Cast Iron Jim's Savory Cornish Game Hens



Cast Iron Jim's Savory Cornish Game Hens





Almost done!

     I truly enjoy cooking with my cast iron. One of the first things I attempted to cook in my Dutch Oven was a Cornish Game Hen recipe that I found a long time ago. I modified it to work well using in hollow ware. You can further modify this to use to use this in a larger or smaller Dutch Oven. Halve the recipe if cooking for one adult. Double the recipe if cooking for four adults. Cut one of these mini-chickens in half, length wise to serve to two mini-adults! You get the idea.

     You might notice that the lid to the Dutch Oven is sitting on the oven rack next to the pot. Truth be told you don’t actually need the lid for this recipe. Out of habit I preheated the pot and lid at the same time when I cooked these little chickens. I just set the lid next to the pot and left it there throughout the cooking. Wouldn’t want the pots lid to get lonely I suppose.

The things you need to make this happen.

1.  2 Cornish Game Hens, thawed

2.  Salt to taste

3.  Pepper to taste

4.  1 lemon quartered.

5.  4 sprigs fresh rosemary 2 for stuffing 2 for garnish if desired.

6.  About 3 tablespoons Olive Oil.

7.  12 large pealed cloves garlic (each should approximately fill a table spoon). You might

need to get two bulbs.

8.  1/3 cup white wine. Get the bottle. I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even use it as an ingredient!

9.  1/3 cup chicken broth. I use the low-sodium style. Helps have more control over the salt to taste part.

10.  About ½ tablespoon of Coconut oil.

11.  A little bit of flower if desired for gravy.

 

How to get it done.

1.    Preheat the oven and cast iron Dutch Oven to about 450F.

2.    Once the Dutch Oven is hot, coat the bottom or trivet if using with the coconut oil This will help keep the hen from sticking to the pan.

3.    Using about a tablespoon of olive oil rub down the hens. Season with salt and pepper. Stuff each hen with a sprig of rosemary and a quarter of the lemon. Place into the pre-heated and oiled Dutch Oven. Shimmy each mini-chicken after it has seared for a few seconds a little to keep the hen from falling apart when you remove it from the pot. Scatter the garlic evenly around the hens. Place the Dutch Oven uncovered and let roast for 25 minutes.

4.    Lower the oven temp to 350F. In a mixing bowl, whisk the wine, remaining olive oil and chicken broth thoroughly. Pour the mixture over the hens and put the hens back in the oven for 25 minutes. Baste the hens with the juices in the pot every 8-10 minutes.

5.    Once complete put the hens into a dish with foil or something suitable covering the mini-chickens to keep warm and let them finish cooking. Pour the pan juices and garlic out into a medium saucepan (AKA a Griswold or Wagner Deep Fat Fryer). Boil down the liquid into a sauce. You can slowly add a little flour while mixing if you want to make a gravy.

6.    Arrange your mini-hens and spoon sauce (gravy) over the hens. Garnish with the rosemary.

7.    Devour.

As always you can find a lot more information on cast iron hollow ware at my website: www.castironjim.com. Until next time, Cast Iron Jim out.