I believe we have finally made delicious Cornish Hens! The problem with hens is that we always have to buy them frozen, and they are rock hard. This time I did a slow thaw – they have been in the refrigerator for a full 7 days and they were perfectly defrosted!
The weather was so nice this afternoon, I decided to sit outside while Ed played in the back yard – turns out he likes to find toads!
And I read Gourmet Magazine – quite possibly my favorite foodie magazine for the writing – their food writers are amazing – and yes, I do read a magazine like a book!
I bought the wild rice mix and cooked it in our rice maker – again, perfectly cooked!
I used the dry rub from our Chicago Style ribs for the hens – I think it was a tad too spicy for Tony – just on the edge of his heat tolerance!
After I stuffed the hens, I trussed them to keep the wings in (so they don’t burn) and to hold in the rice stuffing.
Then I rubbed them generously!
While we were waiting for the coals to get to temperature – Tony noticed a baby blue bird next to our house – it couldn’t fly! It was so sad, we thought it maybe was the runt and got pushed out by the momma. A little while later we saw both the momma and the papa come after their baby – so sweet! Luckily we got Ed in the house in the nick of time – he almost made the blue bird dinner!
Now back to the hen – the best thing I have ever used in cooking meat is a probe temp gauge – I don’t think I’ve overcooked any meat in ages with this thing!
When I picked off the meat from what was left – there was A TON of meat left!
I’ll have to figure out what to do with the leftovers – maybe mini chicken pot pies??
You definitely have to come back tomorrow for FAFDFFF – i.e. First Annual Father’s Day Fried Food Fest!
Just some of the things on our menu??
- Potato skins
- beer battered shrimp
- onion rings
- fried zucchini
- fried cheese
But the best thing is Tony’s breakfast – so simple I am bummed I didn’t think of it myself! And yes, its fried too!
Hope everyone had a great day – see you for Papa Day tomorrow!
Boy, those birds look great – as does most of your food!
Thanks Biz for the BBQ tip!
Hmmm….me thinks I need to try Sam Adams Summer Ale! I haven’t had that kind yet!
I LOVE the Sam Adams Summer Ale! Nick and I just bought a whole case of it, it’s so good. I am excited to the fried fest!
These look devine, Biz! I can’t wait to see what you do with the leftovers. I bet pot pies would be out of this world!
You make cooking look easy! We also had roasted chicken tonight, but from the grocery store though. I’m also thinking of ways to enjoy the leftover meat, but I won’t be making a potpie anytime soon. I ‘d be interested to see what you come up with for your leftovers!
I’m trying to figure out how you placedthe hens on the BBQ. If you don’t mind, can you explain? Did you use any nifty gadgets because I see a pan underneath one of the birds.
We always cook our meats on a wire rack above a cast iron skillet – this way the meat cooks evenly all around, and any fat drips into the pan and not into the coals – hope that helps! 😀
Is it bad that when I read the line, “While we were waiting for the coals to get to temperature – Tony noticed a baby blue bird next to our house …” I was a little surprised that it was not followed by, “so we trussed it as well…delish!” 😉
Perhaps I have been spending too much time with my squirrel-broiling in-laws.
Ha! That made me laugh out loud! 😀
i love cornish hens.. its one more thing i havent bought at the store yet though! we can get them fresh over here- why are they all frozen over there? : )