Easy Preparation Method for Cornish Hens
Defrosting
You can defrost your Cornish hens in the refrigerator over night. Or you can place them out on the counter in the morning if you are planning on cooking them that evening. Only do this if your home is of normal temperature. If you the hens are not completely defrosted by the time you go to cook them, you can submerge them in the packaging in some cold water for about a half hour that should help defrost them the rest of the way.
What You Will Need
You will need aluminum foil, olive oil (flavored garlic olive oil is excellent) or Good Seasons regular Italian Dressing, cookie sheet or sheets. Seasonings of choice, prefer soul seasoning, and a little Italian Seasoning.
Preparation
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
You will need to prepare each Cornish hen individually. First you will need to remove the package from the hen. If the gizzards remain remove them. Rinse the hen inside and out. You can then sprinkle some of the seasoning and/or salt and pepper inside the bird.
Now you will need to get the tin foil. Measure off a piece that will allow you to completely cover the bird and give you a little extra room to make like a tent over it, tear the piece of foil from the rest, and place the bird in the center of it. Then take either your olive oil or your Italian dressing and massage the bird. Then pour the seasoning all over the bird, make sure to get the leg areas. Then make sure the bird is breast side up in the center of the foil. Then fold the foil over the bird, forming a tent and making sure it is sealed shut on all sides. Remember the foil should stick up a little bit above the bird at the top this will allow the packaging to steam and cook the bird.
Repeat the same procedure for each of the birds. Place the birds on a cookie sheet. You will probably get abut 3 birds per sheet with a good sized cookie sheet, if you need to cook more use one large and 1 small cookie sheet, or two small cookie sheets will allow you to cook 4. The birds should not be touching, try to have at least and inch in between each bird.
Note: You could also stuff them if you would like but you will have to add between 15 to 30 minutes to the cooking time.
Baking
Let the hens cook at 350 degrees for one hour. Then pull out the cookie sheets, then put on an oven mitt, an carefully peal the foil down on each bird, be very careful as steam will come out. Peal the foil down to expose as much of the bird as possible, but do not remove it. Then place the birds back in the oven for another 15 minutes, this will brown them up a bit.
Remove them from the oven and let them set for a few minutes. Then remove the foil and they are ready to serve.
See, I told you it was easy.
