Once in the oven this roasting pan of Cornish hens will be delivering wafts of oh so good and “follow your nose” aroma you will be waiting with knife and fork in hand to get at these tasty morsels. Another recipe adapted from one of our favorite Weight Watcher cookbooks, this one comes in at only 185 calories per serving for a half Cornish hen. We actually set up the hens with the white wine mixture the night before, so this also gave them some marinating time as well. The next day after returning home, all I had to do was turn on the oven and slip in roasting pan in the oven, an hour later we were delving into the tasty hens. Step 3 of the procedures involves removing the skin and then cutting the hens in half lengthwise, the following is a photo journal of this process. These are photos of Monique working on the Cornish hens, and she is improving on her knife handling skills!
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| Pulling skin off the Cornish hen | Pulling more skin off the Cornish hen |
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| Splitting the Cornish hen breast plate bones | Splitting the Cornish hen back bones |
In addition, here are a few photos of the Cornish hen split halves in the roasting pan and then with the marinade/sauce covering them before roasting.
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| Cornish hens split in roasting pan | Cornish hens covered with marinade sauce |
Yield: 8 servings
| Ingredients | ||
| 4 | 1-pound | Cornish hens |
| 2 | Cups | Dry white wine |
| 2/3 | Cup | White wine vinegar |
| ¼ | Cup | Soy sauce |
| 2 | Tbsp | Fresh rosemary, chopped |
| 1 | Tbsp | Fresh thyme, chopped |
| 8 | Each | Garlic cloves, minced |
| Procedure Steps Preheat oven to 350° F. | |
| 1. | Remove giblets and necks from hens and reserve for another use, such as a stock, or discard. |
| 2. | Rinse hens under cool water, and then pat dry with paper towels. |
| 3. | Remove the skin from all but the wings of each hen, and then cut them in half lengthwise. |
| 4. | Place hens with the meat side up in a large roasting pan. |
| 5. | In a bowl, combine the dry white wine, white wine vinegar, soy sauce, the fresh herbs, and the minced garlic. Then pour this mixture evenly over the hens and roast, uncovered in the 350° F oven for 1 hour, or until juices run clear. Baste the hens occasionally with the wine mixture. |
Calories 185, (33% from fat), Protein 26.2g, Fat 6.8g, (Sat 1.8g), Carbs 2g, Fiber 0.1g, Cholesterol 80mg, Iron 1.6mg, Sodium 279mg, Calcium 29mg. The original recipe can be found in the Weight Watchers Magazine Six O’clock Solutions, page 57, 2001. Moreover, the plated final dish served with a Greek salad for a side dish. Cornish Hens with Rosemay Wine Sauce and Greek Salad 
14 responses so far ↓
1 Beth // Jan 21, 2010 at 5:14 pm
Awesome – I haven’t had Cornish hens in a long time because of the price, but there is always a time to splurge a little. This marinade/sauce smells awesome….LOL
Thanks for the recipe.
2 Ingeborg // Jan 21, 2010 at 5:49 pm
Great recipe! Cornish hens used to be inexpensive. When I first starting using them, you could buy a cornish hen for $2.50 CD, now the minimum is approximately $10.00. I like to use them to make a delicous stock. The first recipe I had every used, was from Amy Vanderbilt’s cookbook. So, so long ago.
3 Trix // Jan 21, 2010 at 6:23 pm
What a flavorful sauce! Back in my meat eating days I loved Cornish hens … you are very tempting Cajun Chef Ryan!!
4 Sook @ My Fabulous Recipes // Jan 21, 2010 at 7:26 pm
Wow, I would love to make these! The hens look so tender and tasty!
5 Mathea // Jan 21, 2010 at 7:59 pm
I need to find me some cornish hens – I used to make them all the time!
Great recipe!
6 pegasuslegend // Jan 21, 2010 at 8:18 pm
love this!
7 Jessie // Jan 21, 2010 at 8:23 pm
I have seen cornish hens in my local supermarket but I had no idea what to do with them, so I never bought them. I like this recipe a lot and now I can finally buy the hens since I know what I can do with them! 🙂
8 Drick // Jan 21, 2010 at 9:02 pm
this looks so delectable, I always think you need to cook them whole – split sounds so much better esp with the marinade
9 Dana // Jan 22, 2010 at 4:07 am
This is pretty impressive! I love your recipes!
10 penny aka jeroxie // Jan 22, 2010 at 7:34 am
The chicken is so yellow! Reminds me of the village chickens in Asia. YUM
11 Dawn@CocinaSavant // Jan 22, 2010 at 9:39 am
wow! this sounds & looks delicious. cornish hens are a special treat and your sauce sounds like it would be even better
12 Doc // Jan 22, 2010 at 9:51 am
Yummy Chef I love Cornish hens, but might need a whole one!
BTW you have won an honest award, details on the blog!
13 averagebetty // Jan 22, 2010 at 2:34 pm
Great tutorial! I’ve always wanted to try preparing Cornish hens, just never have. You’ve inspired me 🙂
14 Carsten // Jan 24, 2010 at 8:20 pm
Hi, I didn’t know how to contact you so I left a comment here. I like to invite you to http://www.tasteandshare.com, a food & wine social network, where you can share photos, videos and a link to your own blog.