French Herb Roasted Cornish Hens

Cornish hens with French herb roasting rub and stuffing make a simple and satisfying autumn dinner.

French Herb Roasted Cornish Hens

By Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime

This post accompanies another post I am putting up today for Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Stuffing or Dressing.

I wanted to work up a recipe for the stuffing, but didn’t want to do turkey so close to Thanksgiving since I will be having that then. Also, I had done a recipe for baked chicken and stuffing which hasn’t posted yet but didn’t want to repeat that.

I was in the mood for French herbs the day I did this, having made a Cream of Mushroom soup earlier in the day which also included the herbes de provence. I used to occasionally buy the McCormick French Herb Roasting rub in a jar, and I have provided a clone of that below.

The Cornish hens are an English breed of chicken, and I always loved them as a child, since they were so small. The hens are similar to the French poussins, but those are more like young chickens that aren’t fully grown.

This is a bit of a basic recipe with the stuffing, but the rub works very well, providing a lot of flavor. I’ve listed the amount for the two hens but if you like saving time you could make more, especially if you want to put the rub on chickens or turkey. In a spice jar, it will keep three to six months.

Of course, with this, the perfect sides would be chicken gravy, mashed potatoes, some sort of vegetable such as roasted Brussels Sprouts, and of course, cranberry sauce.

Speaking of which, Cranberry Week is coming up next week starting on the 13th. I’m set to post three recipes for it, on Tues-Wed-Thurs, if nothing blows up on this end. I’ve also got some other fun recipes coming up as we ease into the Thanksgiving season and onwards towards Christmas.

Wow. Where has the year gone?

And I wonder how many minutes of it were eaten by that black hole called FaceBook? *laughs*

Well— check in on me each day for new stuff, I have lots to share with you. Enjoy the recipes and your week!

See recipe for Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Stuffing or Dressing

French Herb Roasted Cornish Hens

Servings: 2-4
Time: 1hr 25mins
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients:

2 (22 ounces each) Cornish game hens
1 tablespoon soft butter
2 tablespoons melted butter (for baste)
1 recipe gluten-free Thanksgiving stuffing or dressing (or other stuffing of your choice)

French Herb Roasting Rub (Yield 1/4 cup):

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried minced onion
1-1/2 teaspoons herbes de provence

Method:

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Rinse hens and pat dry.
Rub hens all over with the soft butter and place in a large cast iron skillet that has been greased on the bottom.
Fill cavities lightly with uncooked gluten-free stuffing or other stuffing.
Sprinkle the tops of the birds with french herb roasting rub.
Bake hens for 45 minutes, basting once with melted butter about 20 minutes in.
Lift birds from the pan and fill bottom of the pan with remaining stuffing. Put birds back in the pan on top.
Bake for another 30 minutes or until internal hen temperature is 165°F., basting again about 15 minutes into this cycle.
Allow hens to rest about 10-15 minutes before serving, tented with foil to keep the meat warm.