This summer, try making this dish for grilled Cornish game hen. The marinated game hens are delicious, soft, and will melt in your tongue.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr |
| Additional Time: | 4 hrs |
| Total Time: | 5 hrs 15 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
Ingredients
- 1 cup lemon juice
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ medium onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
- 1 tablespoon white wine
- 1 tablespoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
- 1 teaspoon celery salt
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 (1 1/2 pound) Cornish game hens
Instructions
- Whisk lemon juice, oil, onion, garlic, wine, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, celery salt, and salt together in a large glass or ceramic bowl. Add game hens and toss to evenly coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
- When ready to cook, preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat and lightly oil the grate.
- Remove hens from marinade and shake off excess. Save remaining marinade for basting.
- Cook hens on the preheated grill, brushing occasionally with remaining marinade, until no longer pink and the juices run clear, about 1 hour. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone, should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Discard any unused marinade.
- Nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of marinade ingredients. The actual amount consumed will vary.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 871 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 9 g |
| Cholesterol | 302 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 52 g |
| Saturated Fat | 15 g |
| Sodium | 1124 mg |
| Sugars | 2 g |
| Fat | 69 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Great flavor and easy to do. I didnt have celery salt, so I used garlic and onion salt half and half. I will definitely get the celery salt for the next time…..
I have been grilling game hens for years, and they remain one of my absolute favorite foods to grill and eat! I usually brine the birds with just salt and some type of sugar (brown sugar, honey, molasses, etc.), then season them before stuffing with mirepoix veggies. This time, I decided to marinate using this recipe, and they were nothing short of delicious! I grilled them indirectly with maple wood chunks for smoke for 45 – 50 minutes (brined birds cook quicker), and after a 10 minute rest, were ready to eat. I’m definitely saving this recipe as a favorite!
To much lemon juice and I would of used onion flakes or powder. Did not like the recipe
Really delicious! The hens got a little charred on one side, but that’s in part because I’m still getting used to a new gas grill. Still, they were juicy and tender. Great marinade—I may try it on pork tenderloin too.
It would be a 5 star if it gave better grilling instructions. I prepared the marinade exactly as written. I’m NO grill-master, but guessed that this needed direct heat and the lid closed. It’s in the 20s F here so I went inside and suddenly smelled a lot of smoke. Whoops. The skin was hopelessly charred in 5 minutes from flare-ups. I moved it to indirect heat, closed the lid and cooked it for a full hour. It was still delicious and the silver lining is we shouldn’t eat poultry skin anyway because of the fat. I will try this again when its not a pandemic. Happy Isolation everyone.
I made these last year in place of a Thanksgiving turkey. The family loved them so much
So good. Just make sure they are fully cooked
Delicious. Husband immediacy said a keeper. Better than hens I’ve cooked in oven. Made full marinade recipe (even though only did 2 hens) so had more than enough for basting. Cooked on low med heat for an hour and basted about 5 times.
It’s just the two of us for Thanksgiving this year so we grilled cornish hens and they were great. We will definitely have them again.
Marinated per instructions. Removed backbone from hens before marinating. Grilled flat on grate. Grilled 45 mins. Probably 35-40 would have been juicier. Very yummy & eye appealing. Definitely would make for guests. Will make again & again.
My husband never had Cornish hens before. I made this for him. Now there’s nothing else he wants. ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC
Fantastic! Made 3-4 times… Everyone loves them.
Perfect that’s all I can say. Didn’t substitute a thing.
made this last night. I was a bit sceptical but wow. the best we’ve ever had. highly recommend.
I marinated overnight and they came out very moist and the skin was crispy.
I marinated together 2 whole Cornish game hens with this recipe using all the listed ingredients. My husband grilled them on the grill. They turned out pleasantly spicy and savory. They were just the right tenderness and the skin was pleasantly crispy. We both ate all. The only things left were the wish bones and they soon were broken in half to make wishes.
My wife loves lemon and this recipe put her in heaven. Followed the recipe except I cut the hens in half. Grilled skin side up indirect heat for 25 minutes and then turned them for the last 5 minutes over the flame to turn the skin crispy. Finger lickin’ good. Juicy, tender, tasty and just as good the next day!
Recipe a keeper! My hubby and I loved the taste. I made extra marinade to use for basting-I did not think it healthy to use the marinade raw poultry was in. Plan to make for extended family of 17. I’ll have to order 9 cornish hens from grocer and figure out space to cook them all-maybe use my oven.
Outstanding! I used red onions, and let the hens marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Then I cooked it on the rotisserie on my gas grill and the skin was perfectly crisp, and the bird delicious!
Great recipe! I added a few herbs to our personal tastes, used white vermouth and increased it to 1/4 cup, and added a 1TB of honey because I was concerned about the tartness of that much lemon juice. Like another reviewer, I blended the marinade. Also, I sliced the onions instead of chopping so I could top the hen halves on the grill
I’d make again. Skipped the Worcestershire and hot sauce and only had one lemon, but I only made 2 birds so it worked out fine. The main points I took from the recipe were to marinade it for a few hours and using fresh onion and garlic in the marinade, hadn’t tried that before but I’m glad I did. I split them down the breast had had them pretty much “splayed” on the gill, breast down first with some leftover marinade poured int he cavities. Worked out well on a charcoal grill using indirect heat.