Stinque Thanksgiving Recipe Challenge

Cornish game hens – the recipe turned out very tasty, but it’s easier to just put lemon and thyme in the cavity and bake them.

hensdone

First brine the birds overnight in the following:

3 cups buttermilk
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin
Juice of 1 lime

photo 1

I made about 1/4 more because these were decent-sized birds – and cut the salt in half. From the recipe:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Take the hens out of the brine and lightly pat dry with paper towels. Season the cavities with a little salt and pepper, and insert half a lemon and a sprig of thyme. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Brush the hens with melted butter, and season generously with salt and pepper. Place in a roasting pan. If you wish, you can surround the hens with red potatoes, brushed with butter and seasoned with salt and pepper.

photo 2

Eh voila!

3 Comments

And I put sausage in the stuffing BECAUSE I CAN.

Looks good.

When I used to cook them I split them down the back (in England we call them ‘poussins’ because fancy), took out the backbone, flattened them, ran a skewer down the leg, diagonally through the body under the breast, then out along the opposite wing. Then the same the other side, creating an X shape that holds the birds neatly flat for broiling. I’d then cram slivers of butter under the skin on the breast. They stay very juicy. And we all know how important that is.

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