Cornish hens are a delightful alternative to chicken, offering a unique taste and elegant presentation perfect for special occasions, holidays, dinner parties, or even a simple weeknight meal. These small birds, typically weighing between 1-2 lbs, are ideal for individual servings or can be halved to serve two. This article explores several keto-friendly Cornish hen recipes, including oven-roasted and air-fried variations, ensuring a flavorful, moist, and crispy result every time.
Why Choose Cornish Hen?
Cornish game hens offer several advantages:
- Portion Control: Their individual size makes portion control easier.
- Faster Cooking Time: They cook faster than a whole chicken, making them ideal for busy weeknights.
- Tender Meat: Cornish hens are bred for their tender meat, ensuring a juicy and flavorful experience.
- Versatility: They can be seasoned and cooked using various methods, adapting to different flavor profiles and preferences.
Essential Tips for Cooking Cornish Hen
Before diving into specific recipes, here are some crucial tips to ensure your Cornish hens turn out perfectly:
- Thawing: Cornish hens are often sold frozen. Thaw them in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours before cooking. If you're short on time, you can defrost them in a bowl of cold water, changing the water every 30 minutes, for about 90 minutes.
- Doneness: The key to juicy and tender meat is to cook the hens to the correct internal temperature of 165°F (74°C). Use an internal probe thermometer to check the temperature, inserting it into the thickest part of the breast, ensuring it doesn't touch the bone.
- Crispy Skin: To achieve crispy skin, pat the hens dry with a paper towel before seasoning. You can also rub softened butter or avocado oil over the skin. For extra crispiness, remove the foil during the last 15 minutes of cooking when oven roasting.
- Resting: After cooking, let the hens rest for 10 minutes before serving to allow the juices to redistribute, resulting in a more tender and flavorful bird.
Keto Oven-Roasted Cornish Hen
Oven-roasting is a classic method for cooking Cornish hens, resulting in a juicy and flavorful bird with crispy skin.
Ingredients
- 2 Cornish game hens, thawed
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil or olive oil
- Homemade chicken seasoning (smoked paprika, garlic powder, oregano, onion powder, salt, and pepper) or your favorite dry rub for poultry
- Optional: Low-carb vegetables like radishes, Brussels sprouts, and yellow squash
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Prepare the Hens: Remove anything from the cavity of the Cornish hens. Pat the hens dry with a paper towel.
- Season the Hens: Place the Cornish hens in a 9x13 inch baking dish and coat with avocado oil. In a small bowl, combine the seasonings. Season all sides of each hen generously. For a more complex flavor, gently separate the skin of the hens from the breast meat with your fingers and season underneath the skin.
- Roast the Hens: Place the baking dish in the preheated oven and cook for 55 minutes to an hour, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F (74°C).
- Roast Vegetables (Optional): If desired, toss low-carb vegetables in melted butter and spread them around the hens in the baking dish during the last 30-40 minutes of cooking time. Ensure the vegetables are not overcrowded.
- Rest and Serve: Remove the hens from the oven and let them rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Serving Suggestions
Pair your oven-roasted Cornish hens with keto-friendly sides such as:
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- Keto Creamed Spinach
- Keto Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
- Fried Radishes with Crispy Bacon
- Loaded Cauliflower Rice Casserole
- Roasted Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, and Onions
Keto Air Fryer Cornish Hen
Air frying is a quick and easy way to cook Cornish hens, resulting in crispy skin and juicy meat.
Ingredients
- 1 Cornish hen (approximately 1.5-2 lbs)
- 1 tbsp avocado oil or olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chicken seasoning (garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, parsley, and thyme) or your favorite dry rub
- Optional: Fresh herbs for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat Air Fryer: Preheat the air fryer to 375°F (190°C) for 5 minutes.
- Prepare the Hen: Rinse the Cornish hen with cold water and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Season the Hen: Place the Cornish hen on a cutting board and rub the olive oil over it on all sides. In a small bowl, mix the chicken seasoning ingredients. Rub the insides of the hen with the dry rub until fully seasoned.
- Air Fry the Hen: Place the Cornish hen breast side down into the air fryer basket or onto the rack. Cook for 20 minutes.
- Flip and Continue Cooking: Flip the hen with a pair of tongs and air fry for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F (74°C).
- Rest and Serve: Remove the Cornish hen from the air fryer and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Serving Suggestions
Serve your air-fried Cornish hen with:
- Gravy or your favorite hot sauce
- Roasted vegetables
- Mashed cauliflower
Sage Rubbed Cornish Hens with Blood Orange
This recipe adds a touch of elegance and unique flavor to your Cornish hens.
Ingredients
- 2 Cornish game hens
- 1/2 stick of softened, unsalted butter
- Fresh chopped sage
- Minced garlic
- Salt and pepper
- 1 blood orange, sliced
Instructions
- Dry Brine (Optional): For the most flavorful results, salt/dry brine the hens 24-48 hours in advance. Use kitchen twine to truss the legs of each hen (tie them together). Use paper towel to pat the surface of the skin dry. Use your fingers to gently separate the skin of hens, taking care not to pull or tug aggressively or rip the skin. With the salt and pepper, generously season each hen, taking care to get beneath the skin as well. Allow the hens to sit, uncovered, in the refrigerator at least overnight.
- Prepare Compound Butter: To create the garlic and sage compound butter, start with half a stick of softened, unsalted butter. Add the fresh chopped sage and minced garlic. Mix well, using a spoon or hand mixer.
- Preheat Oven: Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Season the Hens: Remove the hens from the refrigerator about an hour before cooking to allow them to come to room temperature before going into the oven. Rub each hen with a portion of the compound butter; be sure to get under the skin.
- Roast the Hens: Place the hens into a roasting pan. To the roasting pan, also add blood orange slices (1 orange). You can also squeeze the juice of the orange onto the skin of the hens. Place the hens into the oven and cook for 1 hour or until the deepest part of the breast measure 165° F, using an instant read thermometer. Baste the hens every 15 minutes or so for even browning.
- Rest and Serve: Remove the hens from the oven and let them rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Keto Paleo Cornish Hen with Grain-Free Stuffing
This recipe combines the Cornish hen with a flavorful grain-free stuffing, making it a complete and satisfying meal.
Ingredients
- 2 medium sized Cornish Game Hens (900 g/ 2 lb)
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp garlic salt (or 1:1 garlic powder and salt)
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 6 cups cooked and drained cauliflower “rice” (720 g/ 1.6 lb)
- 2-3 tbsp unsalted grass-fed butter or ghee
- 2 medium yellow onions, finely chopped (220 g/ 7.8 oz)
- 2 medium celery stalks, diced into medium pieces, about 3/4 cup (80 g/ 2.8 oz)
- 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh sage or 2 tsp dried
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dried
- Oil, butter or ghee to grease pan
- Optional Orange Sauce (avoid for keto): 1 cup fresh, no pulp orange juice (240 ml), 1/8 cup Dijon mustard, 1/4 cup organic honey, Optional: 1/4 cup gluten-free soy sauce
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C).
- Prepare the Hens: Grease your glass Pyrex dish, or baking dish of choice with oil, butter or ghee. Cut hens in halves. Salt and pepper the hens. Salt inside the cavity. Sprinkle the paprika and garlic on the hens. Add some fresh cracked pepper and a few pinches of salt.
- Prepare the Stuffing: Heat your skillet and warm the butter. Cook your onions until clear and soft. Add your celery and cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring the whole time. Remove from heat source. Add your cauliflower or rice and stir. Add in your parsley, sage and thyme.
- Assemble and Roast: Place “stuffing” in the baking dish and spread evenly. Place the hens skin side up on the pan. Cover with foil lightly. Roast in the 425°F (220°C) degree oven for 40 minutes. Uncover and reduce oven to 375°F (190°C) degrees. Bake for another 15 minutes, uncovered, until golden on top. Add some additional butter or ghee to the stuffing as needed.
- Rest and Serve: Remove and let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Salt to taste. Optionally, serve with Orange Sauce: Add all ingredients to a saucepan and heat up. Serve on top of the dish or as an optional side condiment.
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