As a kid my mom used to cook Cornish hens for me on a regular basis. For some unknown reason, as much as I loved them, I've never cooked them for myself. It had probably been 45 years or more since I've had one but asked Tracy to grab a couple at the grocery store on her last trip. Decided to do them this past Saturday. Was gonna do them on the spinner of the Weber but it was so insanely windy again I didn't want to chance torching half of Texas so decided to go with the Rec Tec.
I'll start out saying that I am very, very disappointed with the photographic documentation for this meal. I had a feeling it was gonna come out well but hit a snag with the time. A friend dropped in unexpectedly for "a few minutes" just before the hens hit temp. Those "few minutes" turned into an hour and a half. My intention was to do a top shelf picture presentation but that didn't happen
Thank God for the Rec Tec though. I dropped the temp all the way down when the birds hit temp so they'd stay warm but not cook any more. Also had to change up the menu due to lack of time but still managed a good meal.
Put the hens in to brine Friday morning. They were in there for about 28 hours. Took them out, rinsed, and into the fridge uncovered for a couple hours for the skin to dry. Injected with Cajun Injector Creole Butter then seasoned with a bit of salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and smoked paprika
Onto the Rec Tec. I used the removable second shelf and put a roasting pan under the birds to catch the drippings. More on that later Set temp was 365 and here we are about an hour in.
When they were done I turned the grill temp down so they wouldn't cook any more. Took the drippings into the house to make some gravy
Add flour to make the roux, some milk, heavy cream, a dash of salt, and some black pepper
Let simmer till it thickens and I have a wonderful tasting gravy. One of my best efforts.
Friend finally gone so bring the birds into the house
While I was working on other stuff Tracy cut up a nice little salad
Dinner plated. Split one of the hens in half, put some gravy on it, had some egg noodles tossed with the gravy, and the salad
I'd planned to make mashed potatoes but just did not have time. The egg noodles were a drop-back-10-and-punt side dish. They worked but I had my heart set on the taters. The presentation is WAY short of what I'd hoped for but that's ok. The meal was superb. Those hens were totally off the charts. Far and again the tastiest poultry meal we've ever had. IMHO, the Cornish hens are the Gold Standard of poultry. As much as I like chicken and turkey, neither comes close to these babies. A truly decadent and exquisite flavor. Moist, tender, juicy, and a nice crunch to the skin. All in all I'd say I nailed the cook I hoped for going in. Rest assured, these will become a regular menu item around here. The brine was an adaptation of one I used several years ago for a turkey that I put together from memory. If anybody is interested in what I used for it, just say so and I'll try to put it down on paper. Nothing measured though, just a list of what went into it. You're on your own from there
Oh well, as much of a bummer as it was, we still enjoyed it. Next time I might just have to be rude and tell guests that it's time to leave Y'all take care and I'll see you again soon. It was a weekend of firsts and have another "first" I might post from Sunday but have not looked at the pics yet.
Robert
I'll start out saying that I am very, very disappointed with the photographic documentation for this meal. I had a feeling it was gonna come out well but hit a snag with the time. A friend dropped in unexpectedly for "a few minutes" just before the hens hit temp. Those "few minutes" turned into an hour and a half. My intention was to do a top shelf picture presentation but that didn't happen
Thank God for the Rec Tec though. I dropped the temp all the way down when the birds hit temp so they'd stay warm but not cook any more. Also had to change up the menu due to lack of time but still managed a good meal.Put the hens in to brine Friday morning. They were in there for about 28 hours. Took them out, rinsed, and into the fridge uncovered for a couple hours for the skin to dry. Injected with Cajun Injector Creole Butter then seasoned with a bit of salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and smoked paprika
Onto the Rec Tec. I used the removable second shelf and put a roasting pan under the birds to catch the drippings. More on that later
Set temp was 365 and here we are about an hour in.
When they were done I turned the grill temp down so they wouldn't cook any more. Took the drippings into the house to make some gravy
Add flour to make the roux, some milk, heavy cream, a dash of salt, and some black pepper
Let simmer till it thickens and I have a wonderful tasting gravy. One of my best efforts.
Friend finally gone so bring the birds into the house
While I was working on other stuff Tracy cut up a nice little salad
Dinner plated. Split one of the hens in half, put some gravy on it, had some egg noodles tossed with the gravy, and the salad
I'd planned to make mashed potatoes but just did not have time. The egg noodles were a drop-back-10-and-punt side dish. They worked but I had my heart set on the taters. The presentation is WAY short of what I'd hoped for but that's ok. The meal was superb. Those hens were totally off the charts. Far and again the tastiest poultry meal we've ever had. IMHO, the Cornish hens are the Gold Standard of poultry. As much as I like chicken and turkey, neither comes close to these babies. A truly decadent and exquisite flavor. Moist, tender, juicy, and a nice crunch to the skin. All in all I'd say I nailed the cook I hoped for going in. Rest assured, these will become a regular menu item around here. The brine was an adaptation of one I used several years ago for a turkey that I put together from memory. If anybody is interested in what I used for it, just say so and I'll try to put it down on paper. Nothing measured though, just a list of what went into it. You're on your own from there
Oh well, as much of a bummer as it was, we still enjoyed it. Next time I might just have to be rude and tell guests that it's time to leave
Y'all take care and I'll see you again soon. It was a weekend of firsts and have another "first" I might post from Sunday but have not looked at the pics yet.Robert
