Cornish Game Hens
This recipe is special to me because Mama used to fix something similar so many years ago when we would come home after church on Sundays. I'm talking about a good baked Cornish game hen in a Dutch oven. But this ain't just a regular ol' Cornish hen, because we're gonna give you a treat! Check out the video below for our easy Creamy Gravy bonus! more
Let's Get Started
When you're starting, make sure the hens are thawed out all the way. We've got four of them which will serve eight people unless you've got some really hungry folks. Pour olive oil generously all over the hens and rub it really well, and make sure you've got a good quality olive oil that will give good flavor.
Now, when you've got your hens all nice and greased, use a ½ stick of unsalted butter per chicken that goes right in the hen's cavity. Then, you can use Red River Ranch Original Seasoning to season them all over.
Season and grease the chicken finely and handcuff them to put in the oven.
We're going to be baking this in a 14" deep Dutch oven. Why a deep one? Because it gives us more room from the top when we put the coals on there and will keep it from browning too fast.
Before you place the hens in the Dutch oven or dish, we have to handcuff them! Wrap the wings behind the chicken and secure, that way we have something that hen can rest on in the oven. See video below.
Now you want to lay 2 pieces of bacon crossed on top of each hen. Add just a tad more of that seasoning and the juice of a half of a lemon.
Add bacon on top of the chicken.
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The only thing that it needs now is fire, so we're gonna lay some coals.
To cook this outside we'll need a tall trivet. I'm using good heavy mesquite coals. Now, remember this is a dish that has liquid in it so we can heat this thing pretty hot. I've got a good heavy amount of coals in a ring around the bottom and loaded the top up well. This might be 45 mins to an hour cooking time because we want this to get really tender. So make sure you keep your fire source going in case you need to add more coals while cooking.
Put a heavy load of hardwood coal around and on top of the oven.
As it cooks, you wanna make sure and baste it from time to time. Be sure the broth doesn't boil out! You may need to add more while cooking.
Just before those hens get finished. I like to rake the bacon off the top of the hens so they can brown up evenly on the top. You might want to add some fresh heat on top so it browns up really well. Remove the oven off the bottom heat and continue to cook with top heat only until the hens brown up a bit and the internal temperature is 165 F degrees.
Remember to baste the chicken from time to time as it is cooking.
And here's a little bonus with a tip that I've promised you.
Remove the hens from the oven but reserve that broth. To the oven stir in cream chicken soup, about half a pint of heavy cream and bring it back to a boil. As a thickening agent, you can use three different things: you can sprinkle some flour in there, or use some cornstarch, but another great thing you can stir in some of instant potato flakes - works really well.
Bring the gravy to the consistency you want.
This is fine dining, and the hens are so tender they pull right off the bone! So, go ahead and check out the full recipe in a video below and don't forget to share the food and the recipe with your friends, family and neighbors, 'cause this is what it's all about!
Enjoy the Baked Cornish Game Hen with Cream Gravy!
