’m doing a cranberry apple stuffing.) Pop them onto a rimmed cookie sheet. You can spread some extra veggies like carrots onion and celery around the pan if you like. This will make excellent gravy. Pop them into a 350 F oven for about 45 minutes to an hour. Theyre done when a meat thermometer in the thigh reads 160 F (They’ll get up to 165 while they rest.) Let them rest for 20 minutes or so. Make gravy. Remove stuffing. You can present them whole or cut them in half or quarter them.