Cornish Game Hens with Wild Rice Stuffing

Cornish game hens with wild rice stuffing is a mouthful to say, but a delicious one. Although this dish may sound complicated, it’s actually quite approachable, especially if you buy your hen already cleaned.

Not only are cornish hens small enough that you can give one to each person at your table, they’re also known to have an extra delicate texture and flavor. This recipe fits right into a Thanksgiving dinner or for a special meal.

Ingredients for Cornish Game Hens with Wild Rice Stuffing

• Chicken bouillon: The bouillon in this recipe is used to boil the rice and add extra savory flavor. If you’d like to use homemade chicken broth instead, feel free.
• Wild rice: This variety of rice has a nuttier flavor and chewier texture than regular rice.
• Long grain rice: Compared to short grain rice, long grain stays fluffy as it cooks. It balances the profile of wild rice wonderfully.
• Pork Sausage: As a mild tasting meat, game hens benefit from the punch of flavor and richness that pork sausage offers.
• Celery: One of the staple ingredients for mirepoix, celery is mildly grassy and sweet.
• Onion: Sweet, yellow or white onion all work equally well here. You can also use shallots if you’d like a softer onion flavor.
• Cornish game hens: Once a specific breed of chicken, Cornish game hens today are really just young chickens, harvested at no more than five weeks old. As a result, they weight between 1 to 2 pounds and are extra tender and succulent.
• Apricot preserves: These Cornish game hens with wild rice stuffing are finished off perfectly with the sweet apricot preserve sauce in this recipe.

Directions

Step 1: Boil the rice

Abbey Littlejohn for Taste of Home

In a large saucepan, bring 5 cups of water, bouillon and salt to a boil. Add the wild rice and reduce the heat. Cover the pan and simmer for 20 minutes. Then, add the long grain rice and cover once more, simmering for another 25 to 30 minutes or until the rice is tender and the water absorbed.

Step 2: Cook the sausage, celery and onion

Abbey Littlejohn for Taste of Home

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the pork sausage, celery and onion over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink and the vegetables are tender. Drain the excess liquid and stir in the rice mixture.

Step 3: Stuff and bake the hens

Abbey Littlejohn for Taste of Home

Spoon about 3/4 cup of stuffing into each hen. Place the remaining stuffing in a greased 2-quart baking dish, cover and set aside.

Place the hens breast side up on a rack in a shallow baking pan. Tie the drumsticks together and bake uncovered at 350°F for 40 minutes.

Step 4: Make the sauce

Abbey Littlejohn for Taste of Home

In a small saucepan, bring the apricot preserves and remaining water to a boil. Pour the sauce over the hens and continue baking for 25 to 35 minutes, basting occasionally.

Step 5: Bake the extra stuffing

Abbey Littlejohn for Taste of Home

Place the baking dish of stuffing in the oven during the last 35 to 40 minutes of the hens’ baking time. When the hens each 180° and the stuffing 165°, remove them from the oven and allow the hens to rest before serving.

Abbey Littlejohn for Taste of Home

Cornish Game Hens with Wild Rice Stuffing Variations

• Use a different stuffing: While this wild rice stuffing is delicious, here are a ton of other stuffing recipes. Other stuffing add-ons include dried cranberries, chopped walnuts and mushrooms.
• Swap the apricot preserves: If you’d like, you can use different fruit preserves for the sauce. For example, a cranberry sauce is a popular choice for this recipe. You could also opt for peaches or prunes.

How to Store Cornish Game Hens with Wild Rice Stuffing

To store any leftovers, transfer the stuffed game hens to an airtight container and place in the fridge for up to four days. To reheat, add a healthy amount of the basting liquid to the hens and warm in the oven at 350°.

Can I freeze Cornish game hens with wild rice stuffing?

To freeze this dish, first allow them to come to room temperature. Then, wrap the stuffed game hens in foil and place them in an airtight container. Keep in the freezer for up to four months. To thaw, transfer them hens to the fridge and let them sit overnight.

Cornish Game Hens with Wild Rice Stuffing Tips

Abbey Littlejohn for Taste of Home

Can one person eat a whole cornish hen?

While cornish game hens are usually served whole on a plate, they still require a big appetite to eat in one sitting. Each bird weighs between one to two pounds. You will likely be able to use it in various leftover recipes.

Why are cornish hens so expensive?

At one point, cornish game hens were a cross breed between Cornish and White Plymouth Rock chickens. Nowadays, the regulations on their breed have dropped. That said, these hens are and always were harvested very young and their meat is known to be more tender and juicy than full grown birds.

Should cornish hens be cooked uncovered or covered?

It’s recommended to cook Cornish hens uncovered to develop a nice, crispy texture because their meat is so tender. As for the oven temp, anywhere between 350° and 425° is common.