Whenever I think of Cornish hens I remember that commercial from last year, where the lady talks about everyone getting a little baby chicken and tries to get into the Rolls Royce. Haha, still cracks me up.
I don’t make these very often, but when I spotted them at a market for like $1.50 each I immediately put two in my cart. This Bobby Flay recipe inspired the whole Indian Spiced Christmas theme. Originally I planned on skipping the glaze and just roasting the birds with the garam masala but after 10 minutes in the oven they began to look a little dry so I quickly whipped up a similar glaze to Bobby’s recipe. I added a little extra red pepper than I have written in the recipe below and it came out quite spicy. If you want to tone down the heat some stick to my original recipe.
- 4 cornish hens
- Salt
- 6 tablespoons garam masala
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 green onions
- 1 tablespoons grated garlic
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ cup water
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- Juice from ½ of a lemon
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Remove any gizzards from the birds. Salt entire bird and inside cavity. Rub garam masala over the hens.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment to protect the pan, Place the hens on the baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.
- After putting the hens in, heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add green onion and ginger and cook 2-3 minutes. Add red pepper flakes, water, pepper and lightly boil until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Whisk in maple syrup, Worcestershire, and lemon and cook 10 minutes.
- Brush the chicken with the maple glaze and cook an additional 15 minutes. Check hens to see if they are 160 degrees.
- Brush with remaining glaze and let rest 5 minutes.
Yummmy! Looks great! Pinning!
Thanks Martin! And thanks for the wine pairing “Pair with an off-dry Gewurztraminer or Riesling”
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I’m always looking for garam masala recipe, I love it!!
Thanks! I posted plenty of garam masala recipes last week
Love the stuff!