Cornish game hens are baked with a stuffing of crab with savory vegetables and herbs. Makes a beautiful presentation on the plate. If you are serving a full menu with salad or soup, two side dishes, and bread, one-half of a Cornish hen will be sufficient as an entree.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 4 Rock Cornish game hens (about 20 ounces each), rinsed and patted dry
- 1 Tablespoon (about) gravy browning sauce (such as Gravy Master or Kitchen Bouquet)
- Vegetable oil
- Salt, pepper, garlic powder, and sweet Hungarian paprika to taste
- .
- Stuffing:
- 1 stick butter
- 1/4 cup sliced green onion
- 1/4 cup celery
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 8 ounces lump crabmeat or imitation crabmeat
- 1/8 cup chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon dill weed
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup fine dry bread crumbs
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Place a rack in the bottom of a deep roasting pan.
Rub the skin of the Cornish hens with the browning sauce. (This gives them that finished golden glow without adding flavor.) Then rub with vegetable oil. Sprinkle each hen, inside and out, with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Set aside.
Stuffing: In a large skillet, gently saute green onions and celery in the butter until softened. Add garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Gently stir in crab, parsley, dill weed, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer, stirring carefully so as not to break up crabmeat, and cook for 3 minutes. Add cream and bread crumbs, alternating half at a time, folding into the crab. Once it is mixed together, remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
Divide stuffing and fill Cornish hen cavities. Tie legs together and place in prepared pan. Bake 1 hour or until an instant-read thermometer reads 165 F. in the thickest part of the hen. Remove from oven, tent with foil, and let rest for 15 minutes before serving.
If you are serving a full menu with salad or soup, two side dishes, and bread, one-half of a Cornish hen will be sufficient as an entree.
Yield: 4 to 8 servings
Rub the skin of the Cornish hens with the browning sauce. (This gives them that finished golden glow without adding flavor.) Then rub with vegetable oil. Sprinkle each hen, inside and out, with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Set aside.
Stuffing: In a large skillet, gently saute green onions and celery in the butter until softened. Add garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Gently stir in crab, parsley, dill weed, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer, stirring carefully so as not to break up crabmeat, and cook for 3 minutes. Add cream and bread crumbs, alternating half at a time, folding into the crab. Once it is mixed together, remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
Divide stuffing and fill Cornish hen cavities. Tie legs together and place in prepared pan. Bake 1 hour or until an instant-read thermometer reads 165 F. in the thickest part of the hen. Remove from oven, tent with foil, and let rest for 15 minutes before serving.
If you are serving a full menu with salad or soup, two side dishes, and bread, one-half of a Cornish hen will be sufficient as an entree.
Yield: 4 to 8 servings
