Cornish Game Hens are little chickens and can be prepared pretty much the same way. I like to spatchcock, aka “butterfly,” the mini yardbirds and grill them with a touch of smoke. In my experience the technique I prefer to use is bone side down until the edges of the meat start to brown and then flip over for a few minutes to brown the skin – move to indirect heat and finish to an internal temp of about 175°F degrees and remove to rest. While resting the juices are re-absorbed into the meat and the carry-over heat generally takes the temperature up to about 180°F. This is a perfect temperature because the juices run clear and the joints can be easily pulled apart. The sign of a cooked chicken, er game hen, er mini yardbird! (Tip: click on the photos to enlarge to full-size!)
Step 1: Marinate it!
Game hens marinating in oil, herbs, spices.
I’m not a big fan of too many spices and flavors that overwhelm the natural flavor of the meat and the wonderful flavors created when that meat is grilled, smoked or roasted outdoors. BUT chicken, er game hens, have an extremely mild flavor and a little help is usually necessary. I’m a minimalist so I use garlic, herbs and salt. The medium by which all of these are carried to as much of the meat as possible is olive oil, just a run-of-the-mill bulk variety purchased at the warehouse store that is lavorful but nothing special. I’ve found that if I place the meat in a plastic bag and then add the marinade ingredients = less spillage and maximum coverage. I generally place the bag in a tray in the fridge or cooler as insurance against leakage!
Step 2: Spatchcock it!
Remove the backbone with kitchen shears or sharp knife.
This word cracks me up because it’s so strange to say and get’s some startled reactions when heard for the first time. On a yardbird it means to remove the backbone and butterfly the chicken – you can remove the breast bone from the inside once the backbone is removed and the bird opened up – but you can also just place the bird bones down on the cutting board and press the palm of your hand to the top and snap the cartilage as easily…just sayin’. I use a sharp knife when spatchcocking a turkey (yes you can!) and my trusty kitchen shears for cutting out the backbone of a chicken or these game hens.
Step 3: Grill it!
Bone side down helps to cook from the “inside out.”
On a Medium-Hot grate (that’s about 350°F) place the game hens bones side down over direct heat, skin side up, hood closed and “where it hits it sits” until the sides of the bird begin to show browning. I contend the bones heat up and cook the meat, as the heat rises into the meat carrying moisture it is trapped from evaporation by the skin…which is also rendering fat back to the meat…and browning a bit from the hot air in the cooker. Turn it over and brown the skin side, but only for a minute or two. A common error we all make when cooking chicken on the grill is starting out with grates that are too hot. The chicken skin will scorch and that is not a tasty flavor. By starting this cook with the bones exposed to the heat, the bird kinda cooks from the “inside out” – thus no red bloody meat next to the bones when you cut into it!
Step 4: Roast it!
The game hens are nearly finished – you can’t tell by the appearance, only by the internal temperature!
After browning on both sides, turn it back to the bone-side down and move the bird to a side of the grill without direct heat (you can place it in a foil pan if desired) and finish roasting until an internal temperature of 165°-170°F is achieved in the breast meat. I use an instant read thermometer for this. You can also wiggle the leg quarters just a bit to see how loose they are becoming.
Step 5. Rest it
The heat of cooking causes the muscle fibers of meat to twist up – think of wringing out a washcloth – and all the juices come out. Resting the meat after cooking allows the muscle fibers to relax and re-absorb most of those juices. That’s why the juices run out all over the cutting board when you cut into a piece of meat immediately after taking it off the grill. Rest it for a while, at least 5 minutes or more on a larger cut of meat, to allow the juices to absorb back into the tissues.
Step 6: Carve, Serve & Enjoy it!
After resting the bird is ready to carve and serve.
Carving a spatchcocked bird is pretty easy because it’s laying flat and can be handled like a steak or roast. Remove the leg quarters and wings by moving the joint backwards until it either pops out or exposes the knuckle, and use a sharp kitchen knife to cut that joint cleaning. Then separate the leg from the thigh. Breast meat should be removed as one large piece and cut ‘across the grain’ to get the most tender pieces on the plate. I know those old Norman Rockwell paintings always show the pipe smoke man slicing off pieces from the breast of the turkey (same structure as yardbird) but that technique, while pretty, slices the meat with the grain of the muscle and results in a chewy long muscle fiber, rather than a short fiber. [NOTE: a beef steak is slices of the muscle fiber and shows the fat marbling and muscle fiber ends.]
This technique of preparing and cooking can be applied to chicken, turkey and even game birds. I hope you consider it and practice cooking this way. I promise you will make some delicious meals. ~ Welcome to the Cookout! Barry CB Martin
Cornish Game Hens are little chickens and can be prepared pretty much the same way. I like to spatchcock, aka "butterfly," the mini yardbirds and grill them with a touch of smoke.
Ingredients
- 2 Cornish game hens or 1 4-pound chicken
- Fresh rosemary leaves (about 3 Tbsps chopped)
- 3-4 Cloves of garlic (minced)
- 1/2 cup Olive oil
- sea salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Spatchcock the game hens or chicken by removing the backbone with sharp knife or kichen shears
- Remove the back bone from the inside (optional) or place bird(s) on cutting board skin side up and press down on the back bone with palm of hand and "crack" it to flatten chicken
- Place birds in large heavy-duty kitchen plastic bag and add olive oil, minced garlic, rosemary and dash each of salt and pepper
- Seal bag and place in tray in refrigerator (2-3 hours and up to over night)
- Remove bird(s) from bag and place bone side down on medium hot (350°F) grates, close hood. Leave for few minutes and check to see if the edges of the skin/bird are beginning to turn brown. When the edges show marks at the point of contact with the grates you may turn and flip to brown the skin side. Be mindful of the time and don't over brown, you just want to get some brown started. Remove the bird(s) to a section of the grill without direct heat and finish to an internal temperature of about 165°-170°F as measured in the dark meat with an instant read thermometer.
- You may place the bird(s) in a disposable tray during this portion of the cook if you prefer.
- Remove from cooker and rest in an insulated place, like a microwave (off) or cooler for about 10 minutes until the internal temperature rises to about 170°F (USDA minimum for poultry is 165°F)
- Carve and serve.
Notes
This recipe created by Barry 'CB' Martin, Chief Grilling Officer for Char-Broil, LLC.
I have a new charbroil trured and am a rank amature at grilling. Receipes need to say ‘lid up or lid down’ for me. grill for ‘a few minutes’ doesn’t do anything but make it more mystical and scarry. I would love to try the ‘leetle’ chickens in your recent receipes, but have a need for more direct info. I feel I may not be the only novice out here. Please help. Thank you very much.
Kathi
Kathi – you make an excellent point. Because there are so many different gills with regard to size, shapes and burner/heat systems, etc. It’s difficult to write a recipe that is a one-size-fits-all type. And that’s one more reason to jump on the Char-Broil LIVE Community Forums (link at the top of this page) and either find tips and answers to questions you have about your grill or sign up (free!) and post your questions.
As for hood up or down, it depends! The weather is a factor and the type of meat you are cooking is too. With most common gas and charcoal grills, hood down is a general rule to ensure hot air is trapped inside and make up for the uneven heating of the cooking grates.
With the Char-Broil TRU-Infrared grill cooking systems, the hood up or down is not as important – both for reasons of the exceptionally high heat that may be generated (up to and more than 700°F degrees on the grates!) and the even coverage of heat across the entire cooking surface (no hot or cold spots on the grate). AND because infrared energy “turns to heat when it hits the meat” so the meat is cooking from the heat generated on the surface, and not hot air passing by that needs to be trapped.
There are still times when cooking with the hood down makes sense, for instance when using wood chunks or chips on the grates to generate wood smoke that uses the trapped air to infuse the surface of the meat with tasty outdoor cooking flavors.
I hope this helps!
~ Welcome to the Cookout! Barry ‘CB’ Martin
Looks great. I am going to try it. Do you have any suggestions for doing birds on the rottiserrie (sp?). Stem to stern or port to starboard?. Seasonings?
Steve…I like to truss the birds so the wings and legs are fairly tight to the body, this helps in two ways: 1) they don’t flap around when rotating and prevent extra strain on the motor and 2) The entire bird cooks more evenly. I use an apple or potato in the center to fill the cavity and that helps center the bird on the spit, an empty cavity can kinds make for some slippage when the bird warms up via cooking and starts to loosen a bit….I also go thru the cavity from “stem to stern” as you say (good line BTW) and use those forks on each one to hold the bird in place, one set of two for each bird.
You may also consider a basket approach, a small rotisserie basket that can hold the bird in place, depending upon the size of your grill and the desired outcome you want for presentation! BUT if you have never tried spatchcocking, you may want to give it a try! You can also place a cast iron pan or foil-wrapped brick (that you heated from the start with the grill so it is hot) on top of the bird to really press it down to the grates for full contact and better cooking…
I hope this helps!
~ Welcome to the Cookout! Barry ‘CB’ Martin
Dear Barry,
I look forward to trying this out. Thank you for your great tips.
Maureen
Maureen, I think this is the kindest and most formal note I have ever received online and I thank you for it!
~ Welcome to the Cookout! Barry CB Martin
Barry,
I love these “leetle chiks” and haven’t had one in a long time. SOOOOO, with your recipe in hand I will cook one this weekend and leave the other one marinating overnight…can’t wait to try it. The ingredients are simple but I kno it will impart a lot of flavor. Thanks for the recipe!
Becky R.
Becky – thank you for your thoughtful note AND for enjoying my creative spelling. Miss Laura called me from her kitchen when she received the newsletter and was quite worried that I had misspelled little. Love that woman! Please take a photo or two of your meal(s) and share them with us?
Welcome to the Cookout! ~ Barry ‘CB’ Martin
I have used the electric patio grill for many years and now have purchased the infra-red element grill. I find the temperature falls rapidly when I open the hood-moreso than the old type. I’m not sure I’m using this grill properly-can I put things over to the side to rest or do I put the food on the top tray. Looking forward to some guidance in the use and perhaps some recipes geared for this particular electric grill.
Looking forward to your reply.
Pearl Weiss
Pearl – The best advise I can give you on the electric Patio Bistro is to keep the lid closed as much as possible when cooking and to make sure it is fully preheated before you start cooking. We don’t have any recipes that are specific to that grill, but there is a lot of good information over on our user forums. There are tons of knowledgeable folks there that may have experienced the same problem you are right now and have a solution for you. Patio Bistro Forum Boards Hope this helps!