Cornish hens are small, flavorful chickens that make a great main course for any occasion. They are often roasted whole, and can be stuffed with a variety of fillings, such as bulgur and bacon stuffing. Bulgur is a type of whole wheat that has been parboiled and dried, giving it a nutty flavor and chewy texture. When combined with bacon, it makes a savory and satisfying stuffing that complements the delicate flavor of the Cornish hen.
Let's cook with our recipes!
CORNISH HEN WITH BULGUR-BACON STUFFING
Use this recipe when you need a special occasion dinner for two.
Provided by Betty Crocker Kitchens
Categories Entree
Time 2h10m
Yield 2
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- In 1-quart saucepan, cook bacon and onion over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until bacon is cooked and onion is tender. Drain bacon and onion. In same saucepan, heat water and bouillon granules to boiling. Stir in bulgur; remove from heat. Cover and let stand 15 minutes. Stir in bacon mixture, zucchini, mushrooms and thyme.
- Heat oven to 350°F. Fill body cavity of hen with stuffing. Fasten opening with skewer. Place hen, breast side up, on rack in shallow roasting pan. Place meat thermometer in thigh muscle so tip does not touch bone. Brush with some of the butter.
- Bake uncovered 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, brushing occasionally with remaining butter, until juice of hens is clear when thickest pieces are cut to bone (at least 165°F).
- Remove stuffing from body cavity. Cut hen in half along backbone from tail to neck with kitchen scissors. Serve each hen half with stuffing.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 405, Carbohydrate 15 g, Cholesterol 165 mg, Fat 2, Fiber 3 g, Protein 29 g, SaturatedFat 9 g, ServingSize 1 Serving, Sodium 790 mg
CORNISH GAME HEN WITH BACON AND ONIONS
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Wrap a brick in aluminum foil and place into the oven to heat.
- Place the game hen breast side down on a cutting board. Using scissors or poultry shears, cut from the neck to the tailbone to remove the backbone. Once you remove the backbone you will be able to see the inside of the bird. Make a small slit in the cartilage at the base of the breastbone to reveal the keel bone. Grab the bird with both hands on the ribs and open up like a book, facing down towards the cutting board. Remove the keel bone. Cut small slits in the skin of the bird behind the legs and tuck the drumsticks into them in order to hold them in place. Season on both sides with salt and pepper.
- Fry the bacon in a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once crisp, remove the bacon from the skillet and reserve. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan. Immediately add the two birds to the pan, skin side down. Add the onions to the pan around the edges. Top the birds with the brick and allow to remain on the heat for 5 minutes. Place the pan into the oven and cook 10 to 15 minutes or until the thigh meat reaches 170 degrees F. Remove from the oven and allow the bird to rest for 5 minutes before serving with the onions and bacon.
CORNISH GAME HENS WITH RICE STUFFING
My mother used to make this for Easter dinner. The rice stuffing is a perfect partner for the hens. Packaged wild rice mix can be used as well.
Provided by MOMMYCOFFEY
Categories 100+ Everyday Cooking Recipes
Time 2h10m
Yield 4
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the almonds, onion, and uncooked wild rice. Saute 5 to 10 minutes. Mix in the water, chicken bouillon cube, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and cook 45 minutes until rice is tender and easily fluffed with a fork.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- Season the Cornish game hens inside and out with salt, and stuff with the rice mixture. Place the hens breast side up on a rack in a baking pan. Brush with 1/4 cup melted butter.
- Cover the baking pan, and cook the hens 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Uncover, and continue cooking 1 hour, or until the hens are no longer pink and the juices run clear.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 396.9 calories, Carbohydrate 11.3 g, Cholesterol 128.9 mg, Fat 32.3 g, Fiber 1.3 g, Protein 15.8 g, SaturatedFat 15.8 g, Sodium 1341.1 mg, Sugar 0.7 g
STUFFED CORNISH GAME HENS
THIS ENTREE makes an ordinary day special. Whenever I cook Cornish hens for my husband and me, it stirs up warm memories of family times around the holiday dinner table. I bake the extra stuffing separately so we're sure to have enough. -Nancy Aubrey, Ruidoso, New Mexico
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Dinner
Time 1h20m
Yield 2 servings.
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- In a large skillet or saucepan, saute celery and onion in 2 tablespoons butter until tender. Remove from the heat. Stir in cornbread, bread crumbs, pimientos, broth, egg, poultry seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; mix well. , Stuff each hen with 3/4 cup stuffing. Place extra stuffing in a greased 1-qt. baking dish; refrigerate. Place hens breast side up on a rack in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Cover loosely with foil; bake at 375° for 45 minutes. , Meanwhile, in a saucepan, melt the remaining butter; add garlic, lemon zest, mint and remaining salt and pepper. Brush over hens. Bake 15-30 minutes longer or until a thermometer reads 180° for hens and 165° for stuffing. Bake the extra stuffing, covered, for 30 minutes.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 1728 calories, Fat 106g fat (44g saturated fat), Cholesterol 601mg cholesterol, Sodium 3675mg sodium, Carbohydrate 106g carbohydrate (9g sugars, Fiber 7g fiber), Protein 82g protein.
TENDER STUFFED CORNISH HENS
I first served these hens at Thanksgiving one year when only a few of us gathered to celebrate the holiday. They're so yummy they often grace our table throughout the year. The wild rice stuffing offers a flavor my family always enjoys. -Jenny Holliday, Roanoke, Alabama
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Dinner
Time 1h25m
Yield 4 servings.
Number Of Ingredients 9
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 350°. Cook rice according to package directions. In a small skillet, saute celery and onion in 1 tablespoon butter until tender. Stir in the soup, mushrooms and prepared rice., Sprinkle inside and outside of hens with salt and pepper. Stuff with rice mixture. Place on a rack in a greased shallow roasting pan; cover with foil. , Bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Remove foil. Melt remaining butter; brush over hens. Bake 25-35 minutes longer or until juices run clear and a thermometer reads 180° for hens and 165° for stuffing.
Nutrition Facts : Fat 46 g fat (17 g saturated fat), Cholesterol 257 mg cholesterol, Sodium 1,618 mg sodium, Carbohydrate 41 g carbohydrate, Fiber 3 g fiber, Protein 45 g protein.
STUFFED CORNISH HENS
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Season inside and out of cornish hens. In a bowl combine mushrooms, onions, carrots, peas, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Stuff vegetables into cavity of each bird to full capacity. Drizzle hens with remaining oil. Criss-cross 2 bacon slices across each hen, tucking ends under birds to keep in place. Place hens on a roasting rack in a roasting pan and pour chicken stock in bottom of pan. Roast hens 45 minutes to 1 hour or until an instant reading thermometer inserted in thickest part registers 170 degrees. Allow hens to rest, loosely covered with foil, for at least 10 minutes while you finish sauce. Bring sauce to a boil in roasting pan, scraping bottom of pan to incorporate any drippings; season to taste with salt and pepper. To serve, drizzle hens with sauce.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Season inside and out of cornish hens. In a bowl combine mushrooms, onions, carrots, peas, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Stuff vegetables into cavity of each bird to full capacity. Drizzle hens with remaining oil. Criss-cross 2 bacon slices across each hen, tucking ends under birds to keep in place. Place hens on a roasting rack in a roasting pan and pour chicken stock in bottom of pan. Roast hens 45 minutes to 1 hour or until an instant reading thermometer inserted in thickest part registers 170 degrees. Allow hens to rest, loosely covered with foil, for at least 10 minutes while you finish sauce. Bring sauce to a boil in roasting pan, scraping bottom of pan to incorporate any drippings; season to taste with salt and pepper. To serve, drizzle hens with sauce.
CORNISH HEN WITH BULGUR
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- 1. Prepare Bulgur-Bacon Stuffing. Heat oven to 350°. 2. Fill body cavity of hen with stuffing. Fasten opening with skewer. Place hen, breast side up, on rack in shallow roasting pan. Place meat thermometer in thigh muscle so tip does not touch bone. Brush hen with some of the butter.3. Bake uncovered 1 to 1 1/4 hours, brushing occasionally with remaining butter, until thermometer reads 180° and juices are no longer pink when center of thigh is cut.4. Remove stuffing from body cavity. Cut hen in half along backbone from tail to neck with kitchen scissors. Serve each hen half with stuffing.Bulgar-Bacon Stuffing:Cook bacon and onion in 1-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until bacon is cooked and onion is tender. Drain bacon and onion. Heat water and bouillon granules to boiling in same saucepan. Stir in bulgur remove from heat. Cover and let stand 15 minutes. Sir in bacon mixture, zucchini, mushrooms, cranberries and thyme.table for 2For Thanksgiving, if the two of you are planning to celebrate this favorite holiday together, Cornish hen is perfect in place of a big bird that will have you eating leftovers for weeks. Here are some delicious side dish and dessert suggestions to round out your holiday menu:Buttercup Squash with Apples (see On the Sidelines chapter)Asparagus Parmesan (see On the Sidelines chapter)Orange-Pecan Muffins (see On the Sidelines chapter)Fruit Trifle (see Sweet Endings chapter)1 Serving: Calories 590 (Calories from Fat 360) Fat 40g (Saturated 13g) Cholesterol 255mg Sodium 840mg Carbohydrate 15g (Dietary Fiber 3g) Protein 45g % Daily Value: Vitamin A 10% Vitamin C 4% Calcium 4% Iron 12% Diet Exchanges: 5 1/2 Medium-Fat Meat, 3 VegetableFrom "Betty Crocker's Cooking for Two." Text Copyright 2005 General Mills, Inc. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Nutrition Facts : Nutritional Facts Serves
THANKSGIVING BACON STUFFING
This stuffing recipe has been in my family for decades. How can you go wrong with bacon? Whether it be baked in muffins tins or right inside the turkey, this is sure to be a hit!
Provided by Nickolasa
Categories Side Dish Stuffing and Dressing Recipes Quick and Easy Stuffing and Dressing Recipes
Time 50m
Yield 12
Number Of Ingredients 7
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- Place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat until cooked through but still slightly soft, 5 to 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on paper towels, retaining bacon drippings in the skillet.
- Melt butter in a separate skillet over medium-high heat; saute onion and celery until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir bacon and poultry seasoning into onion mixture.
- Mix onion-bacon mixture and bread pieces together in a large bowl; fold in eggs. Spoon bread mixture into muffin cups.
- Bake in the preheated oven until tops are crispy, about 25 minutes.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 357.2 calories, Carbohydrate 40.5 g, Cholesterol 65 mg, Fat 16.3 g, Fiber 2.3 g, Protein 11.8 g, SaturatedFat 7.4 g, Sodium 877 mg, Sugar 4.1 g
GOLDEN CORNISH GAME HENS FOR 2 (BACON-HERB BREAD STUFFING)
Make and share this Golden Cornish Game Hens for 2 (Bacon-Herb Bread Stuffing) recipe from Food.com.
Provided by littleturtle
Categories Lunch/Snacks
Time 2h
Yield 2 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- Cook bacon until crisp.
- Remove bacon from pan, crumble; set aside.
- Drain pan of all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease, and saute carrots and celery in the reserved grease until tender (about 5 minutes).
- Add bacon, savory, thyme, and pepper; mix in bread crumbs.
- Dissolve bouillon in hot water, and drizzle over the bread mixture.
- Toss lightly.
- Season cavities of hens with salt, then lightly stuff with the bread mixture.
- If birds have neck skin still attached, pull it to each bird's back and secure with a small skewer.
- Tie legs to tail, and twist wing tips under back on each.
- Place hens breast side up in a shallow roasting pan.
- Brush with cooking oil and cover loosely with foil.
- Roast at 375°F for 30 minutes.
- Combine wine, butter, and orange juice.
- Uncover birds and baste with wine mixture.
- Roast uncovered for another hour (until done), basting twice with wine mixture.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 754.7, Fat 25.4, SaturatedFat 9.1, Cholesterol 243.7, Sodium 1120.1, Carbohydrate 63.4, Fiber 4.9, Sugar 7.6, Protein 61.2
ROASTED CORNISH GAME HENS WITH BULGUR STUFFING (FARAKH BADARI)
Provided by Craig Claiborne
Categories dinner, main course
Time 1h15m
Yield 4 servings
Number Of Ingredients 9
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Sprinkle the hens inside and out with salt and pepper. Blend the bulgur and parsley in a mixing bowl.
- Stuff each game hen with an equal portion of the bulgur mixture. Truss the hens.
- Place a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Arrange the hens breast side up on the rack. To prepare a basting sauce, blend the remaining ingredients, salt and pepper.
- Brush the hens with the basting sauce. Place in the oven and roast one hour, basting often with the sauce. Remove the trussing string and serve.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 799, UnsaturatedFat 37 grams, Carbohydrate 27 grams, Fat 53 grams, Fiber 7 grams, Protein 52 grams, SaturatedFat 12 grams, Sodium 1426 milligrams, Sugar 0 grams, TransFat 0 grams
Tips:
- Season the cornish hens generously with salt and pepper, both inside and out, to enhance their natural flavor.
- Use a mixture of ground pork and beef for the stuffing to create a savory and flavorful filling.
- Add chopped vegetables like carrots, celery, and onions to the stuffing for added texture and nutrition.
- Use fresh herbs like parsley, sage, and thyme to add a burst of flavor to the stuffing.
- Stuff the cornish hens loosely to allow for expansion during cooking.
- Roast the cornish hens on a bed of vegetables like carrots, celery, and onions to create a flavorful roasting pan sauce.
- Baste the cornish hens with butter or oil during roasting to keep them moist and prevent them from drying out.
- Roast the cornish hens until they reach an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) to ensure they are cooked through.
- Let the cornish hens rest for 10-15 minutes before carving to allow the juices to redistribute.
- Serve the cornish hens with the bulgur pilaf, roasted vegetables, and pan sauce for a complete and satisfying meal.
Conclusion:
Cornish hens are a delicious and versatile main course that can be roasted, grilled, or pan-fried. The bulgur bacon stuffing adds a savory and flavorful filling to the cornish hens, while the roasted vegetables and pan sauce create a flavorful accompaniment. This dish is perfect for a special occasion or a weeknight meal. With its tender meat, flavorful stuffing, and delicious vegetables, this cornish hen recipe is sure to be a hit with your family and friends.
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