Golden Plum Glazed Cornish Game Hens

Holidays beg to be marked by special food and Valentine’s Day is no different. There are the gold standards of chocolate, champagne, anything heart shaped, pink or red. I’ve certainly shared my fair share of all of those in the past few weeks however when thinking about a special dish to share today my mind went back to my childhood when my mother would occasionally prepare Cornish Game Hens. They are miniature fowl, that when full grown is a size a bit larger than a soft ball making them a perfect ‘personal size’ bird. It always seemed so special to be served my own bird in such a dainty size. They taste like chicken and really do elevate a meal from the ordinary.

Cornish Game Hens are incredibly easy to prepare and take less than an hour to roast. Most often they are kept frozen at the grocery store or local butcher so fold into your planning time for full thawing (overnight is fine) before your preparation. I chose to glaze my Golden Plum Balsamic Cornish Game Hens during roasting to make the flavors that much more special. You can stuff them as you would a turkey though investigate cooking time if cooking them stuffed. They are incredibly versatile, not a fussy dish to prepare and sadly overlooked as a protein option.

Every Valentine’s morning when I was a child I would come to the breakfast table to find a red foil box of chocolates. Even though I knew it would be there I still was completely surprised. Valentine’s Day should be a day full of unexpected whimsy in my book. I so would love to make your day but a box of heart candy is not what I had in mind. Instead a lucky reader will win a duplicate of some of the key supplies I used to make this lovely Cornish Game Hen dish from Le Creuset and some other newly discovered fun brands!

Golden Plum Balsamic Glazed Cornish Game Hens

Cornish Game Hens are simple to prepare and elevate the ordinary meal serving an individual bird to each diner. This easy glaze is sweet with a punch from the balsamic vinegar. A sure favorite!

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cornish game hen, how to cook a cornish game hen

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 1087kcal

Author: Toni Dash

Ingredients

• ▢ 4 Cornish Game Hens , thawed and at room temperature
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Kosher Salt
• ▢ 1 tablespoon ground Black Pepper
• ▢ 2 Meyer Lemons , cut into quarters
• ▢ 24 sprigs of fresh Thyme
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
• ▢ 1 large Shallot , peeled and diced
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Meyer Lemon Zest
• ▢ ½ cup Plum Preserves
• ▢ ¼ cup Balsamic Vinegar
• ▢ 3 tablespoons glazing liquid wine, chicken broth, water (or I used some open pink champagne!)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• In a heavy small saucepan on over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add shallot and sauté until shallot is transparent. 
• Add lemon zest, plum preserves and balsamic vinegar. Stir or whisk to combine and allow to simmer on low for 10 minutes until thickened (stirring periodically). Allow glaze to cool.
• Allow glaze to cool.
• While glaze is cooling, rinse hens and allow to drain with cavity facing down for 10 minutes. Pat dry inside and out with paper towels.
• Liberally rub the salt and pepper inside and outside of the hens. 
• Stuff each hen with 2 quarters of Meyer lemon and 6 sprigs of thyme (note: I found bending the thyme in half and stuffing that into the hen’s cavity before the lemons worked well). Truss the legs in a crossed position, not too tight.
• With a cooking/basting brush, brush hens on all sides with the glaze. 
• Place breast side up in a roasting pan or casserole. Wrap wing tips with a small piece of foil to avoid blackening if preferred. Place in warmed oven.
• Set a timer for 50 minutes. Baste at 20 minutes with remaining glaze. 
• Check hens at 30 minutes. If having started to brown cover pan loosely with foil (the sugar in the glaze will cause the hens to blacken if left uncovered). 
• Baste finally at 40 minutes. Remove and check temperature at 50 minutes (hens should register 165 degrees on a meat thermometer placed between the thigh and breast).
• Allow to sit 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 1087kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 78g | Fat: 66g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Cholesterol: 454mg | Sodium: 2038mg | Potassium: 1201mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 770IU | Vitamin C: 16.7mg | Calcium: 93mg | Iron: 5.1mg

Did you make this recipe?Mention @boulderlocavore or tag #boulderlocavore!

For a special Valentine’s giveaway we are giving away the four following items to a lucky reader {over $400 value}:

2 jars of Bonne Maman Golden Plum Mirabelle Jam (their latest flavor from France and the basis for my glaze comprised of beautiful golden plums) {$10 value}

KitchenIQ™ Better Zester:  I must fawn over this for a minute. I did not think it was possible to get excited over a zester but this tool is a life changer. Sadly I’ve grated my hands enough that merely having a handle is exciting but this zester make zesting citrus feel like cutting the sharpest knife in the world through butter; smooth as silk. Additionally there is a snap on compartment on the back of the zester allowing measurement of what you’ve zested. It is such an effortless tool everyone should have. {$14.95 value}

Clongs from Dreamfarm:  Think kitchen utensils meet MOMA with some Keith Haring sprinkled in and you have a picture of Dreamfarm’s line of contemporary kitchen tools. They are artistic and uniquely functional. I experimented with the ‘clongs’, cool tongs with large grippers, spring loaded for easy one-handed opening and a funky bend in the staff allowing them to sit on the counter with the food clamp to not be touching the counter. {$19.95 value}

Le Creuset 5 quart French Oven in Caribbean Blue. Le Creuset is the premiere maker of cast iron enamel cookware and bakeware with a lifelong guarantee. This size French or Dutch oven is perfect for stove top cooking or baking. The oval shape easily accommodates a large chicken or in my case I was able to cook 3 Cornish Game Hens with ease after using it stovetop to prepare my glaze. Le Creuset is used almost daily in my personal kitchen and I’m sure this will be a wonderful addition to yours! {$270 value}.

To enter the Giveaway (open to U.S. Residents/U.S. shipping addresses only):  {CLOSED}

Disclosure:  I was provided duplicate products offered in this giveaway to test; all opinions stated are my own. I was not compensated for writing this post.