Golden Stuffed Cornish Hens
A delicious holiday meal. I love the stuffing and gravy with this.
Ingredients
- 3 slices bacon
- ½ cup finely chopped carrot
- 2 tsp dried parsley or 2 tbsp fresh (snipped)
- â…› tsp dried savory
- 1½ cups dry bread cubes 2-3 slices
- ¼ tsp instant chicken bouillon granules
- 2 tbsp hot water
- 2 1-1½ lb Cornish game hens
For Basting and Sauce
- ¼ cup dry red wine
- 1 tbsp butter melted
- 1½ tbsp orange juice
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- ½ tsp instant chicken bouillon granules
- â…› tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375℉
- Cook bacon until crisp; drain, reserving 1 tbsp drippings. Crumble bacon, set aside. Cook carrot in reserved drippings until tender; remove from heat. Stir in bacon, parsley, savory and dash pepper. Stir in bread cubes. dissolve ¼ tsp bouillon granules in hot water; drizzle over bread mixture. Toss.
- Season cavities of hens with salt. Lightly stuff hens with bread mixture. If you have extra set aside and warm up near end of cooking time. Twist wing tips, under the back. Tie legs to the tail. Place hens, breast side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Brush with vegetable oil, cover loosely with foil. Roast in a 375℉ oven for 30 minutes.
- Combine wine, melted butter, and orange juice. Uncover birds, brush with wine mixture. Roast, uncovered, about 1 hour longer or until drumstick can be twisted easily in socket (165℉), brushing with wine mixture once or twice. Remove to plate and cover with foil.
- Pour drippings into a large measuring cup, skim off excess fat and add remainder of wine mixture. Add water if needed to make up to ¾ cup liquid. For sauce, in a small saucepan, combine cornstarch, brown sugar, ½ tsp bouillon granules and salt. Add cooking liquid. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly, then cook for 1 minute more. Pass sauce with halved Cornish hens.
Notes
The original recipe was for twice as much. I was cooking for two and like to have leftovers, but didn’t need to serve 8 🙂
