Festive Stuffed Cornish Game Hens Recipe

Festive Stuffed Cornish Game Hens Recipe photo by Taste of Home

Be the first to write a review

Rate recipe

These plump golden birds decorate holiday platters beautifully. Crusty ciabatta bread, moistened by juicy orange sections, makes wonderful stuffing.—Lisa Speer, Palm Beach, Florida

This recipe is:

Contest Winning

[X]

Rate Festive Stuffed Cornish Game Hens Recipe

Click on stars to rate

Would you make this recipe again?

Write a review

[X]

Festive Stuffed Cornish Game Hens Recipe

Prep: 30 min. Bake: 1 hour + standing

Yield: 4 Servings

30 60 90

Ingredients

1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
3/4 teaspoon pepper, divided
2 cups cubed ciabatta bread
3 medium navel oranges, peeled and sectioned
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
4 Cornish game hens (20 to 24 ounces each)
1/2 cup orange juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large skillet, saute onion and celery in butter and 1 tablespoon oil until tender. Add the garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; cook 1 minute longer.
In a large bowl, combine the bread, oranges, cranberries, pecans and orange peel. Add onion mixture; toss to coat.
Loosely stuff hens with stuffing. Tuck wings under hens; tie drumsticks together. Rub with remaining oil; sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper. Place breast side up on a rack in a shallow roasting pan.
Bake, uncovered, 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until a thermometer inserted in thigh reads 180° for hens and 165° for stuffing, basting occasionally with orange juice. Cover loosely with foil if hens brown too quickly. Cover and let stand 10 minutes before serving. Yield: 4 servings.

Nutritional Facts 1 stuffed hen equals 1,144 calories, 76 g fat (20 g saturated fat), 366 mg cholesterol, 990 mg sodium, 51 g carbohydrate, 6 g fiber, 65 g protein.

Originally published as Festive Stuffed Cornish Game Hens in Country Woman December/January 2011, p40