Orange-Glazed Rock Cornish Hens

Reader's Digest CanadaReader's Digest Canada

Number of servings : Prep time: Cooking time: 1 minutes Type of meal : | Main Courses | Main Courses

Number of servings :

Prep time:

Cooking time: 1 minutes

Type of meal : | Main Courses | Main Courses

Special diet :

Ingredients

1 tea bag, such as Earl Grey
2 medium oranges
1/2 cup (125 mL) no-sugar-added orange marmalade
4 Rock Cornish hens (1 lb / 454 g each), thawed if frozen
1/2 tsp (2 mL) pepper
1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
2 medium onions, sliced
8 sprigs fresh rosemary
8 sprigs fresh thyme

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Fit a roasting pan with rack. Steep tea in 1/4 cup (50 mL) of boiling water for 5 minutes in small saucepan. Discard tea bag. Squeeze juice from 1 orange into tea, and then stir in marmalade until melted. Keep warm. Cut remaining orange into quarters (do not peel). Remove and discard giblets from hens. Wash hens and dry thoroughly, and then sprinkle cavities with pepper and salt. Loosen breast skin slightly. Stuff large cavity of each hen with 1 orange quarter, one-fourth of the onion slices, 1 rosemary sprig, and 1 thyme sprig. Tie legs together with kitchen string. Place hens, breast-side up, on rack in roasting pan. Brush hens over and under skin with about one-fourth of glaze. Pour enough water into pan to cover bottom (water should not reach rack). Roast hens on middle oven rack, basting over and under skin every 20 minutes with remaining glaze, until browned and juices run clear, about 1 hour. Let hens stand 10 minutes. Discard rosemary, thyme, onions, and orange from cavities of hens. Garnish with remaining rosemary and thyme sprigs. Discard skin before eating. Serve each hen on a bed of wild rice cooked with chopped onions and dried apricots. Add fresh green peas tossed with mint, and a spoonful of cranberry sauce on the side. Cook’s Clue: Buy fresh Rock Cornish hens if you can find them. In not, frozen hens are fine. Thaw them in the refrigerator overnight, leaving them wrapped so they don’t dry out. Or place hens in a large bowl of cool water until they are soft to the touch, about 4 hours, changing water every 30 minutes. Makes 4 servings.

Nutritional information:

Imported on 2011-01-20 16:41:26 — Original ID:810