Serves: 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients
3 Cornish game hens, patted dry with paper towels
4 tablespoons salted butter (room temperature)
3 large cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
3 tablespoons lemon juice (keep 3 halves of lemons to stuff in hens)
Extra virgin olive oil
3 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup Mcbride Sisters Chardonnay
1/2 cup chicken broth
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400°F
Pat the hens dry with a paper towel
Mix butter, garlic, lemon juice, pepper & salt (set aside)
Use your index finger to loosen the skin on the top of the hen and slip lemon pepper butter under the skin on top of each breast. Repeat for each hen. Put a quarter of a lemon in the cavity of each hen. Truss the hens by tying the wings and legs.
Rub each hen all over with remaining lemon pepper butter. Sprinkle extra salt and pepper on skin, then drizzle with olive oil. Place the hens on the rack of a roasting pan lined with aluminum foil, spacing them out so they are as far apart from each other as possible. This will enable their skins to get browned and crispy.
Place the hens in the preheated oven and roast for 25 minutes.
While the hens are roasting, combine the chicken broth and wine in a bowl.
After the hens have been roasting for 25 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Pour the broth/wine mixture over the hens and continue to roast for 30 minutes, basting the hens with the juices at the bottom of the pan every 10 minutes or less. The hens are done when internal temperature reaches 165°F and the juices run clear. If you prefer darker skins, turn up the temperature once cooked to broil for a couple minutes, watching closely to prevent burning.
Carefully remove the hens and pour the juices from their cavities into the roasting pan. Transfer the hens to a warmed platter, remove the trussing and tent with aluminum foil to week warm. Pour the juices from the roasting pan into a saucepan and boil for about 5 minutes until the liquid is a thin sauce-like consistency.
Serve the hens whole per guest or cut in half lengthwise. Drizzle the sauce over the hens and serve immediately.