Photo: Cornish Game Hen with Bacon and Onions Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 (1 1/4 to 1 3/4 pounds) Cornish game hen
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 pieces thick-sliced bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 20 to 24 pearl onions
Directions
Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Wrap a brick in aluminum foil and place into the oven to heat.
Place the game hen breast side down on a cutting board. Using scissors or poultry shears, cut from the neck to the tailbone to remove the backbone. Once you remove the backbone you will be able to see the inside of the bird. Make a small slit in the cartilage at the base of the breastbone to reveal the keel bone. Grab the bird with both hands on the ribs and open up like a book, facing down towards the cutting board. Remove the keel bone. Cut small slits in the skin of the bird behind the legs and tuck the drumsticks into them in order to hold them in place. Season on both sides with salt and pepper.
Fry the bacon in a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once crisp, remove the bacon from the skillet and reserve. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan. Immediately add the two birds to the pan, skin side down. Add the onions to the pan around the edges. Top the birds with the brick and allow to remain on the heat for 5 minutes. Place the pan into the oven and cook 10 to 15 minutes or until the thigh meat reaches 170 degrees F. Remove from the oven and allow the bird to rest for 5 minutes before serving with the onions and bacon.
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By Janet's in the ...
on March 11, 2013
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I made this for the first time last night and this recipe is definitely a keeper! I don't have a 12 inch cast iron pan, so I used my 11 inch high sided calphalon unison oven-safe pan instead and it came out GREAT! (I DID have a brick, however, which I also used I let the birds cook for an extra 10 minutes or so to be on the safe side, and they came out the perfect temperature. I also threw in a few garlic cloves in addition to the baby onions and by the way, I used Birds Eye Frozen pearl onions right out of the bag and they cooked to perfection - lovely caramelization on them. Saved me a BUNCH of time, too! And then, to add perfection to perfection, while the birds were resting on the platter, I tossed 5 ounces of baby spinach into the cooking pan and cooked it quickly in the juices that remained - DELISH!!!
By emariehf
on September 26, 2011
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I was disappointed with this recipe. It was far messier than I expected it to be. The cast iron plus the hens plus the brick was so heavy I could not safely move it into the oven. The hens did take about twice as long to cook. The skin burned but was still not crisp. It just ended up being much more difficult than I had expected, which would have been fine if the hens had been amazing, but they were just ok. Too bad!!
By safetymel
Seminole, FL
on August 29, 2011
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It was really good. I made 3 hens instead of two so I just added the extra and used a second brick/skillet. The only thing I can say negative is that this recipe is labor intensive, not hard to do as far a complexity but takes a lot of time. I also had to cook in the oven 2.5 times longer than it says. I just used a digital thermometer to get the thickest part done. It came out golden brown, juicy and tasty.
Read all 36 reviews