Cornish Game Hens with Cranberry Glaze
Brined Cornish game hens that are oven roasted with a cranberry glaze. Sweet and savory, crispy, and juicy. A great holiday poultry alternative.
Ingredients
Brined Game Hens
- 2 Cornish Game Hens
- 1/2 Gallon of Water
- 1/2 cup Kosher Salt
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 2 Oranges Cut in Half
- 1 tbsp Peppercorns
- ½ Gallon Ice or Ice Water
Cranberry Glaze
- 1/2 cup Orange Juice
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
- I cinnamon Stick
- ½ Jalapeno
- 2 cup Cranberries
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper
- 2 tbsp Softened Butter
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
Instructions
- Bring ½ gallon of water to a boil then add salt, brown sugar, bay leaves, oranges, and peppercorns. Continue to boil for ten minutes.
- Remove the brine from the heat and add ice water. Continue to cool until the brine is below room temperature (preferably 40 degrees or lower). Add the game hens to the brine and brine for at least 24 hours.
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
- Remove the hens from the brine and rinse. Pat the hens dry then season with salt and pepper. Rub them with softened butter and olive oil.
- Cook the hens for thirty minutes then remove from the oven.
- While the hens are in the oven, prepare your glaze by adding orange juice, cranberries, jalapeno, brown sugar, and cinnamon into a small sauce pot. Cook over medium heat until the cranberries pop and the sauce begins to thicken.
- Raise the oven temperature to 425.
- Coat the hens with the cranberry glaze and cook for an additional 20-30 minutes or until the thickest part of the breast temps at 165 degrees and the thickest part of the thighs are at least 165 degrees (I typically aim for 175 plus).
- Let rest for twenty minutes before carving.
Notes
With any bird, there will always be areas that seem to cook faster than others. If the thigh is cooking faster than the breast, that is a good thing because the thigh has more fat than the breast. However, if you temp your hen and the breast is cooking much quicker than the thighs then you can put foil over the breast to help balance the cooking time.