Cornish Hen Recipe at 400 Degrees
If you don’t have much time and need to cook the Cornish hen faster, increase the oven to 400ºF.The hen should take between 45 minutes and 1 hour and 15 minutes to be completely roasted. You can use the instant read thermometer to check the internal and it should also reach 165ºF to be fully cooked.
Ingredients
- 1 Whole Cornish hen about 1 1/2lb
- 1 Sprig rosemary
- 2 Sprigs thyme
- 1 Medium onion cut off in quarters
- 3 Cloves garlic
- 1/2 Lemon cut of in slices
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
Dry Rub:
- 1/2 tbsp Salt
- 1/2 tbsp Pepper
- 1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning or other to taste
- 1 tbsp Smoked paprika
- 1/2 tbsp Garlic powder
- 1/4 tbsp Red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- Mix very well all the dry rub ingredientes in a small bowl.
- With paper towels pat the Cornish hen to remove any grease and season it with the dry rub inside and out.
- Put int a roasting pan the thyme, rosemary, garlic, onion and half the lemon slices.
- Place the hen in the roasting pan and drizzle the olive over the Cornish hen.
- Put the roasting pan onto the preheat oven and let it bake for abou 45 to 60 minutes. In doubt, insert the instant read thermometer into the hen thighs and breast until it registers 165ºF.
- To brow, increase the oven to 425ºF for about 5 to 7 minutes.
Remove the Cornish hen from the oven and let it rest for about 20 minutes before slicing.
- Cut the hen in half with a nice and sharp long knife. Slice between the breast with a steady force and use slicing motions until you have cut all the way trough.
- Use those delicious pan dripping from cutting the hen and the additional thyme, lemon slices and rosemary to garnish and drizzle the hen and serve over mashed potatoes.
Video
Notes
This recipe is good for beginners or experts in the kitchen, as it is really simple to make but very delicious.
This Cornish recipes at 400 degrees serves about 2 people but can easily be doubled or tripled to serve more people. But a whole Cornish feeds only about 2 adults, as they are smaller and lighter than a standard chicken.
If you plan on serving a generous meal it’s always more to use a hen per person than one hen for to people.