HOW TO GRILL A CORNISH GAME HEN

Cook's Illustrated has a PBS show called America's Test Kitchen. A recent episode was on the proper grilling of a cornish game hen so that the skin is crispy. According to ATK, you can't get a crispy skin if you leave the hen intact, so you must partially bone it and lay it flat first. I tried it, and I must say, it was the best cornish game hen I've had because the skin was, well, crispy, like they said it would be. Their recipe for the glaze and spice rub were perfect IMHO, but Guy said he prefers just salt and pepper (ugh). They served the hen with a beautiful rice salad with oranges, olives and almonds, but I had to beg off that one. Instead, I made a simple pilaf of onions, garlic, mushrooms and carrots with the rice,and it was delicious. This is definitely my new way of grilling game hens.
Grilled Cornish Game Hen
(America's Test Kitchen)
Rating: 10 out of 10
To get started, turn the bird over and cut out the backbone (just cut up one side and down the other with poultry shears.) Then, on the underside, snip the breast bone without going through to the skin (if you are keeping the bird in one piece, as they did. To make things simple, I just cut the bird in half since Guy and I would each have a half.) Next, brine the bird in 1/4 cup salt to 1 quart water and refrigerate for 1 hour. Rinse well and pat dry on paper towels. Next, rub the bird with a spice rub on both sides.

Spice Rub: 1-1/2 tsp. brown sugar
3/4 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
pinch coriander
pinch black pepper
pinch cayenne or hot pepper

Grill the bird over indirect heat (375-400F). ATK recommends skewering the bird to keep it from breaking apart while grilling. That looked too complicated to me, so we just put each half in a grilling basket. The only problem we had was that we only

have 3 burners on our grill. We usually turn the middle burner off and cook on that. The two baskets, because of the handles, would not fit on the middle burner. So we had to cook over direct heat. We just monitored to be sure that the temp didn't go over 375F and it worked fine. There was no flareup, hence no burning. The bird will take about 30 minutes. (If one side of your grill burns hotter, be sure to rotate the bird for even grilling.) For the last 10 minutes, apply the glaze, first on one side, then flip after 5 minutes and glaze the other side. That's it. Delicious.

Glaze: 1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. yellow mustard
1/4 cup water
1 whole minced garlic clove
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and heat to boiling. Lower heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes to develop flavors. Remove from heat until ready to glaze the bird.

This recipe will yield 1 game hen (2 servings). Multiply by 2 for 4 servings; by 3 for 6 servings; etc.

GRILLED CORNISH GAME HEN

I'm really not crazy about Cornish game hens, but at least they're not chicken. They're just too fatty for me to really like. But cooked this way, I could grow to be a fan. When you use a vertical roaster, the hen is very moist and tender; it cooks very quickly and all the fat drips into the drip pan. Although I like to season food, all you really need for this is salt and pepper. The hen bastes itself as it cooks. You can find these vertical roasters in kitchen stores if you don't have one already. They're not the same as the beer roasters, so be sure you buy the right one. You can use them in your oven or on your grill. The top picture shows the hen after I took it off the grill. I placed it in the microwave (turned off) while I prepared the veggie side dish. BTW, I buy these Cornish hens in Wal-Mart's freezer section, 2 to a pack for about $5.50. Since they are individually frozen, I can take out one at a time. One hen feeds both of us with some meat left over, since we're not very big eaters. I've also cut them in half and grilled them, adding BBQ sauce for the last 5 minutes.

Grilled Cornish Game Hen

INGREDIENTS: 1 Cornish game hen, frozen or fresh
salt and pepper to taste
vertical roaster

DIRECTIONS: If hen is frozen, thaw overnight in fridge. When ready to cook, remove packaging and salt hen liberally inside and out with kosher salt or table salt. Let hen sit for 5 minutes, then with hands, scrub the salt into all parts of the hen. Rinse with cold water until all salt is removed and let hen drain well. Dry cavity with clean paper towels. Salt and pepper inside and outside of hen, and place on vertical roaster. Cook on hot grill (400-425 degrees F if yours has a thermometer) for about 45 minutes, or till juices run clear when hen is pierced in thigh. (Or use an instant read thermometer stuck in thigh.) Let hen rest for about 15 minutes before serving. Wash hands well with hot soapy water after handling poultry, and also scrub sink with cleanser and bleach. Yield: 1-2 servings