| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 50 min |
| Prep: | 5 min |
| Cook: | 45 min |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 50 min |
| Prep: | 5 min |
| Cook: | 45 min |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 6 hens, rinsed and pat dry
- Coarse salt
- Coarse black pepper
- 1 cup defrosted orange juice concentrate
- 1 cup aged balsamic vinegar
- 3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 7 to 8 stems rosemary, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Line 2 baking pans with foil for easier cleaning. Set a baking rack in each pan. Split hens and butterfly open and place 3 hens in each baking pan. Season the hens with salt and pepper liberally. Mix the orange concentrate, balsamic vinegar and olive oil and pour evenly over the hens. Sprinkle with rosemary and roast 15 minutes at 425 degrees F and 30 minutes at 375 degrees F.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 135 |
| Total Fat | 8 g |
| Saturated Fat | 1 g |
| Carbohydrates | 13 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 10 g |
| Protein | 1 g |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg |
| Sodium | 228 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 135 |
| Total Fat | 8 g |
| Saturated Fat | 1 g |
| Carbohydrates | 13 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 10 g |
| Protein | 1 g |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg |
| Sodium | 228 mg |
Reviews
This was pretty good with a distinct orange flavor and not particularly greasy. The parsnips made it a bit different than just carrots.
Delicious! Tried this a few months ago after seeing on TV. It was my first time cooking cornish hens, and WOW..this was so good and easy. Like another reviewer, I made this with 2 hens. It is on our Christmas dinner menu this year. I do recall them turning black, which made me nervous but they tasted great. Maybe I will try to lower the temp as another reviewer posted.
I made this with 2 Hens. I followed the recipe, but I did add one large clove of Garlic that I grated on my zester and added about 2 TB of orange zest. I made the entire sauce recipe, because I wanted leftover. Next time I will roast them at 375 the entire time, with the sugar in the sauce, they did tend to get too black at the higher temp. They came out tender and juicy and the sauce is very very good. I would use just Chicken parts next time or it would also be good on Pork. But do add the orange zest and Garlic, this sauce has a lot of flavor, anyone who said it is bland did not follow the recipe.
Have enjoyed 50-75% of Ray’s recipes. But this is simple elegance. Would marinade the hens in the OJ/balsamic mix for a few hours prior to baking. Note: Avoid the Neely’s Christmas hens. They are flavorless.
Hen stays moist and tender and the flavor is out of this world.
Though Rachel posted this recipe 4 years ago, I tried it for the first time last night. Clearly one of my new favorites. Delicious and elegant, it’s truly hard to believe that prep time is five minutes!! When I find cornish hens on sale, I buy several for the freezer. I picked this recipe to avoid having to make a trip to the store. I didn’t have any orange juice concentrate on hand, so I substituted orange marmalade I bought a couple of years ago at Dollar Tree…same place I bought the basalmic vinegar! My yard is full of rosemary, so there you have it! It’s ridiculous that such an easy and inexpensive dinner could be so impressive. I served it with chunks of butternut squash and cubed potatoes tossed in olive oil and roasted right along with the hens. Everything was perfectly cooked using Rachael’s oven temp and time.
This one goes directly to my go-to file!
I have made it twice and I can’t wait for the third time.
I have made this recipe a dozen times using chicken quarters. I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out great. My family enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed looking at it because it was a great looking piece of chicken! My mom was hesitant as she has only used orange juice concentrate to make juice but now she is convinced that food can be use differently and enjoyed in many ways. Great recipe.
mine had lots of flavor and where juicy i loved them and the family did too.. it did remind me of panda express orange chicken but it was still very good.
Didn’t think that you could go wrong with these ingredients, but it really lacks flavor. It doesn’t taste bad, it’s just that it doesn’t seem worth the work to get blah chicken. Won’t be making this again.