One of the first “fancy” dishes I fixed for my wife right after we got married was a Cornish hen with a cherry sauce. I have never made it since and don’t have the original recipe, but I put together what I thought the ingredients were and, voilà , it is better than I remember and not very hard to do.
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 Brined Cornish Hens
- 4 Quarts of water
- 1 Cup sea salt or kosher salt
- 1 Cup of sugar
- 1 Cup of sour orange juice (or 1/2 cup orange juice + 1/2 cup lemon juice)
- 14 Oz. seeded fresh or frozen cherries
- 1 Cup of port wine
- 1 Cup chicken stock
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 Stem of fresh thyme
- 1 Medium to large shallot, minced
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 Tsp. salt
- 1 Tbsp cold butter, cut into four pieces
- A slurry of 1/4 Cup corn starch and 1/4 Cup water
INSTRUCTDIONS:
- Brine the hens:
- Rinse the hens and remove giblets if they have any. Place them in a large bowl or large zip lock bag that is big enough to accommodate all 4 quarts of liquid.
- Over medium-high heat dissolve the sugar and water in 1 quart of the water until the water is clear. In a separate bowl or container, add it to the remaining 3 quarts of water.
- Once, the water is completely cooled, add it to the hens and cover with plastic wrap if using a bowl and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Roasting the hens:
- Tie the legs of the hens together with butcher’s twine.
- Rub olive oil all over the hens
- Salt and pepper all sides.
- Place in a shallow roasting pan, breast side up
- Bake for 25 minutes at 425 degrees F. Then reduce the heat to 400 degrees F for 20 minutes, after which you reduce the heat once again to 375 degrees F. and roast until the internal temperature is 165 degrees F.
- Remove from oven, lightly cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes
- For the Port Wine Cherry Sauce:
- Saute the minced shallots with the tablespoon of olive oil.
- Add the salt to the shallots to help sweat the vegetable
- Add the cup of port wine and reduce slightly
- Add the chicken broth, balsamic vinegar and thyme.
- Adjust for salt to your taste
- Simmer for 20 minutes
- After 20 minutes, remove the thyme stem and, while still simmering, whisk in the butter, one piece at a time. This allows the butter to emulsify and not separate from the sauce.
- Bring the heat up so that the sauce is bubbling but not a rapid boil
- Add the slurry a little at a time until you get a thickness that will coat a spoon or to your thickness preference.
Slice each hen in half and drizzle the sauce over it. I served it with roasted baby Yukon gold potatoes and asparagus.