Cornish Hens With Walnuts
Published January 21, 1986
- Total Time
- 1 hour 15 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
4 Cornish game hens, about 1 pound each, with giblets
¼ pound shelled walnut meats, about 1 ¼ cups
6 tablespoons butter at room temperature
1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
1 tablespoon Cognac
Salt to taste if desired
Freshly ground pepper to taste
¼ cup corn, peanut or vegetable oil
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
1 gram carbs; 522 milligrams cholesterol; 1235 calories; 44 grams monosaturated fat; 16 grams polyunsaturated fat; 30 grams saturated fat; 96 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 1332 milligrams sodium; 85 grams protein
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Step 2
Using the fingers, separate the skin from the breast meat to make a cavity for stuffing.
- Step 3
Combine the walnuts, butter, mustard and Cognac in the container of a food processor or electric blender. Blend to make a paste. Fill the cavities with equal portions of the mixture. Tie up the birds or truss them neatly with string. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and rub them all over with oil.
- Step 4
Arrange the birds breast side up in a shallow, heatproof roasting pan and scatter the necks, gizzards and hearts around the birds. Set the livers aside. Place the pan on the stove and heat until the oil sizzles. Put the birds into the oven and bake, basting often, about 20 minutes.
- Step 5
Turn each hen on its side and continue baking, basting often, about 10 minutes. Turn each again and bake 5 minutes. Add the livers and cook 10 minutes longer. To test for doneness, lift one of the birds; the liquid from the inside should run clear.
- Step 6
Untruss the hens and serve.
Private Notes
Comments
The instructions about turning the birds are a little vagueinsofar as they don't specify onto which sides to turn them. So I turned first to the opposite side and then finished by turning breast side down. But that damaged the breast skin, so I think for the final 10 minutes it would be better to turn them back to breast side up. Tasty recipe. A little fussy with all the turning & basting, not to mention the part about working the paste under the skin, & the trussing.
This is a hotter oven than I normally use for cornish hens, but it worked better than ever. Juicy, cooked, tasty hens resulted.