This Cornish game hen recipe is perfect for Easter or any other occasion! The bright flavors of the orange, sherry, and rosemary will have everyone wanting more.
Raise your hand if you eat ham every single Easter. I bet a lot of you are raising your hands. As much as I love ham (especially this five ingredient slow cooker maple dijon ham), I think there comes a time for mixing it up a little.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Approachable: If you’re intimidated by the thought of preparing a Cornish hen, don’t be! It’s really simple. If you can cook chicken, you can cook Cornish game hen.
- Impressive and flavorful: Blow your family and friends away with this beautiful Cornish game hen recipe. They’ll be impressed, but more importantly, their taste buds will be satisfied with the bright citrus of the orange and the savory pine notes of the rosemary.
How to Make this Cornish Game Hen
This recipe looks super impressive but in reality is quite easy to make. Those are my favorite kind of recipes. As always, scroll down for the complete and printable recipe card.
Prep the Cornish hens. First, remove the giblets. If you like giblets, you could make giblet gravy or a homemade stock. Give the Cornish hens a little massage with olive oil. That helps them get crispy beautiful brown skin. Season them, inside and out, with salt and pepper. Put them into a roasting pan large enough to accommodate the hens side by side.
Add oranges and onions. Place one orange wedge and one sprig of rosemary inside each hen. Arrange the remaining orange wedges, unpeeled, and a quartered onion around the hens in the roasting pan.
Roast. Start with a high temperature, 450°F for 25 minutes, to get the Cornish hens going and to caramelize the onions and the oranges.
Reduce oven temperature. Turn the oven down to 350°F, and add the sherry, chicken broth, and mustard to the pan to keep the hens moist, and to add terrific flavor during the remainder of the cooking time. Baste every 10 to 15 minutes to bathe the hens in the great flavor of the broth and to keep them from drying out.
Check internal temperature. Once the hens have roasted for 45 minutes, check the internal temperature to make sure they’re done. I like to use an instant read thermometer. Insert it into the thickest part of the hens.
Serve. Remove the Cornish hens from the pan, put them on a platter, and tent them with foil to keep warm. Reduce the juices in the pan over high heat to make a nice sauce. Enjoy!
Serving tips
Try serving Cornish hens with slow cooker mashed potatoes, zucchini rice casserole (also bakes at 350!), sauteed parsnips with white wine and thyme, or green beans with lemon and feta.
Cornish Game Hen Recipe with Orange and Rosemary
Ingredients
- 2 Cornish hens (about 2 pounds each)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 large orange, quartered
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 yellow onion, quartered
- ¼ cup sherry or sherry cooking wine
- ¼ cup reduced sodium chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- If present, remove giblets from Cornish hens. Rub outside of Cornish hens with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Season hens with salt and pepper on all sides. Place 1 orange wedge and 1 sprig of rosemary in cavity of each hen.
- Arrange the hens in a roasting pan, and arrange remaining orange wedges and quartered onions around hens. Roast at 450°F for 25 minutes.
- Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together sherry wine, chicken broth, mustard, and remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and pour over hens.
- Continue roasting about 45 minutes longer, or until hens are golden brown and juices run clear and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 180°F. Baste with juices from pan every 10 minutes.
- Transfer hens, oranges, and onions to a platter, pouring liquid from cavities into the roasting pan. Cover Cornish hens loosely with aluminum foil to keep warm. Transfer pan juices to a medium saucepan (you can also do this right in the roasting pan) and place over high heat. Boil until liquids reduce to a sauce, 5 to 7 minutes.
- To serve, cut hens in half lengthwise and arrange on plates. Spoon sauce over hens and serve.
Notes
- If you’d rather not use sherry, substitute additional chicken broth.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
Made this for Thanksgiving as a change.
Excellent recipe. The last 10 minutes are critical to monitor each bird, almost made the mistake of checking only one of four.
The sauce rendered as explained and was delicious.
Thank you a very successful meal.
I’m so glad you liked this and honored that you tried it on Thanksgiving! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
Great!
Thank you!
I made this recipe for Easter dinner yesterday, and it was amazing! I added a little paprika and garlic powder to the chicken seasoning, but otherwise stuck to the recipe. My husband and our guest LOVED it.
I’m thrilled to hear that! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave a comment! I’m glad I was able to make your Easter a little more delicious!
Excellent.. change nothing
Thanks Jim! Glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
Cornish game hen is the ONE nice dinner my hubby has ever made for me…..I will need to slip him this recipe! ;)
Haha I like the way you think!
I love this alternative to ham on Easter! Though, truth be told, I’d eat this at any time of the year, particularly with some sherry in there.
So true, me too!
We eat ham every Easter, just bought mine today! But I love these little cornish game hens for entertaining! And that sherry has to give them such great flavor!
This is such a gorgeous dinner! I need to make this for my family soon!
Love the colors in this dish! These Cornish hens look perfect for any special occasion, and maybe even a shortcut for Thanksgiving ;)
looks delicious