The Cornish game hen, or Rock Cornish game hen, is actually a chicken, slaughtered at a young age.
It can be a male or female, despite the reference to it being a "hen." In the 1950s, Alphonsine and Jacques Makowsky of Connecticut bred a Cornish game chicken with other types of chickens, including a White Plymouth Rock Hen and a Malayan fighting cock, to develop the Rock Cornish game hen. It has short legs, a plump breast and all-white meat (see Wikipedia, Cornish Game Hen).
I recently cooked a couple, after looking at various recipes on the internet. I cut them in half, length-wise,
then rubbed on olive oil and sprinkled them with lemon juice and salt. I put two of our four burners on our gas grill on high and put the four halves on the grill, inside side up, on the side of the grill which was not on. I cooked them approximately 45 minutes. They were wonderfully moist and juicy and had a very nice flavor.
They probably could have used a few more minutes on the grill, but I enjoy them a little rare.
With the advent of my diet and the desire to reduce my fat and calorie consumption, while still having something that will tickle the taste buds, this is a nice dish.
Are you cooking these for Thanksgiving? Or going with the turkey? I checked here thinking you'd have an adventurous way with Old Tom. I'll look later on--thanks for the info about these birds. I never really knew what they were!
ReplyDeleteWe are cooking a turkey, about four Cornish game hens on the grill, as above (just to make sure we have enough for our large group), and we ordered a smoked goose.
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