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Cornish Game Hen Recipe with Garlic

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My top pick for a Cornish Hen dish is right here! These little birds are a delight, and there are countless ways to prepare them. However, I’ve found this method particularly noteworthy.

Hi, there Clarks Condensed readers! My name is Charlee and I blog over at Humble in a Heartbeat. I am so excited to be on Katie’s blog today to share a simple and out-of-this-world Cornish game hen recipe with you. Never made Cornish hens before? No problem. This recipe is great for beginners.

When I was dating my husband, he invited me over to his apartment one evening to have dinner with him. I was thinking we would have some kind of steak or maybe pork. But no. He served Cornish game hens with oven fries. They only weigh 1 1/2 pounds or so.

Let me tell you, it was a dinner to remember! I had never in my life heard of Cornish game hens before and it was kind of fun to have an entire bird to myself.

Cornish Hens Recipe

Since our first Christmas dinner as a married couple, the Cornish game hen has become a regular feature. But really you can eat them anytime you want.

I personally love roasting Cornish hens because when you cook two 24 ounces in your oven it literally takes half the time in the oven as a 6-pound chicken.

Cornish game hens would be perfect to cook if you are having Thanksgiving away from family. Two Cornish game hens can feed two adults and one or two young children. It’s also great to cook these little birds if you don’t want leftovers.

Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any weeknight is a fine occasion for making Cornish game hens. Ok, so they are more expensive per pound than your average whole chicken. BUT, remember that when you don’t really want leftovers and you only want to heat up your oven for a small amount of time, they are the perfect solution.

Do you want to know what makes these babies so delicious? It’s my special brine recipe. I had heard about brining turkeys for years before I ever tried brining myself. I tried it on chicken several months ago, and now I’ve tried it on my little Cornish hens. Extraordinary results, I tell ya.

Once you brine even once, you will not go back to making any kind of bird without doing this simple process. Brining just makes every chicken, turkey, and Cornish hen so much tastier and moist.

What is a Cornish Game Hen?

Despite what some people say, a Cornish Hen is not just a baby chicken. It is actually a breed of chicken. They have actually been bred specifically for commercial use – they don’t lay legs very well, but they make for a tasty dinner!

With that said, traditional cornish game hens are young, females that are butchered when they are just a few weeks old.

Tips for Cooking Cornish Hen

Making this dish takes time, but it’s worth the effort. Here are few tips to ensure the effort is well spent:

  • Take the time to brine your meat. We promise it makes a huge difference.
  • Use a meat thermometer to monitor the internal temperature of the bird to make sure it doesn’t get overcooked
  • If possible, use a fresh, not defrosted, bird. You can use one that has been previously frozen, but we find a fresher game hen makes for better results

How to Store Cornish Game Hen

You should allow your birds to cool completely before storing them. Once they’ve cooled, place them in an airtight container. The leftovers should be used within about three days.

What to do with Leftovers

If you have leftovers, here are a few tasty dishes you can make:

When Should You Make Cornish Game Hens?

Well, you can really make them anytime you want! We have enjoyed them year-round. However, they are particularly fun during the holiday season.

Should You Brine Your Cornish Game Hen?

Yes, I would definitely recommend brining your game hen. Bringing the bird before you cook it helps keep it extra moist, tenderizes the chicken, and makes the dish more flavorful overall. It adds more time to the total cooking time for the recipe, but it’s worth it.

You are going to really enjoy the ease of making these Cornish game hens this holiday season. When you can do the prep a day ahead, it makes the cooking part a breeze. Enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup + 2 T. Kosher salt
  • 1/3 cup sugar or honey
  • 3-5 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 T. black peppercorns, crushed
  • 1 tsp. ground mustard
  • 1 tsp. onion powder
  • 2 1/2 quarts of warm water
  • 2 Cornish games hens (mine were 24 oz. each)
Cornish game hen

Instructions

Brining the Game Hen

At least 12 hours or more before you intend to cook your Cornish hens, start the brine.

Cornish Hen Brine

Get out a large food-grade container. You can use a large pot if you have one large enough. Try to avoid metal if at all possible, because from what I’ve read it can do strange things to your birds!

Add the salt, sugar, garlic, peppercorns, ground mustard, and onion powder to your pot. (Do not worry if you don’t have garlic, peppercorns, ground mustard, or onion powder because these can be omitted. I would discourage this, but sometimes you just don’t have an ingredient.) Pour the warm water over it all and stir it so the salt and sugar dissolve. Put the pot into your fridge until the water has cooled down.

Cornish Game Hen Brine

Take the pot out of the fridge and get your Cornish hens ready. Remove the giblets and submerge the hens into the brine. Put the pot back in the fridge for about 6 hours. Remove the pot from the fridge, flip the birds over, and put the pot back into the fridge for another 6 hours.

Cornish game hen and Chicken

How to Roast Cornish Game Hen

Remove the pot from the fridge, take the Cornish hens out of the brine, and pat them down with paper towels. Place them on a roasting rack in a roasting pan. You do not have to add anything else, because they taste wonderful as they are, but I tried them with some olive oil, more salt, and a little pepper, and it does make a difference. Either way is sooo good!

uncooked cornish game hen

Tuck the wings under the birds, and if you have some cooking twine, use it to tie the legs together. It will help the birds roast more evenly and make for a better presentation. I rarely do this since I don’t have cooking twine lying around my house. 🙂

Preheat your oven to 425 F. Once the oven comes to temperature, put the birds into the oven for 25 minutes. Turn down the temperature to 400 F and roast for another 20 minutes. Finally, bring the temperature down to 375 F and roast for another 25-30 minutes. If you have a meat thermometer, make sure that the internal temperature of the birds is at least 165 F before removing from the oven. If you don’t have one, make sure that the hens are completely cooked (no longer pink) before eating.

two cornish game hens on a platter

Take the hens out of the oven and let them rest for 10 minutes while the juices distribute evenly.

Bon appétit!

You are going to really enjoy the ease of making these Cornish game hens this holiday season. When you can do the prep a day ahead, it makes the cooking part a breeze. Enjoy!

The BEST Cornish Hens Recipe: The Only Recipe You Will EVER Need

The BEST Cornish Hens Recipe: The Only Recipe You Will EVER Need

Yield: 2 Cornish Game Hens
Prep Time: 12 hours
Active Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time: 13 hours 15 minutes

Cornish Game Hens are a DELICIOUS recipe that you will come back to time and time again

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup + 2 T. Kosher salt
  • 1/3 cup sugar or honey
  • 3-5 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 T. black peppercorns, crushed
  • 1 tsp. ground mustard
  • 1 tsp. onion powder
  • 2 1/2 quarts of warm water
  • 2 Cornish games hens (mine were 24 oz. each)

Instructions

  1. At least 12 hours or more before you intend to cook your Cornish hens, start the brine.
  2. Get out a large food-grade container. You can use a large pot if you have one large enough. Try to avoid metal if at all possible, because from what I've read it can do strange things to your birds!
  3. Add the salt, sugar, garlic, peppercorns, ground mustard, and onion powder to your pot. (Do not worry if you don't have garlic, peppercorns, ground mustard, or onion powder because these can be omitted. I would discourage this, but sometimes you just don't have an ingredient.) Pour the warm water over it all and stir it so the salt and sugar dissolves. Put the pot into your fridge until the water has cooled down.
  4. Take the pot out of the fridge and get your Cornish hens ready. Remove the giblets and submerge the hens into the brine. Put the pot back in the fridge for about 6 hours. Remove the pot from the fridge, flip the birds over, and put the pot back into the fridge for another 6 hours.
  5. Remove the pot from the fridge, take the Cornish hens out of the brine, and pat them down with paper towels. Place them on a roasting rack in a roasting pan. You do not have to add anything else, because they taste wonderful as they are, but I tried them with some olive oil, more salt, and a little pepper, and it does make a difference. Either way is sooo good!
  6. Tuck the wings under the birds, and if you have some cooking twine, use it to tie the legs together. It will help the birds roast more evenly and makes for better presentation. I rarely do this since I don't have cooking twine lying around my house. 🙂
  7. Preheat your oven to 425 F. Once the oven comes to temperature, put the birds into the oven for 25 minutes. Turn down the temperature to 400 F and roast for another 20 minutes. Finally, bring the temperature down to 375 F and roast for another 25-30 minutes. If you have a meat thermometer, make sure that the internal temperature of the birds is at least 165 F before removing from the oven. If you don't have one, make sure that the hens are completely cooked (no longer pink) before eating.
  8. Take hens out and let them rest.
© Katie Clark
Category: Recipes

Other Ways to Cook a Cornish Game Hen

What Should You Serve with it?

A Cornish Game Hen can be a great substitute for a turkey for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner – so anything that you’d serve at Thanksgiving would be a great side dish.

Personally, I think it is delicious with mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, and a delicious roll.

I would definitely at least make gravy – you could easily do this with the drippings. Be sure to check out our turkey gravy recipe over on our side dish recipe.

This would pair perfectly with some of our other popular recipes:

Can you Cook a Cornish Game Hen frozen?

I would not suggest cooking a game hen frozen unless you are using the Instant Pot. There is debate on whether or not you should cook frozen meat in the slow cooker or on the stove top, but I would probably say no.

I would recommend fully defrosting the frozen cornish hen and then cooking. For faster defrosting, you can defrost in a bowl of water in the sink.

How Many Cornish Game Hens per Person?

I would suggest one cornish game hen per adult and teenager, and one for 2-3 children (depending on their age and appetite).

Smoking a turkey this year? Check out this awesome post on how to smoke a turkey.

Cornish Game Hen Recipe / Easy Cornish Game Hen /
cornish game hen

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Cici says

    I’m disappointed in this recipe!

    I tried this and brined them for 24 hours, and they were too salty, although I did notice that they were more tender. I think 12 hours might be the max time you would want to brine a smaller bird like this. I also didn’t notice ANY flavor from the garlic, mustard, sugar, or anything else that was in the brine – just a nearly overwhelming salt taste. The skins also didn’t crisp up like they normally would when I cook game hens or other poultry.

    They also were very overdone (I checked them a bit early, and they were already at 190 F).

    Reply

  3. VB says

    I made these cornish hens for my husband tonight and he absolutely loved it. It was soo easy to do and had so much flavor turned out awesomely thank You so much for posting this recipe it made me look like I knew what I was doing in the kitchen. Lol

    Reply

  4. Cayce says

    I made this today (Thanksgiving) instead of turkey. I used sea salt, so used less than what the brine recipe called for. I used honey instead of sugar. We cut the birds into halves because we also served spiral cut ham. No one would have been able to eat a whole. This was the first time I’ve really enjoyed Cornish game hens. Definitely recommend this recipe!

    Reply

  5. Debbie W says

    Made this tonight with roasted potatoes and book choy with shiitake. It was very juicy and had good flavor. However, I brined it Saturday to cook Sunday, but didn’t cook until Monday night, so it was over salted. So make sure you only brine it 12-24 hours. 48 is too much. I will definately make this recipe over and over.

    Reply

  7. Megan says

    I made these Christmas day and I have been dreaming about them ever since! They were AMAZING! My family’s only complaint was their weren’t any left overs LOL. I bought some young whole chickens hoping to recreate this with more left over. Do you have a recipe that transfers to a little bit bigger bird?

    Reply

  8. Wanda says

    My comments should have been posted on Thanksgiving Day but we were too fat and happy to type! In this crazy pandemic year, Thanksgiving was just my husband and me so I jumped on a sale for Cornish hens and then stumbled upon this recipe. Wow! I’m so glad I did. And so is my Mr.! we loved it so much that we are having it again for Christmas with our friend.

    I couldn’t find any birds any bigger than 20 ounces so the cooking time at 375 degrees only took about twenty minutes.

    Thank you so much for sharing!

    Reply

  9. Jennifer says

    I’m curious; you mention not to use a metal pot to brine the hens but it looks like you used an aluminum pot for yours. Did it react with the brine? I would love to use what I have of possible.
    Looking forward to trying it, testing it on the inlaws for the holidays. Thanks for your help!

    Reply

  10. Michelle says

    Year #2 using this recipe for our small Thanksgiving of five. Thank you so much for this and I look forward to continue using this in our still budding traditions! ♡

    Reply

  12. Elmer M says

    I’m glad I came across this recipe. I did it axactly according to the recipe, however I didn’t cook my Hens in the oven. I cooked them on my Traeger pellet grille and I did 3 not 2 Cornish Hens. They were the best! I will always cook my Hens this way with this brine and next time I might even try the oven! Thanks!

    Reply

  13. Alison says

    Absolutely phenomenal! I ran out of time so they only brined for 6 hours but are so juicy and no need to baste when cooking! So delicious! Thank you for a fabulous recipe! My first time making Cornish game hen and they turned out so good!

    Reply

  14. Megan says

    I have used this recipe for my cornish hens and it was so good that I’d like to use it on a 4-5lb chicken. Do you think I would need to make any changes to the brining recipe OR cooking temps/times? Thank you!

    Reply

    • Katie says

      I think you should be okay to do the same brining. For a chicken, you may need a little bit more cooking time. Start early and check regularly with a meat thermometer 🙂

      Reply

      • Katie says

        You could just use regular pepper. If you have regular mustard, you can replace each teaspoon of ground mustard with one tablespoon of prepared mustard 🙂

        Reply

  15. Marsha Hegdahl says

    I made these for our group of 12 yesterday. Everyone loved having their own baby chicken. The chickens were moist and so flavorful. Thanks for recipe!!

    Reply

  16. Greg says

    Most recipes tell you to rinse the birds after brining. I’m curious why this is not mentioned here. Wouldn’t they be too salty?

    Reply

  17. Capt. Stamina says

    The only change we made was to add a teaspoon each of rosemary and fennel to the brine. Left it in the brine for almost a day before cooking. Came out very juicy. Thank you for the recipe.

    Reply

  18. Jeff says

    I’ve made the hens (similar recipe) a long time ago and if I recall I cut them in half. If I recall doing so reduce the cooking time a little and it might also reduce brining time a little since you have cut into the hen allow a little easier brine penetration. Most importantly, it’s easier to eat because it lays flat on the plate. I’m wondering if anyone sees much difference in cooking them as halfs versus a wholes and then cutting in half after cooking? It just seems more “user friendly” served as halves and then people can go back for a second half and those with small appetites can stop at one half. A half also seems appropriate if you had lots of sides potentially.

    Reply

  19. Shaun says

    If using this recipe with four birds, should you double the brine or just put the birds in a container that the liquid covers everything?

    Thanks!

    Reply

  20. Lys says

    Amazing. Added salt and pepper before baking but didn’t need it. Moist, extremely flavorful. So dang good! Thank u!

    Reply

    • Katie says

      We don’t have one on this recipe. I’ll try and add one after the holidays! If you just right click on the page you should be able to press print. Just have it print the first three pages

      Reply

      • Cindy says

        This recipe is FABULOUS! I made 2 Cornish Game Hens last night in your brine, and I will use this from now on! I’ve brined before, but this is the BEST brine recipe! Thanks for sharing! My husband, my sons, me…we all really liked this! No other spices were necessary. 😊

        Reply

  22. Jack Rokon says

    Hi,
    Ooo the looks is Amazing.I was just wondering why you say don’t use metal and yet you show an enamel pot! Looks like your peppercorns are not crushed. Really want to try this just confused?

    Reply

    • Katie says

      You know this was a guest post, so I can’t really tell you why she said what she said. She probably just showed them uncrushed for the sake of the picture. Just follow the recipe and enjoy – people seem to have done that so far without issue 🙂

      Reply

  23. EasyRoasted5 says

    I think it is my all-new favourite. I’ve tried a lot of chicken recipes, and with this one I feel like I finally hit gold! Full chicken taste, beautiful gold colour, perfect salt, no fussy steps and done in the same amount of time (or less) as other recipes. Life changer!

    Reply

  24. Bill says

    Made 5 of these today! I used a large crockpot crock to brine them… I followed the recipe but I added an orange marmalade and honey glaze!

    They were fantastic!

    Reply

  25. Some Guy says

    Great title but you lost me as soon as you started the recipe with “I’m a blogger at such and such and I’m so happy to be blogging for so and so”. Judging from the pictures I’d say you need a flip 2/3 of the way through or you need to move a little lower in the oven.

    Reply

    • Katie says

      Hmmm I’m not sure why it bothers you that this was a guest post? This girl wrote this post as a favor when my son was born. It’s a great recipe. I’ve followed it myself, and it turns out perfectly cooked. Definitely not overdone!

      Reply

  26. SaltyLick says

    I just made these today. The birds came out juicy. They were tasty. I did everything the poster stated, even had the same sized hens, but they came out on the salty side. I threw some of my Rendezvous BBQ sauce over them and it was great at masking the saltiness. Any recommendations for next time before I decide to reduce the amount of salt used?

    Reply

  27. Tim says

    Brined these little sweethearts and stuffed each with a wedge of apple and a wedge of onion. They are currently on hour number 2 in a slow smoker with Apple wood with sliced Apple in the smoker water pan… Will let you know how they turn out!

    Reply

  29. GaryAZ says

    I am going to try this, but I have honey, sugar, and brown sugar.

    Have you ever used brown sugar? (Or Molasses? I have that too!) So many choices…. 😀

    Reply

  30. Gaytha says

    Thanks for the awesome recipe for brining!! Tried it today and loved it. I used one recipe for three hens. May have added a little more water. Did everything according to recipe but also used my Famous Daves roasted chicken seasoning on hens. These were totally delicious!! Every bit as good as Dixie Stampede’s?

    Reply

  31. Deb says

    so my grand daughter is 5 years old, oh my i cant get her to eat nice meal, i love hens, i used to make them all the time. anyway she only eats her certain cereal, chicken nuggets ,mac and cheese, salads, i made 2 hens for son and i, i had her taste mine. well she ate half my hen, i just called it a bird to her. almost all the white meat as she dont like the dark meat, i thought she would love the leg. so for this recipe it was great, first real meal she ever ate

    Reply

      • Francine says

        I’m making 7 game hens for Christmas. Wasn’t for sure if your reply above means to triple the brine or just leave it the same.

        Reply

        • Katie says

          You may want to make a bigger batch, simply because I am not sure if you’d be able to fit them all in the same pot. The hens just need to be fully emerged 🙂

          Reply

    • Crazycat says

      I grew up on a farm and butchered chickens every year; Cornish, fryers, and broilers. A Cornish game hen is typically a Rock Cornish, and they will get large if not butchered at the right time.

      Reply

  33. Annie says

    A Cornish hen is actually a breed of bird specially bred over centuries to be a specific size. Not a baby chicken.

    Reply

    • Crazycat says

      I grew up on a farm and butchered chickens every year; Cornish, fryers, and broilers. A Cornish game hen is typically a Rock Cornish, and they will get large if not butchered at the right time.

      Reply

    • WGC says

      I just looked it up, and cornish game hens were bred in the mid-1950’s by cross breeding two breeds of chickens. And the aren’t hens, they’re male and female.

      Reply

  35. Letisha says

    I am going to bake these tonight I did not have peppercorn but I had all of the other ingredients. I will let you know if it’s a winner at our house.

    Reply

  36. Chris says

    I was just wondering why you say don’t use metal and yet you show an enamel pot! Looks like your peppercorns are not crushed. Really want to try this just confused…

    Reply

    • Katie says

      This was a guest post, but I’d imagine she crush the peppercorns afterward – just showed them uncrushed for visual appeal. And I don’t know what to tell you about the pot – not one I used. I think if you just follow the instructions and not the pictures, you should be good to go 🙂

      Reply

    • Alicia says

      The pot in the picture is enameled and would prevent the salt from causing the metal to leach into the birds. Aluminum will taste and is not good for us to eat. We use too much of it and causes health problems. Google it. The salt also helps to break down the peppercorns. If you notice afterwards salt and pepper (cracked) can then be sprinkled on the birds. Pepper helps brown the skin on any meat. It also says any of the seasonings can be omitted if you’re out of any one or all but it’s not recommended. I dunno why you weren’t answered but u know these things to be true. Have fun y’all!

      Reply

      • Forrest Clark says

        Thanks for sharing your knowledge! I responded to Chris, but I wasn’t really sure what to say since this was a guest post. thank you!

        Reply

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