Glazed Cornish Hens

I have had this recipe for a very long time.  We first made these in my high school home ec class.  We made these for some DAR dinner.  They made a very elegant looking meal that is very easy and cheap.  Cornish hens are not very expensive and you can find  them anywhere.  Most people probably have never made them because they thought they would be difficult to cook or taste funny.  They are just like chicken and can really dress up a special occasion.

This is all you need for really tasty cornish hens.

Wash the hens just like you would a whole chicken or turkey.  The good thing is you don't have to look for the little plastic bag in the end of the hen.

Quarter a onion and lemon.

Insert one piece of onion into each of the hens.

Then put a piece of the lemon in each hen.

Spray them well with spray butter.  You can use stick butter if you like.

Put a little salt and pepper on the hens. Place the hens in a preheated 350 oven.  Cook for 45 minutes.

To make the glaze for the hens start with 1/2 c apricot preserves.

1 T lemon juice.  I used the other half of the lemon and used fresh squeezed.  Normally I use bottled lemon jucie.

Squeeze it all out.

Add 1 t lemon zest.

Be sure and gett it all from the back of the zester.

Put it on the stove to get warm and for the preserves to melt.

The hens after 45 minutes. Take them out of the oven...

Baste the hens with some of the apricot glaze.

Put them back in the oven for 15 minutes.

After the 15 minutes.  Take them out again.

Baste them again.  Put back in the oven for another 15 minutes.

After the second 15 minutes.  They are ready to eat.  That is all there is to making cornish hens.

But don't they look really fancy on the plate?


Glazed Cornish Hens Recipe

2 Cornish game hens thawed
1 small onion cut into wedges
1 lemon cut into wedges
2 T butter softened or spray butter
salt and pepper
1/2 c apricot preserves
1 T lemon juice
1 t lemon zest.