Beer Brined Cornish Hens

Hello all, I am finally sitting down to write after making my hens last night.  I needed the motivation from my Godiva Dark Chocolate Hot Cocoa to get me to sit.  So where did we leave off?  Oh yes, we had put the hens in the fridge to brine for 24 hours.  So yesterday at around 3pm or so I started to get my mirepoix all cut and put in the bottom of my roasting pan.  I preheated my oven to 350 degrees then got the hens out.  I placed them breast side up on my cutting board and began to tress them.  I started by placing my twine under the back near the thighs and then pulled it across the thighs and tied them in a knot right at the cavity (filled the cavity with split garlic and two sprigs each of the savory herb).  I knotted it twice to make sure it was nice and tight.  Then I tucked the wings back and under it as if its arms were behind its head and getting a tan on the beach.  Then I put it around the wings, flipped it over and tied it on the back.  This should have the legs closed and the beast sticking out.  Then I flipped it back over breast side up and then tied it down at the bottom again.  Hopefully this makes some sense.  If not then then try to watch a video on youtube or just get a chicken and try it out.  There are many ways to tress it up.

My "Street Walker" Hens

My "Catholic Schoolgirl" Hens

I laid it on my mirepoix and then heavily seasoned it with salt and pepper.  Now into the oven.  After about 10 minutes I could smell the hens and I was getting hungry.  Ten more minutes and I went in for my first basting.  I gave them a little squirt with the olive oil and brushed it around.  15 more minutes and I basted them again.  After about an hour I took its temp to see if they were done.  If you don't know, the place to check the temp is in the thickest part of the thigh not in the breast.  The breast meat cooks faster so you will not get an accurate temp taking it there.  The temperature you are looking for is 165 degrees.  This rule goes for all forms of poultry.  Mine was ready to come out.  As much as I wanted to dig in I had to let it rest for about 10 minutes or so.  This rest period is so the juices in the meat get disbursed back into all of it.  This rest period should be done with all forms of meat, including roasts and steaks.  Just remember the thicker the meat, the longer it needs to rest.  A turkey should rest about 20 minutes or so before you carve it.  This will help your meat not dry out.

Ready for roasting...

Now I plated my hen with some simple couscous and my roasted mirepoix,  I ended up just mixing the two and it was delicious.  The hens had a great beer flavor but not an overwhelming one.  As you got further into the meat you could taste the garlic.  I had heard about tasting the layers in food but I think this was my first experience where I could recognize it.  I have to say DJ and I really enjoyed it as well as our sitter Abby that just happened to be coming to watch the kids as DJ and I headed out to the movie.  I will definitely try more things with beer.  I will just be sure to make it a good quality one!

Bon Appetit!