Sunday, December 19, 2010

Butter and Sage Cornish Hens

Last weekend, I watched a lot of FoodNetwork and picked up a little inspiration to cook these delicious little Cornish Hens!  In case you're wondering what Cornish Hens are, they are basically young chickens, so they are small in size.  Most of the time they are in the freezer section at the grocery store and sold in packs of two.

My mom used to make me Cornish Hens in the Crock Pot Slow Cooker all the time when I was growing up!  I used to eat an entire hen by myself!  Now, I think half a hen per the average person is plenty, especially if you serve it with a couple sides.

These Cornish Hens were delicious!  My husband really enjoyed them!  Even my daughter liked it and ate it right up!  The skin was crispy (go me!) and the meat was tender and juicy!  It was flavorful and there was enough "juice" at the bottom to spoon over the meat and make it even more flavorful!  We served ours with some instant Parmesan and Romano rice and a fresh salad.  Cornish Hens will definitely make more of an appearance in the Slow Cooker from now on at our house!  Maybe my mom's Cornish Hens will be next?!!!!

On a "side" note, you can easily throw your veggis in with this! Put them on the bottom of the Crock Pot.  I did not have time yesterday morning, nor the energy to peel any potatoes, so I did not cook them with my hens.

Here's what you came for!

Butter and Sage Cornish Hens
(Look at that crispy skin!)

Ingredients:
2 Cornish Game Hens (thawed....although mine were only partially thawed and came out just fine!)
1/2 cup white wine (or just use chicken broth)
4 Tbsp. butter, cut into pieces
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
salt, pepper, garlic powder and sage to taste

Directions:
Warm the Olive Oil in a skillet.
Meanwhile, salt and pepper the top of your cornish hens.

Place them breast side down in your skillet.
Salt and pepper the belly of your Cornish Hens.
Brown on all sides.
(This is what gives you crispy delicious skin in the Crock Pot Slow Cooker!)

Pour the wine (or chicken broth) into the bottom of your Crock Pot Slow Cooker.  Place the freshly browned Cornish Hens in the Crock Pot Slow Cooker.  Season with the sage and garlic powder.  
Place the pieces of butter on top of your Cornish Hens.

Cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or on HIGH for 4-5 hours.

Enjoy!
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63 comments:

  1. I must have been watching the same cooking shows. I got hungry for those little hens too.

    I only have round crock pots so I guess I could make one hen in it and my hubby and I could share the one hen.

    I think I'll be buying some hens this week and try it.

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    1. I stand two hens on end in my round crock pot.

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    2. I'm trying to understanding how are you saying that the skin stays crisp in the slow cooker. I understanding the *browning* but there's no way the skin will stay crisp after hours in a crockpot. So what am I missing? Do you put it under the broiler afterward??? I doubt anyone's going to be able to answer this before I put mine in tomorrow, but just wondering. Doesn't seem possible.

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    3. I didn't put it under the broiler. It came out the way you see it in the picture. I cooked it exactly as you see above.

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    4. Well, I'll be darned Hope - I put then in the crock last night while I slept and woke up this morning and yes, indeed, they are golden brown and delightful! I have a small round crock so I stood up my 2 rock cornish game hens on balled up aluminum (I cut up a pan to make firm balls) and they're just beautiful. I only added a little liquid on the bottom so they didn't stand in the juices. 48 years old and can still learn something new. Thanks for this. I'm gonna make a couple artichokes later on and have a lovely lunch. I appreciate the quick response, Hope. Hi-5 to you girl!!!

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    5. Lol!!! So glad you took the leap of faith!!!!

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  2. Hahahaha!! It was last Monday I think.....or maybe Sunday. I think one is really sufficient for the two of you! Just make 2-3 sides with it and you're golden! Let me know how it turns out!

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  3. Super delicious! I cut an onion into wedges and added it in with the hens and then served it over rice with a side of veggies. I put a little extra wine in too so we had some nice juice to spoon over the hens and rice. I will make it again.

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  4. I did a little change as well. I cut a large apple into wedges and put them around the hen. Serving with grilled asparagus on a bed of butter noodles :)

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  5. Absolutely delicious!!!

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  6. I'm trying this today. I cut up potatoes and carrots and put them under the hens, and added chicken broth. The hens have been browned on all sides and stuffed with onion quarters. I'll cook on low for 8 hours while I'm out of the house. I hope they turn out. :)

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  7. Thank you for the recipe. I was wondering how to get crispy skin in a crock pot. I will go prepare this right now, then take a long nap and let the pot do the cooking.

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  8. Hi there!
    Did you use fresh sage or dry sage?

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  9. Hi, what kind of white wine? And could I put 2 hens in my round slow cooker?

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  10. I am going to try this next week with sweet potatoes, apples, and onions!

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    Replies
    1. Yum...I love adding sweet potatoes! I made beef stew with sweet potatoes the other day.

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    2. Yum...I love adding sweet potatoes! I made beef stew with sweet potatoes the other day.

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  11. How much chicken broth do I use?

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  12. Hello. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I will prepare it this week. Do I halve the liquid when I want to cook only one hen?

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  13. Made this today and my wife and I enjoyed it. I use the crock pot once a week for dinner to make getting home from work less hectic :)

    Thanks for posting this

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  14. I tried this recipe the other day, and though the skin was crispy going in, it was soft by the time the hen was done. I figured it must have "steamed" in the covered crock pot lol any tips?

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    Replies
    1. Yes, it probably did steam. Next time, you could try leaving the lid off the last 45 minutes or so, or putting a towel underneath the lid to absorb the condensation.

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    2. Thanks, I'll try that!

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  15. Should i adjust the amount of liquid if i add vegetables (potatoes)?

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  16. this is the first time I will be cooking a cornish game hen in a crock pot. I am using chicken broth instead of wine which I know will make the hen just as tasty n juicy.. I added sliced potatoes n onions as well as seasoned the hen with salt- pepper- n garlic salt. This will be de- licious !!!!!

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  17. Thanks for the recipe. Cooking today and looking forward to a fantastic meal

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  18. Hi! I'm glad I found your site today. Tried it with Herbes de Provence, sliced mushrooms and a bell pepper. Cut the wine by half since I was only making one for our little family (2 adults and a 4 yr old). It looked great by the time we got back from our afternoon movie. Next time, I will cut liquid more with the "juicier" veggies because it was a bit more moist than crispy but still looked and tasted yummy.

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  19. could i use white zin? i already have some in the fridge :-)

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  20. Hi: Glad I stumbled onto your website as I had thawed hens and was looking for some ideas to cook them. I sprinkled the hens with lemon pepper and salt and browned them. I used chicken broth instead of white wine and laid the hens on a layer of thinly sliced lemons. It 's in the crock pot right now. I have a mixture of wild rice and long grain rice in the oven and plan on having steamed baby carrots. Looking forward to my dinner tonight. I'll let you know how it turns out.

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  21. Hey, busy Mom! Thanks so much for this, but I added some extras: I stuffed the Hens with prepared stuffing, apples & Walnuts, then followed all your instructions, & added Both the Broth & Red cooking Wine! Marsala is better, but more expensive! I served them with Asparagus salad & Garlic Mashed potatoes!!! Peace & hugs!! :)

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  22. Made this today for my wife and I and we loved it. Thanks for posting the recipe.

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  23. Do you have to fry it first, then put it the dlow cooker.

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    Replies
    1. You pan sear to crisp the skin and turn it golden. Not really frying it though.

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  24. this might be a silly question, but I am new to cooking and just learning....

    how much sage is "sage to taste" ???

    is sage a strong powerful spice?

    thanks

    Derek.

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    Replies
    1. no. it is pretty mild but wonderful.. taste a little bit of it in your hand first to see.. I added several to many shakes over my chicken... delicious!

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  25. Have this in my crock pot right now, and they smell amazing! Thank you so much for the recipe!

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  27. I've been looking for a good recipe to cook my hens and it looks like this is it. However, in case no one else mentioned it, these birds are a cross between the cornish game hen (which was popular to hunt but was very small) with rock doves (we now call them pidgeons) and the result is a rock cornish hen that is a nice size with a good amount of meat on it.

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  28. Im cooking for a lot of people so i have 6 c.hens whats the best way to cook them?

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    Replies
    1. I would do up to 3 in each slow cooker if they fit

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  29. Another great side I have discovered is to wrap potatoes in foil and put them around the meat just as if you were baking them in the oven. I do this with sweet potatoes too. I have a kid who doesn't like the food to touch so problem solved and a great and easy meal.

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  30. This came out so good! I used another users idea of the sliced lemons underneath, and cooked them in sauvignon blanc. I stuffed them with fresh sage, rosemary, and basil. Served with glazed carrots and mashed potatoes. :) Delicious!

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  31. Thanks for the awesome recipe! I have FOUR of these babies in my crock pot now (me, the hubs and two kids). I had to put them all tails up, but it smells AMAZEBALLS! I used whole garlic cloves, fresh sage and broth, so we'll see how it goes - I can't wait! I like the grilled asparagus and butter noodles idea - I think those will be the sides tonight! I'll let you know how it goes. :)

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  32. I changed it up a bit and used beer instead of wine and seasoned with Tome's tuscan garlic seasoning...can't wait to try it.

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    Replies
    1. Flavor was excellent...I did have to ladle off some juice halfway through the cook...birds were swimming. Great recipe.

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  33. I like to stuff my cornish hens. Would this method work with stuffed hens. I suppose I could always prepare the stuffing outside the bird, but you'd lose the flavor from the juices during cooking. Hmmm... What do you think?

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  34. Does the cook time change if you are only cooking 1 hen?

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    Replies
    1. No, but be sure to use a smaller sized crock. 2-3 qt.

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