Cornish Game Hens with Garlic and Rosemary

SUBMITTED BY: MOONANDBACK PHOTO BY: Katie

"Crusty garlic bread and a nice light Chianti wine complement this meal very well."

PREP TIME	20 Min
COOK TIME	1 Hr
READY IN	1 Hr 20 Min

SERVINGS & SCALING

Original recipe yield: 4 servings

USMETRIC

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INGREDIENTS

4 Cornish game hens
salt and pepper to taste
1 lemon, quartered
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons olive oil
24 cloves garlic
1/3 cup white wine
1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
4 sprigs fresh rosemary, for garnish

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DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
Rub hens with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Lightly season hens with salt and pepper. Place 1 lemon wedge and 1 sprig rosemary in cavity of each hen. Arrange in a large, heavy roasting pan, and arrange garlic cloves around hens. Roast in preheated oven for 25 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a mixing bowl, whisk together wine, chicken broth, and remaining 2 tablespoons of oil; pour over hens. Continue roasting about 25 minutes longer, or until hens are golden brown and juices run clear. Baste with pan juices every 10 minutes.
Transfer hens to a platter, pouring any cavity juices into the roasting pan. Tent hens with aluminum foil to keep warm. Transfer pan juices and garlic cloves to a medium saucepan and boil until liquids reduce to a sauce consistency, about 6 minutes. Cut hens in half lengthwise and arrange on plates. Spoon sauce and garlic around hens. Garnish with rosemary sprigs, and serve.

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REVIEWS

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Reviewed on Dec. 30, 2003 by SHANNON GREEN

This is the best cornish game hen recipe I have ever found. It is absolutley wonderful. Since there are only two in my house, I made two games hens, but left the wine and broth the same (basically the sauce I kept the same) and it turned out perfectly. If I used four hens, I would double the sauce because when I boiled the sauce down it was perfect for two hens. ABSOLUTLEY WONDERFUL. Thank you for a new favorite, and very moist, game hen recipe...Shannon

12 users found this review helpful

Reviewed on Dec. 25, 2005 by What a Dish!

These were tasty! Very simple too- except I was short on time so I cut down on the garlic and didn't reduce the sauce. I also used dried rosemary and omitted the wine, just using extra broth and a little bit of apple juice. These were great for Christmas dinner.

11 users found this review helpful

Reviewed on Oct. 15, 2004 by laura.bora

Oh my goodness!! We had this for dinner last night, whith a roaster chicken instead of hens. This was unbelievable! I put some minced garlic in the cavity along with the lemons and rosemary. I put a mixture of 1/4c, butter, 1/2 tsp. minced garlic, juice from 1 quarter of the lemon and some dried crushed rosemary(I mashed this all together) and put in under the breast skin. It mad the breast meat super flavorful and tender. I used minced garlic instead of cloves, and it burnt during the roasting part(425) so if you ar doing the minced garlic, you might want to add part of the wine and broth mixture so that it wont burn. The gravy was delicious, I did however add a little cornstarch to thicken it up. Served this with Gourmet Sweet Potato Cassarole(on this site), Basic Yankee Bread Stuffing(on this site), Mashed Potatoes, Green beans, Mushrooms and Cranberries. I also did as someone suggested to put mushrooms into the juices the last 20 minutes of cooking. What a meal!

10 users found this review helpful

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