Maple Mustard Game Hens
Submitted by Aud
Maple mustard game hens spatchcocked, marinated overnight in Dijon, lemon, and maple syrup, then roasted in a hot oven until skin is bronzed and crackling. Date-night dinner with restaurant flair.
YIELD
2 servingsPREP
25 minCOOK
25 minREADY
50 minMaple mustard game hens are a special-occasion dinner that punches well above their effort. The trick is the spatchcock: removing the backbone and rib bones from the small birds so they lie flat in a single layer. This isn’t a fussy step. Sharp kitchen shears make quick work of it, and the flat shape is what makes the marinade reach every surface and the skin brown evenly all the way around.
The marinade is a cold sauce vinaigrette that doubles as a glaze. Dijon mustard whisked with lemon juice, then peanut oil and maple syrup beaten in until smooth. Skip the olive oil here as the directions specifically warn, since its flavor would clash with the maple. The hens get a full day in the marinade in a noncorrodible pan with smashed garlic, peppercorns, and crumbled bay leaf, turned occasionally so every surface picks up sweet-sharp flavor.
A hot 400°F (200°C) oven for twenty minutes, baste, then crank to 425°F (220°C) for another twenty. The maple in the marinade caramelizes into a dark, glossy crust, and the meat stays juicy thanks to the relatively short, hot cook. Serve garnished with peppery watercress to cut the richness.
Pro Tips
- Save the backbones in the freezer. They make excellent stock with all the flavor of the bird and none of the meat to save.
- Pull the hens from the fridge a full hour before cooking. Cold meat in a hot oven cooks unevenly and the skin won’t crisp the same way.
- Don’t skip the noncorrodible pan (glass, ceramic, or stainless). The lemon juice will react with aluminum and turn the marinade metallic.
- Don’t turn the hens during roasting as the directions specify. Cut-side down keeps the breast moist and lets the back skin develop a deep mahogany.
Variations
- Sub bourbon for two tablespoons of the lemon juice for a smokier, more cocktail-bar version.
- Use chicken thighs or a small whole chicken if you can’t find Cornish hens, scaling up the marinade proportionally.
- Add a tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves to the marinade for a more aromatic herb-forward flavor.
Ingredients
Directions
Use a sharp chef’s knife or kitchen shears to cut the backbone and rib cage from the birds.
Starting just to one side of the tail, cut all the way to the other end, right beside the backbone. Repeat on the other side.
You will now have removed the backbone and the hen will lie more or less flat.
This makes it easy to see the fans of the rib bones. Remove them, too.
Wipe the meat with a damp paper towel and set the hens aside. Put the mustard in a small bowl.
Beat in the lemon juice with a wire whisk, then beat in first the oil, then the maple syrup.
Sprinkle the peppercorns, bay leaf and garlic in a shallow noncorrodible pan or bowl just large enough to hold the flattened hens in a single layer.
Pour in about a quarter of the marinade. Add the meat, cut side down, and pour the remaining marinade over it.
Cover tightly and refrigerate for 1 day (or at least a few hours), turning from time to time.
Remove the meat from the refrigerator about 1 hour before cooking.
At cooking time, move the rack so the hens will be in the upper third of the oven; preheat oven to 400℉ (200℃).
Drain excess marinade from the hens and arrange them, cut side down, in a shallow noncorrodible roasting pan.
Roast for 20 minutes, baste, raise the heat to 425F and roast for about 20 minutes more.
Do not turn the meat, which should be well browned by the end of the cooking time.
Serve garnished with the watercress.
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