How to Cook a Cornish Hen
Learn how to cook Cornish hens 3 quick, easy and delicious ways — because even chicken needs a night off sometimes.
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By Alice K. Thompson for Food Network Kitchen
Alice is a contributing writer and editor at Food Network.
Everything you love about chicken in a small, quick-cooking, crispy-skin package: that’s the appeal of Cornish hens. Plus hens are fun and just unexpected enough to go seamlessly from weeknight staple to festive holiday or dinner-party fare. The best part? In addition to being as versatile as chicken, these 1- to 2-pound birds are a lot speedier to cook. Here’s how to roast, grill and air-fry cornish hens in easy steps, plus how to spatchcock (butterfly) or halve them for even quicker cooking.
What Is a Cornish Hen?
Cornish Rock game hen is a USDA-sanctioned name for a broiler chicken that is a cross between the Cornish and White Plymouth Rock breeds. The hens are harvested between 4 and 5 weeks of age and weigh between 1 and 2 pounds; by comparison a broiler-fryer chicken is typically 8 weeks old and weighs around 3 1/2 to 4 pounds. And despite the words “hen” and “game” often attached to them, they can be either male or female and they are not a game bird. Go figure.
You can find Cornish hens at a butcher shop or in many supermarkets — check the freezer section if you don’t see them in the poultry case. You can find antibiotic free, free-range, organic and Kosher hens at some stores or online.
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How to Cook a Cornish Hen
You can cook a Cornish hen almost any way you would a chicken by simply adapting quantities and cooking times. Since the hens are much smaller, they’ll cook in around half the time of a whole chicken and a hen takes about a third the amount of seasoning as most chicken. But sizes can vary widely, so use common sense when adapting chicken recipes and check the hens frequently to avoid overcooking them. If you’d like to stuff them (a delicious option!) figure around 1/2 cup of stuffing per hen.
How to Roast Cornish Hens
This method produces an adorable mini-roast chicken that feeds one very generously, or you can split the hen in half after roasting for two servings.
Step 1: Preheat and prep. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Pat one or more hens dry. Sprinkle inside and out with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil or melted butter. Add any other seasonings such as herbs, spice blends or citrus, placing some in the cavity if you like. Tie the legs together and tuck the wing tips under.
Step 2: Roast. Transfer the hen or hens to a roasting pan fitted with a rack if you have one; if roasting more than one make sure there’s at least 2 inches of space all around the birds for air circulation. Roast until the skin is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees F in the thickest part of the thigh not touching bone, about 40 minutes.
Step 3: Rest. Allow the hens to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
You can decrease the cooking time to about 30 minutes if you’ve halved or spatchcocked the birds before cooking them (see below for instructions). If you choose to stuff the birds, increase the baking time to 50 to 60 minutes and also check the temperature of the stuffing; it should register 165 degrees F in the center.
How to Grill Cornish Hens
The small size and excellent skin-to-meat ratio of a hen means they grill up particularly easily and juicy. You’ll want to either spatchcock or halve them for best results. (See below for spatchcocking instructions; afterward, cut through the breastbone to create two halves.)
Step 1: Marinate or season. Marinate the hens if desired, or simply pat them dry, sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.
Step 2: Prepare a two-zone grill. Set up your grill for medium-heat cooking, leaving a cool area for indirect heat by banking the hot coals to one side of the grill or, if using a gas grill, turning off one burner so there’s a cool area.
Step 3: Grill. Place the birds skin-side down on the grill; cook until well marked, 5 to 8 minutes, moving them or lowering the heat to prevent flare-ups. Flip the birds and cook the other side until marked. Transfer the birds to the cooler side over indirect heat and continue cooking, turning and flipping the hens once or twice, until a instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh not touching bone registers 165 degrees F. Expect 30 to 40 minutes total grilling time.
Step 4: Rest. Allow the hens to rest 10 minutes before serving.
How to Air-Fry a Cornish Hen
A Cornish hen is an almost perfect air-fry item: Its small size means it fits well in almost any air-fryer; the circulating heat makes the skin super-crisp; and the whole thing will be done in an amazingly short amount of time. If you want to cook more than one bird, just check to see how many will fit comfortably in your basket while still allowing air to circulate around them.
Step 1: Marinate or season. Marinate the hen if desired, or simply pat dry and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Tie the legs together and tuck the wing tips under.
Step 2: Cook. Place the hen breast-side down in the basket of the air-fryer. Set the temperature to 350 degrees F and set the timer for 15 minutes. When the time is up, use tongs to flip the bird breast-side up and air-fry until the skin is browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees F, 12 to 15 more minutes.
Step 3: Rest. Allow the hen to rest 10 minutes before serving.
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How to Spatchcock a Cornish Hen
Sometimes called butterflying, spatchcocking involves removing the backbone of poultry so that it can be flattened for quick and even cooking. The diminutive size of a Cornish hen means it’s super-easy to accomplish; since the bones are small and delicate you’ll have an easy time cutting down around the backbone. If you haven’t tried this technique with a full-grown chicken, working with a Cornish hen is a good introduction. Here’s how to do it:
Step 1: Remove the backbone. Place the hen breast-side down on a cutting board. The backbone will be facing up. With kitchen shears or a knife, cut down one side of the backbone, starting at the neck end. Then cut down the other side of the backbone and lift it out. Discard it or save it for stock.
Step 2: Press until flat. Flip the bird over so the breast side is facing up. Place your hands over the breast and press down firmly until you hear the breastbone crack and the hen lies flat. Cut off the wing tips and tuck the rest of the wing under the bird.
The hen will now be easy to grill and fast to roast. If you’d like to halve the bird, simply cut down through the breastbone so you have two separate halves.
Recipes for Cornish Hens
Charles Masters
Halving Cornish hens and roasting them in a hot oven means they’re done in just about the time it takes to cook Israeli couscous. Adding zucchini to the spiced couscous means a complete meal is ready in about 40 minutes.
These spicy, smoky hens are marinated in a Jamaica-inspired mix of Scotch bonnet pepper, allspice, scallion and thyme for big, finger-licking flavor. Grilling halved hens over a combination of direct and indirect heat gives you juicy fall-off-the-bone flesh.
Anna Williams
Wild rice and sweet, tangy pomegranate-orange stuffing make these hens festive for holidays or dinner parties. Just add Champagne and your favorite seasonal salad.
Renee Comet, 2016, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved
Cornish hens can be poached too. Here they form the basis of a soup with Korean flavors, enriching the broth and also giving each serving a full half hen for a hearty meal-in-a-bowl. Soy, sesame and kimchi garnishes round out the flavor.
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