Cornish Game Hen Recipe with Apricot Glaze (2024)

FAQs

What is apricot glaze made of? ›

Apricot glaze is a thin sauce made from apricot jam, apricot preserves, or very ripe apricots. To make apricot glaze, cooks combine apricot jam or preserves, water, liqueur, and sugar and cook the mixture on the stovetop over medium heat until it has a loose, pourable consistency.

Roast, uncovered, basting frequently with butter for 1 hour (if hen weighs over 1lb 2oz, roast 1 hour and 15 minutes) or until internal temperature on instant read thermometer reaches 180°F when inserted into inner thigh.

An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone, should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Remove from the oven, cover with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area for 10 minutes before slicing.

At this stage you should have already defrosted the Cornish hens or purchased fresh ones, frozen will not work here. Allow your hens to sit out of the fridge at least an hour before cooking to come to room temp then preheat the oven to 350°.

A BASE GLAZE is a mixture of these three basic groups: SILICA, FLUX AND ALUMINA.

Place in oven and roast for 45 minutes or until meat tested with a digital meat thermometer registers 180 F. Tips: To prevent loss of moisture, let chicken rest for 5 to 8 minutes before carving. To maintain a crispy, crunchy skin, do not tent bird with foil after removal from oven.

I know we were all raised to rinse our poultry in the sink with water before cooking but this is actually a good way to spread bacteria. There is no need to rinse the Cornish hens or any meat before cooking.

Stick a skewer into the thickest part of the thigh. If the juices run clear, it's done. If the juices are a little pink, cook it a little longer and try again.

A Cornish Game Hen is a Cornish cross bird that is processed around 4-5 weeks old that results in a bird that is 2 pounds or less. This classification is set by the USDA. At this small size, the skin of the bird is thinner, the meat is more tender and this allows for better absorption of marinades, spices, and sauces.

How many Cornish hens can I cook at once? ›

Lay a wire rack in the bottom of a big roasting pan and place 6 Cornish game hens on it. If you don't have a wire rack that fits the pan, bunch up a few pieces of aluminum foil and place these on the bottom of the pan. You can easily cut this recipe in half or a third if you only want to make 2 or 3 hens.

To combat this, you'll season the hens with an herb butter that you'll rub between the skin and the breast meat, then roast them on their sides rather than breast-side up. Roasting Cornish hens on a wire rack set inside a baking sheet also helps elevate the birds so that the thighs cook as quickly as the breasts.

Because of their small size, Cornish hens are perfect as a serving for one person or split in half when served with some delicious sides. I love pairing this easy roasted Cornish hen recipe with my Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes; Italian Oven Roasted Vegetables; or Brussels sprouts... Lots more ideas below!

Once 20 minutes is up, reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and continue to bake for another 40 – 50 minutes (until skin is crispy and light brown and the meat, when cut into, is no longer pink).

Glazes need a balance of the 3 main ingredients: Silica, Alumina and Flux. Too much flux causes a glaze to run, and tends to create variable texture on the surface. The texture may vary from shiny, where the glass is balanced, to matte where the excessive flux oxides may form visible, possibly lumpy, crystals.

Glaze: there are more than 3 basic components in glaze, these are: silica, alumina, flux, colourants and modifiers. The common ingredients in glaze colours are, “ copper oxide", “copper carbonate", “cobalt oxide" and “ iron oxide.”

Silica (or industrial sand) is the key ingredient in glass, raw clay, and ceramic glazes. Silica can be obtained naturally from quartz, sandstone, sand, or flint, or it can be manufactured as silica oxide. When making your own glazes, products like quartz, flint, and pure silica can be added as the glass-former.