Smoked Cornish Hens with Citrus Glaze

Remember way back when...you remember when we learned how to use the smoker?  Well, I still like to smoke...pork, chicken and beef.  Although pork is my all time favorite for grilling, barbecuing and smoking, I decided to stray off the beaten ham or pork path for Easter and smoke Cornish hens.  Once I saw this on Down Home with the Neely's, I just knew I had to give this a try.

http://www.skinnyscoop.com/

Cornish hens are cute, and when roasted or smoked, just right so juicy and amazing.  One of the caveats here, is they can be fully cooked in approximately 1-1/2 hours.  That's right boys and girls, you can rip the juveniles away from the chocolate and sugar and get some good smoked protein in them in a snap!

Here's what you need:

1 tablespoon of your favorite grilling dry rub.  Mine is :

             1/2 cups brown sugar
             2 tablespoons
             1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
             1 teaspoon smoked paprika
             1 teaspoon garlic powder
             1 teasspoon onion powder
             1 teaspoon salt
             1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
4 (1 1/2 to 2 pounds) Cornish game hens, washed and dried well
2 tablespoons butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 teaspoon crush red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon (depending on your taste)

Whisk together the dry rub, salt and pepper in a small mixing bowl. Season the washed and dried game hens with the rub and arrange on a platter or sheet tray. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.

Get your smoker and coals ready.  You want to keep the heat at a constant 275 degrees.  Our Easter was fairly windy and I may have over compensated a bit.  (NOTE: I placed my oven thermometer on the grill to get an accurate reading of the cooking temperature.  It was pretty steady at 275 F, but I did manage to get it to 300 F.  The brief increase in temperature didn't seem to affect the cooking time, flavor or outcome of the hens.)

Place hens on the grill and cover. If you've soaked your hickory chips in water for about an hour like I did, throw a generous handful on top of the coals.  Smoke the hens for about 40 minutes.

While the hens are smoking, make the glaze.  In a small saucepan over medium heat, add butter to melt, add the shallots and saute for about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the chicken broth and orange juice. Bring to a simmer and let reduce down to 1/2 cup, about 10 minutes. It should coat the back of a spoon and be slightly syrupy. Once reduced,  add the apple cider vinegar and hot sauce. Taste for seasoning.

Remove the cover and brush the hens with the glaze, making sure to get into all the nooks and crannies. Cover the grill and smoke for an additional 15 minutes. Remove the hens from the grill, to a serving platter and let rest, covered with foil for 15 minutes before serving.

Serve with some potato salad, Macaroni with FOUR Cheeses (later this week), baked beans, sour dough French Bread (next week) and Coconut Cream Cake (soon), no one will even remember the Easter Bunny!

Saints-Sational Turkey Curry

I'm still exploring and discovering the joys of curry and found this comforting recipe in River Roads Recipes II.  It covers all the bases.  First, sauteing the vegetables and making a delicious brown roux, using curry powder which I adore, and serving this over rice which makes my husband a happy man at mealtime.

One other thing, this works great with chicken too!

Heat a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat and saute 1 medium onion chopped and 1/2 green bell pepper chopped in 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil.  You need this much oil to make the roux.

Stir in 3 tablespoons of lour and cook for about five minutes, stirring continuously. 

Blend in 1 cup of chicken broth and 1 cup of sliced mushrooms. 

Simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix together 3 cups of cooked turkey - cubed, 1 tart appled, peeled, cored and diced, one 5 oz. can of sliced water chestnuts - drained, 3 tablespoons of chopped pimento, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, salt and pepper to taste.  Reserve.

Add in 2-1/2 teaspoons (more if it suits your taste) curry powder.  Taste and adjust seasonings is needed.  Lower heat to lowest setting.

Add the turkey mixture slowly to the gravy.  Cover and allow to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.

While the pot is simmering toast some shredded coconut, slice some scallions and get out some salty peanuts.

Serve over saffron rice and garnish with toasted coconut, peanuts and sliced scallions.

Geaux Saints!

Baked Cornish Game Hens

It sure seems like everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year! Hopefully I can get back on track with posting.


I cooked cornish game hens for Christmas dinner. Unfortunately, I do not have a lot of pictures of this dish. It did get a little hectic in the kitchen which I'm sure most of you understand since it was probably like that at your house.

The method I used to prepare these cornish hens made way for a fall off the bone tender, juicy and really tasty treat! I cooked five game hens, but depending on the size of the Dutch oven you use, you may be able to cook six at one time.


Wash each of the hens thoroughly inside and out, remove all of the debris from the inside cavity. Pat them dry with paper towels and set them aside. Heat a Dutch oven (5-quart size) on the stove to medium-high heat. Pour in 1/4 cup of peanut oil and heat it until it begins to "ripple". The oil needs to be at least this hot in order to sear the game hens, and seal in their juices.

While the oil is heating, generously season the hens with salt, black pepper and red pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, poultry seasoning, and dried basil.

One or two at a time, lower the hens into the hot oil and fry them down until they are richly browned all over (be extra careful that you don't tear the skin). Once browned, remove them from the pot and allow them to drain on several sheets of paper towels.

After browning all of the hens, immediately drop into the Dutch oven immediately 2 cups of sliced oyster mushrooms and fry them down until they too reach a golden-brown color. Then add in 2 cups of diced onions onions, 3/4 cup of diced bell pepper, and 6 cloves of garlic mashed and fry down these seasonings until they wilt, soften, and pick up the rich brown color of the mushrooms.

And here is where this dish really comes together! While continually stirring the pot, drop in the 1/4 cup of parsley finely chopped, 1/2 cup fin chopped green onions, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet, 1/4 cup dry sherry, 1 cup of chicken stock, 2 bay leaves, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour.

Lower the heat to simmer and cook the mixture for approximately 10 minutes, whisking it occasionally to keep the flour from lumping. When the seasoning base is completely blended and smooth, turn off the burner and spoon half of the mixture from the Dutch oven into a heat safe bowl.



Nestle the game hens down into the pot (stand them on their heads, breast-side down and drumsticks up). They should fit and hold each other upright.




Evenly ladle over the game hens the mixture you previously removed from the Dutch oven.

Cover the pot and place it into a pre-heated 350-degree oven and roast the hens until they are tender and basted in their own juices. They should be done to perfection in about an hour and a half.

Notes:

1. The hens create their own juices as they pot-roast, but if you'd like more than what is rendered out naturally you can always stir into the pot a little extra chicken stock after the poultry is cooked.

2. Be careful when removing the hens from the Dutch oven. Chef's spoons work great for lifting them out of the pot.