Cornish Hens & Wild Rice
Submitted by TeSza86
Cornish game hens stuffed with wild rice, mushrooms, and slivered almonds, brushed with apricot brandy and roasted golden. An elegant holiday-worthy dinner that feeds eight.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
1 hrsREADY
1 hrsWhen you want a centerpiece that turns heads without turning your kitchen into a war zone, stuff some Cornish hens with wild rice and call it a night.
The stuffing is loaded: wild rice cooked with sauteed shallots, chopped giblets, parsley, mushrooms, and slivered almonds. Each hen gets packed with this nutty, earthy filling, then brushed generously with melted butter spiked with apricot brandy. The brandy caramelizes as the hens roast, leaving a fragrant, golden-skinned bird that smells like a fancy holiday.
Water in the bottom of the roasting pan creates steam, keeping the meat juicy while the skin crisps.
Kitchen Tips
- Don’t overstuff the cavities. The rice expands as it heats, and a packed hen won’t cook evenly inside.
- Tie the legs together with kitchen twine. It holds the stuffing in and helps the hens cook uniformly.
- Use the giblets! Chopped and sauteed, they add a savory depth to the stuffing you can’t get any other way.
- Apricot brandy can be swapped for regular brandy with a tablespoon of apricot preserves stirred in.
Ingredients
Directions
Clean hens, salt and pepper outside and cavity.
Sauté shallots in oleo.
Chop giblets and parsley, sauté all in oleo until soft.
Bring rice to boil, add sautéed ingredients.
Add mushrooms. Let cook until rice is soft and dry.
Add almonds. Stuff cavity of hens with this mixture.
Tie legs together.
Melt more oleo and add apricot brandy, put plenty on outside of hens.
Place hens on rack of oven pan with at least 1 inch of water in bottom to steam up.
Bake at 350℉ (180℃) F. for 45 min. until golden.
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