We knew we wanted to cook a Spatchcocked Pheasant for Thanksgiving…but not having cooked a spatchcocked bird in a long time, we wanted to do a trial run to make sure we worked out all the kinks before showtime. As such, we called upon a stand-in bird…cornish game hen! It performed admirably in its test run role…and it even shined as the star attraction on our plates! For this particular recipe, we used a black currant jam that my ant (not a typo) gave us along with rosemary to build a nice blend of sweet and savory to our hens.
We served our hen with an Israeli couscous, lentils, and red quinoa blend and sauteed Kale. Other sides that would be great with this are Roasted Baby Potatoes, Rösti, or Spinach Stuffing Balls for carbs and/or Garlic Snow Peas, Kale Tots, or Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus.
Time:
Ingredients:
- Cornish Game Hen
- Salt
- Pepper
- Rosemary
- Black Currant Jam
Method:
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F, and line a deep baking pan with foil.
- Spatchcock your hen(s).
- Give a quick salt and pepper sprinkle on the flesh side of your bird, and then flip it into your baking pan so that the skin side now faces up.
- Sprinkle a little salt on the skin, and then top it with your rosemary and a little more black pepper.
- Place in the oven for about 45 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, and spread your black currant jam atop the skin.
- Place back into the oven, and cook for another 15 minutes or so.
- When your bird reaches an internal cooked temperature (measured in the thigh meat) of 165 degrees F, you’re good to go.
- Remove from the oven, and let sit for a few minutes.
- Plate, devour, and enjoy!
