Orange Glazed Cornish Hens
This recipe is my secret love potion…seriously! Orange Glazed Cornish Hens is what caused my now-husband to fall in love with me back in the day. How’s that for a magical recipe?
Jump to RecipeCornish Hen Prep
Cornish Hens are small chickens weighing under 2 lbs. and can be found in most markets.
Remove packaging, trim, and pat dry. Place the cornish hens on a rack inside a baking pan for better all-around skin crispiness. Alternatively, you can also line a baking tray with foil or parchment paper. Either way, season hens with salt and pepper on both sides and then place hens breast-side down* on the tray. Place on middle rack of oven and cook for 45 minutes at 375 degrees undisturbed.
*You’ll know you have done it correctly if the wings are on top and the drumsticks are touching the bottom of the pan. This is a very important step that enables the juices to flow from the dark meat down into the white meat which allows for the juiciest white meat possible.
Orange Glaze Sauce Prep
While Cornish hens are cooking, mix sauce ingredients together – marmalade, orange juice, dijon mustard, and gluten free soy sauce.
Once hens have cooked for 45 minutes and skin is browned and crisped, begin to brush on sauce over the next 15 minutes, until skin turns golden and browned in spots. Total cooking time is one hour.
Orange Glazed Cornish Hens
Serve with wild rice (or your favorite grain) and any extra sauce and garnish as desired. I used orange slices, orange zest, mixed field greens, and sage.
Orange Glazed Cornish Hens
Ingredients
- 2 Cornish Hens 1-1 1/2 lbs. each pat dry and trim
- 1/2 cup orange marmalade or blood-orange marmalade
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce gluten free, I use San-J
- garnish with sliced oranges, orange zest, and fresh herbs if desired
- serve with wild rice optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees on Roast. (If you don’t have a Roast Setting, use Bake)
- Either place hens on a rack inside a roasting pan or line a pan with foil or parchment paper and place hens breast-side down. (You’ll know you have done it correctly if the wings are on top and the drumsticks are touching the bottom of the pan)
- Season hens with salt and pepper.
- Place pan on middle rack of the oven and cook for 45 minutes undisturbed.
- While Cornish hens are cooking, mix marmalade, orange juice, dijon mustard and gluten free soy sauce together. Set aside.
- Once hens have cooked for 45 minutes and skin is browned, start to brush sauce on the hens every couple of minutes over the next 15 minutes, until skin turns golden and is browned in spots. Total cooking time is one hour.
- Remove hens from the oven and let them rest for 5 minutes before serving.
- Serve with wild rice (or your favorite grain) and any extra sauce and garnish as desired. I used orange slices, orange zest, mixed field greens, and sage.
Notes
Recipe was created by me.
If you like this recipe, you may also like these other GFchow recipes. No-Fuss Crispy Roast Chicken, Halloumi Toast with Grapefruit Marmalade, and Sauteed Broccolini with Caramelized Leeks.
GLUTEN FREE DISCLAIMER
The recipes you find here are considered by me to be gluten free. However, it is up to you to make sure the ingredients you use are gluten free. Whenever possible, I will list specific brands of ingredients that I use, but always be sure to check the labels yourself to verify the item is gluten free.
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