Reviewed: Dec. 27, 2008

I made these for the first time using this recipe and they turned out great. I would make these again, YUM!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

4Hearts

Cooking Level: Intermediate

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Dec. 27, 2008

I did this on a full scale chicken and it turned out wonderful! Smelled so good in the oven too! Even my vegetarian friend asked what smelled so good! I also cut small slits into the breast of the chicken and throughout and added little slices of garlic in the slits, very delicious!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
2 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

lillaurabean

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Winlock, Washington, USA

Living In: Tacoma, Washington, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Dec. 26, 2008

I made this for Christmas Eve dinner, following the recipe exactly. The chickens needed extra time to cook. It tasted really good, but not spectacular. I think next time I'd put some garlic inside the hens.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

bethsanchez23

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Rochester, New York, USA

Living In: Fort Bragg, North Carolina, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Dec. 26, 2008

i made cornish hens christmas eve i rubbed extra virgin olive oil over the hens and salt and pepper and garlic powder and inside the cavity of the hens,i cut a wedge of orange and put inside of the cavity also. i baked mine at 350 degrees for 80 minutes uncovered and it browned nicely and was tender

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

sandi1945

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Canton, Ohio, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Dec. 25, 2008

I was put in charge of Christmas dinner this year and since we had turkey on Thanksgiving I wanted something a little different. I'm not a huge garlic person, and neither are my parents, so I only used four cloves in the sauce and put one clove in each bird cavity. I also sprinkled a little thyme onto the skin of the birds before cooking. I also doubled the sauce to serve five. Our hens required more cooking than suggested on the recipe but they still tasted absolutely fantastic! So moist! Yum! Definitely a favorite and will make again.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Tori

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Dec. 25, 2008

Very yummy, esp. the gravy! Followed the recipe except used dried rosemary instead of the fresh and added about 1/2 cup chopped portabella mushrooms about 20 minutes before completion. Also, I added cornstarch to the gravy to thicken it a bit more. All in all, the meat and gravy had a very delectable flavor.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Cherylm

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Tampa, Florida, USA

Living In: Crawfordville, Florida, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Dec. 20, 2008

Awesome!! & easy!! I will be making this again.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

sonicsour

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Dayton, Ohio, USA

Living In: Columbus, Ohio, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Dec. 20, 2008

Excellent! We will make this again and again.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Niki B.

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Dec. 10, 2008

This was A-mazing! I used more salt & pepper than asked and the skin came out very crisp and tasty. I also added red potatoes and carrots to the pan and put more rosemary in the pan to add flavor to the veggies and drippings. I almost trippled the liquid because I didn't want the garlic and veggies to burn and it was necessary in order to make the sauce. The sauce was just delectable! You don't have to add flour to the sauce if you follow the directions. I used a potato smasher to mash the garlic and continuously stirred the boiling sauce until it thickened. I can't wait to use this on a whole chicken or turkey like others have done.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
6 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

MIMER74

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Dec. 8, 2008

I didn't follow this recipe to the letter, but borrowed some of the basic ideas. I seasoned the inside of the hens with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper and then stuffed them with the lemon and rosemary and added two cloves of garlic as well. For the outside, I melted a cube of salted butter (I made eight hens, you could probably use less,) and added fresh chopped rosemary, sage and thyme with one clove of crushed garlic. I brushed this mixture under the skin making sure to get a lot of the herbs there to flavor the meat, and then outside of the skin as well. I baked them for approx 90 minutes and VOILA! My guests raved! I served the hens with wild rice with oyster mushrooms and pine nuts, and pan roasted asparagus and homemade peasant bread. It was a lovely meal, and my guests are still talking about it :)

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
4 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Heide

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Portland, Oregon, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Dec. 3, 2008

This was a big hit for our Thanksgiving. I wanted to do something different, as I knew we would be having Turkey with our larger family get together. Each person received their own hen and it came out wonderful. Due to the lack of time, I didn't cook up the sauce with the pan drippings, but the flavor was excellent. I used a chicken rub instead of the salt and pepper, but everything else was delicious. I had to cook it about 20 more minutes (not even sure if that was long enough)...but might have just been my oven, as I was doing two different roasting pans.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Aaron

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Nov. 27, 2008

Simply the best cornish hens I have ever cooked! Thanks

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

cinda

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Nov. 27, 2008

We used this with a 20-25LB turkey over the last few years. The results were amazing, we added some paprika and adjusted the wine accordingly and cooked it in a oven bag. The turkey was moist for days afterwards no dry turkey!!! The homemade gravy was delicous from the results of the drippings! Kudos!!!!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

sodazd

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Nov. 23, 2008

Very easy to make; very tasty; would increase cooking time a bit; did have to add a bit of corn starch to the drippings to thicken up, but had fabulous flavor; will certainly make again.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Kelly Ann

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Indiana, Pennsylvania, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Nov. 22, 2008

I make cornish game hens and usually follow the cooking directions on the wraper and they cook great! The cooking time was off for me (it was not fully cooked) so I had to cook them 20 minutes longer. This was reported by several people who reviewed it. The lemon give it a weird taste, the sauce tasted funny and the meat as well and it took me a minute to realize it's the lemon when cooked with the rinds it dose not really taste like lemon. I sugest finding a different recipe.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

sailor4life

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Nov. 13, 2008

This was incredible! I double the seasoning and it made an amazing sauce. I also added a fresh squeezed lemon to the sauce, which gave it a slightly stronger flavor. I am going to make this for Christmas Eve this year and I am sure it will be a huge it!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

lale82

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Nov. 12, 2008

This recipe was very simple and delicious. The hen was very tender. I did not have a fresh lemon so I used lemon juice which worked fine. I would not make any changes. Thank you for the recipe!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

mrsjenwest

Cooking Level: Intermediate

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Oct. 27, 2008

I have made this several times and it was fantastic. I made some minor adjustments: I used 1 hen since I only cook for 2 people, but kept the liquid measurements the same. I used fresh thyme in place of the rosemary, and substituted 1 Tbsp of minced garlic for the whole cloves. I put 1/4 of a lemon into the bird, along with 4 sprigs of thyme and garlic. I added some more thyme (stems removed) to the pan liquids. I also roasted some red potatoes and carrots in the same pan. I cooked for 60 minutes, then drained the drippings into a saucepan, whisked in a roux, and simmered for a few minutes. This made an AMAZING gravy for both the hen and potatoes/carrots. I'm adding this to my regular rotation, it was THAT good!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
4 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

not my gumdrop buttons!

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Living In: Baltimore, Maryland, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Oct. 12, 2008

I just made this recipe this evening, and after reading the reviews I decided to make the following small modifications. I'm a big flavor person, so I seasoned the outside of the hens with kosher salt and fresh black pepper, as well as a dash of cayenne, dried rosemary and basil. I also spooned a couple of teaspoons of pre-crushed garlic on the breast of the chicken. When stuffing the birds, I put 3 cloves of garlic in with the lemon wedges and rosemary. I cooked according to the same time and heat as the recipe described, and when making the sauce I doubled the liquid so as to make sure I had enough for gravy and to spoon over the birds during the second cooking process. I'm extremely pleased with the result, it was lemony (without being overpowering) and the rosemary and pepper flavors were bright and aromatic. Utter smash hit. I used Wondra flour when whipping up the gravy over VERY high heat, thickened in no time and is quite possibly the best brown gravy I've ever made. Served with steamed asparagus (which really went with the gravy) and home-made crusty macaroni and cheese. Delightful!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
2 users found this review helpful