Pan Fried Dressing

Injecting Animal

Flavor injector Food Syringe

Raw Whole Cornish Hen

Stuffed Whole Rock Cornish Hen Roast:(Version 2)

Stuffed & Roasted Cornish Hen. Chicken Roast. Grilled Whole Rock Cornish Hen.

Thanksgiving is just couple of days away…but to me its already in the air! Hope Y’ll know what I mean!:) Yeah…..ifood.tv has genuinely removed all my plagiarized food pictures. I am so happy & thankful to Y’ll…sure it is a perfect Thanksgiving to me.

Well…..this is one of my oldest recipe, people who were browsing my site for years, would have come across this earlier. Since nothing came to my mind….but just to republish my old post. here it is…

I also chose this recipe…thought it would be appropriate at this moment. As many of us don’t have many people around to feast upon. Sometimes….small birds like Rock Cornish Hen could be just perfect for Solo cooking / family of two. Although….one could repeat this recipe with whatever choice you have ‘A Huge Whole Turkey’ or ‘Whole Hen’ or ‘Whole Duck Roast’. My cookery class guest said…she likes to cook more Cornish hen roast(for all her guests) than one huge turkey. She finds it much more comfortable. Makes sense…

Rock Cornish Hen is always my safest choice…when it comes to roasting, as you know…it just weighs about 400 grams. The skin is so thin and devoid of that heavy fat. The bones are soft than the chicken. Well….the meat is very gamier in taste. Moreover it comes out cooked thoroughly…without any great attention. Well….as usual you could grill this hen and garnish it later like me. Charcoal grilling will give best results…although I did it in conventional oven(you know why – its winter)

Ingredients:

Whole Cornish Hen 1

For Injecting:

Syringe 1
Salt
Turmeric 1 pinch
Chili powder 2 pinch
Lemon juice diluted
Saffron few strands crushed
Sesame oil few spoons

For stuffing & Garnishing:

Baby Potatoes 3 + 3
Hard Boiled eggs 2 + 2
Sesame oil few spoons

For Marination:

Fresh yogurts 1 cup
Lemon Juice
Salt
Turmeric powder 1/4 spoon
Chili power 1 spoon

Wet-Grind these to Thick Paste:(set 1)

Scallion 1
Ginger – 2″
Garlic 6 beads
Ripe Chilies 2
Roma tomato 1

To be Toasted Each Separately & Powdered Together:(set 2)

Peppercorns 1 spoon
Coriander seeds 2 spoon
Fennel seeds 1 spoon
Cumin seeds 1 spoon
Poppy seeds 1 spoon
Dry red chilies 3
Cloves 5
Cinnamon sticks 2-3
Cardamom pods 6
Star Anise 3 asters.

For dressing:

Jalapenos 3 finely chopped
Garlic 1 whole hea – 15 cloves finely chopped
Onion 2 large finely chopped
Large Tomatoes 2 finely chopped
Salt little
Turmeric powder 1 pinch
Lime/Lemon juice few spoons
Sesame oil 1/4 cup.

Method:

Wash and clean the chicken. Retain its skin. So you don’t have to use more and more butter. Skin gives a crispy crunch to the roast.

Take a teaspoon full of powdered spices + wet ground paste in a narrow cylindrical cup. Further add above said items too. Make up the volume by adding diluted lemon juice + oil. Now fill the syringe with this marination liquid. Inject the animal in the breast portion…deep under the skin. Poke at 2-4 points. Now let this stand for 2-4 hours.

Now prepare a marination juice using half of the powdered spices + wet ground paste(reserve the other half). Add yogurts, salt, turmeric and chili powers too. Mix them into thick batter like consistency. Now let the chicken sit in this marination for 4 -6 hours(if you are in hurry). Or you could leave it in a zip lock bag and marinate over night.

Meanwhile….heat a shallow pan, add oil. When oil is hot enough…add powdered spices(other half) and stir-fry them. Maybe till the raw odour leaves. Then followed by wet-ground paste as well(other half). Continue frying till the oil shows up on top.

Now slice the baby potatoes to thick roundels. Add to the above frying spices. Stir-fry them for few more minutes. Maybe like till they are semi-done here. Set aside.

Now bring the marinated chicken along with the marination liquid in a wide tray. Stuff half of the fried potatoes inside the cavity and 1 or 2 eggs(optional) Toss the remaining potatoes on the top(not eggs at this time). Spray enough oil/ghee.Tie their legs together with cotton thread. Hey do not use any nylon thread….

In a oven safe tray, place a greased aluminium foil. Place the chicken(breast portion above) over this. Cover the chicken with another foil. Bake the chicken for 1and 1/2 hours over 350 degree or till it is done.

[If you're grilling...use charcoal grill for good aroma. Place the chicken breast side up on the rack. Grill them....until they are done.]

Every 10-15 minutes, open the oven and spoon in the liquid that had gathering below and toss it over the chicken.

When the chicken is fully baked. Now if you like burnt taste in your chicken….grill for 2 minutes. Or broil it for 2 minutes on either sides.(well its only optional)

In a separate pan, make a sauce. Heat oil. Add chopped jalapenos, garlic, onion and tomatoes. Cover an cook for 2 minutes. Add salt, pinch of turmeric and lemon juice. Remove from heat.

Now run this sauce over the baked and broiled chicken. Toss the egg slices as well.

Serve steaming hot as a main dish or side entry.