Baked Cornish Hen Recipe

My coworker invited me to his family's Christmas dinner party in 2008. He made some delicious baked Cornish hens, so I decided I should try cooking them. Cornish hens taste like chicken but sweeter and less tough and fatty than regular chicken. Feel free to try and modify my recipe!

Ingredients:

2 fresh whole Cornish hen- unfrozen and up to room temperature,0.25 tsp grated fresh ginger, 1 tbs organic honey, 1 tbs soy sauce, 1 tbs brown sugar, 1 clove of garlic- minced, a few shakes of red pepper flakes, 1 pinch of cayenne powder and 1 tbs olive oil. Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Procedures:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degF

2. In a small bowl, combine grated ginger, organic honey, soy sauce, brown sugar, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, cayenne powder, olive oil, salt and pepper

3. Divide the marinade equally onto the 2 Cornish hens. Massage the marinade into and all over the hens

4. Cut some kitchen twine and tie the drum sticks together

5. Line a baking sheet with Aluminum foil. Lay the hens onto the sheet

6. Bake for 45 mins or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the hen such as the thighs or breast and away from the bone, reaches 170 F

7. Remove the hens. Cut the twine off and let the hens sit for a few minutes

8. Serve with rice or your favorite side dish

Tips:

  1. Use a spoon to navigate around the knobs and scrap the skin off fresh ginger root. It's a safer alternative than using a knife. And you get more ginger :)

  2. For a crispier skin, increase the temperature of your oven to 425 degF during the last 10 to 15 minutes

    1. For curried version, create a dry rub from 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp ground pepper, 0.5 tsp ground turmeric, 2 tsps curry powder, 0.5 tsp ground ginger, and 0.5 tsp chili powder. Rub the seasoning onto the hens, let them rest for 30 mins or overnight in the fridge, and bake according to the procedures