Best 9 Tarragon Lemon Roasted Cornish Hens Recipes

ROASTED CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a small mixing bowl, stir together salt, lemon pepper, dried basil and poultry seasoning. Rub olive oil all over the hens and season each with the salt mixture. Place the hens on a baking sheet pan with plenty of space between them. You may need to use 2 pans. Loosely stuff the cavities of each hen with some green bell pepper, celery and onion. Roast the hens in the preheated oven for about 1 hour or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees F and the juices run clear. Remove the hens from the oven, loosely tent with foil and let rest 10 minutes before carving or serving.

ROASTED ORANGE-TARRAGON CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Remove and discard giblet, if any. Rinse hens inside and out and pat dry. Loosen skin from the breasts and place hens in a large resealable plastic bag.
• Whisk orange juice, orange zest, tarragon, garlic, mustard, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl. Whisking continually, slowly drizzle in olive oil until combined. Pour marinade over the hens in the bag, making sure to get some under the skin. Seal bag and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Remove hens from the bag, letting excess marinade drip off; pour remaining marinade into a small saucepan and set aside. Place hens in a small roasting pan and season with salt and pepper. Tie legs together with kitchen twine and tuck wing tips underneath.
• Roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue cooking, basting with pan juices every 10 to 15 minutes, until hens are golden brown and internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), 25 to 30 minutes more.
• Transfer hens to a serving plate, pouring any cavity juices back into the roasting pan. Tent with aluminum foil and keep warm.
• Scrape pan juices and pour through a strainer into the saucepan with the reserved marinade. Bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes, whisking occasionally. Season sauce with salt and pepper, if necessary.
• Serve Cornish hens whole or cut in half. Spoon pan sauce over hens to serve.

TARRAGON-LEMON ROASTED CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Remove giblets from hens if they're present; reserve for future use.
• Rinse hens throughly under running water; pat dry.
• Rub olive oil over both hens.
• Season hens, inside and out, with salt and pepper.
• Season hens with tarragon including the cavities of the birds.
• Rub spice well into the skin.
• Place one teaspoon of garlic into the cavity of each hen.
• Quarter the half of lemon and place one quarter inside of each cornish hen's cavity as well.
• Place hens into a roaster and pour warmed chicken broth into the roasting pan.
• Dot both hens with margarine or butter.
• Cover pan and roast in a 400 degree oven for 50 minutes basting occasionally.
• Remove the cover and allow birds to brown for 10 minutes.
• Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

TARRAGON CHICKEN WITH LEMON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Heat a medium-large skillet over high heat. Add the olive oil. Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper, and lay the pieces in the pan rounded-side down first (the side that had the skin). Cook the chicken, turning only once, until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to an oven-proof dish, reserving the skillet. Place the chicken to the oven and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken registers 170 to 75 degrees F, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, pour the vermouth into the reserved skillet, scraping up any browned bits that cling to the pan with a wooden spoon, and cook over medium heat until the liquid reduces by about half. Add the chicken broth and continue to cook until slightly thickened.
• In a small bowl whisk a teaspoon or so of cold water with the cornstarch, then whisk the mixture into the broth and bring to a full boil. Remove from heat and add the zest, lemon juice, and tarragon. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Remove the chicken from the oven. Pour any pan drippings from the chicken into the sauce and stir to combine. Divide the chicken pieces between 4 plates. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve.

LEMON TARRAGON ROAST CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Rinse hens and pat dry, then arrange, skin sides up, in a large shallow baking pan (1 inch deep). Stir together butter, shallot, zest, tarragon, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl.
• Loosen skin from meat all over hens (including thighs and legs) with your fingers, being careful not to tear skin. Rub half of butter under skin and remaining half on top. Sprinkle hens with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Roast hens in middle of oven until cooked through and skin is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

CORNISH HENS ROASTED WITH TARRAGON AND ROOT VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Wash the potatoes under cold running water. Salt and pepper inside of birds cavity. Add tarragon to cavities. Rub each bird with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Place in roasting pan. Toss all vegetables with remaining oil, salt and pepper and place around birds. Place in oven on middle shelf. Lower temperature to 400 degrees. Roast for 50 minutes. Remove tray from oven and drape with aluminum foil. Allow bird to rest for 7 minutes before serving. Place birds on plates with vegetables around. Garnish with tarragon and serve with mustard.

CORNISH HENS WITH LEMON AND HERBS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place hens in a roasting pan, breast sides up. Place 2 thyme sprigs and 1 lemon half in cavity of each hen. Loosen skin from breast, and place remaining thyme and the parsley underneath. Squeeze remaining lemon halves over hens. Rub butter all over hens. Season generously with salt and pepper.
• Roast hens, rotating pan halfway through, until skin turns golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 180 degrees, 45 to 50 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut hens in half lengthwise. Garnish with thyme sprigs, and serve with lemon wedges.

TASTY TARRAGON CORNISH GAME HENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Make basting sauce by melting butter in small sauce pan and stirring in wine (or broth) and tarrgon.
• Sprinkle inside of each hen with salt, pepper, tarragon, and garlic.
• Lightly coat outside of hen with olive (or other) oil.
• Liberally sprinkle outside of hen with garlic salt.
• Tie hen legs together if possible (I've also made these without doing this step).
• Place hens in oven.
• Let hens cook about 15 minutes before starting to use the basting sauce. After each basting, I will occasionally sprinkle more garlic salt over the hens.
• Continue to baste hens every 15 minutes or so until done. If hen wings or top start to darken too much, cover those areas with foil.
• When hens have finished cooking, remove to serving platter.
• optional - I place the strained drippings in a bowl (skimming off some of the butter) and use this as a 'gravy' for the hens and any suitable rice/potato dish that may accompany them.
• Use your meat thermometer to determine doneness as it varies according to hen weight.

LEMON-TARRAGON ROAST CHICKEN WITH VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rub chicken inside and out with one garlic half. Place both garlic halves and the tarragon sprigs in cavity. Stir together butter, shallot, chopped tarragon. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Loosen skin of chicken near cavity with hands; spread butter mixture under skin all over flesh.
• Squeeze juice from lemon halves over chicken; place in cavity. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
• Halve the large onions horizontally at an angle. Arrange in the middle of a 9-by-13-inch roasting pan to form a square. Position halves so that the slanted ends of each pair face each other, inward, and almost touch. Place chicken, breast side up, on onion "rack."
• Quarter the small onions; arrange with carrots, celery, and potatoes around bird. Tuck lemon slices between wings and breast, and legs and breast. Pour wine and stock over vegetables.
• Roast chicken and vegetables, basting 2 or 3 times with pan juices, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken thigh registers 165 degrees and juices run clear, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Remove pan from oven, and let chicken stand 10 minutes. Carve chicken. Arrange chicken and roasted vegetables (including rack onions) on a platter. Spoon pan juices over meat.