Baked Cornish Game Hens - Cowboy Kent Rollins
Ingredients
- 4 Cornish game hens thawed if frozen
- olive oil
- 2 sticks butter
- Red River Ranch Original Seasoning or all-purpose seasoning
- 1 32 oz carton chicken broth plus more for cooking
- 8 slices thick-cut bacon
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 10.5 oz can cream of chicken soup
- 1/2 pint heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3/4 cup cold water
Instructions
- Place the hens in a large bowl and generously coat with olive oil.
- Place half a stick of butter in each hen cavity. Generously season with the Red River Ranch Original (kentrollins.com/shop-1) or all-purpose season and lightly rub on.
- Pour the chicken broth in a 14-inch deep Dutch oven or large casserole dish. Take each wing and fold behind the hen and secure (see video). Place the hens, wing-side down, in the oven or dish.
- Cross 2 slices of bacon over the top of each hen. Sprinkle over the lemon juice and season the tops of the hens again with the Original seasoning.
- Bake, covered with foil, at 325 degrees F. for about 1 1/2 hours or until the internal temperature is 165 degrees F. The last 10 minutes, remove the foil, rake the bacon off the tops of the hens and baste.
- For the gravy: remove the hens from the oven and reserve the broth. To the broth stir in the cream of chicken soup and cream. In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the cold water. Stir into the gravy mixture and bring to a light boil. Continue cooking until the mixture thickens slightly.
Notes
Tip: When cooking outside in a Dutch oven, you may need to add more chicken broth as the hens cook to make sure the moisture doesn't boil out. You can also baste about every 10-15 minutes.
