Monte Butts
May 30th, 2010, 08:03 PM
I had a couple of Cornish hens in the freezer so I decided to get creative this weekend. I did them "Beer can" style with crispy skin and they were unbelievable, possibly the best thing I've ever made on the grill. Step by step:
Brine for 6 hours. If you don't know, brining any meat that can dry during high cooking methods is a great way to keep the meat juicy, and while people who worry about salt intake get scared at the amount used, remember that you are just using it for osmosis and very little will be imparted into the meat. All you ever wanted to know here (http://www.cooksillustrated.com/images/document/howto/ND01_ISBriningbasics.pdf): Make sure and rinse off very well.
Next I used a Chinese restaurant trick for getting crispy skin; place the birds on a cooling rack above a pan in the fridge. Overnight is great, you want the skin very dry.
For the basting sauce:
1 stick butter
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Black pepper fresh ground
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp Chipotle pepper ground (or any kind)
Shake of Cayenne
The mechanics are what made this work. You want ideally a grill large enoughthat you can do zones. I have a 4 burner propane grill so I set the 2 outside burners to medium high and left the middle 2 off until the temp reached 375.
You may be wondering how a beer can fit in a cornish hen....well it doesn't. Save a couple of small cans. In my case we had a few small cans of Knudsen's spritzer that I rinsed out, I filled these each with 1/2 of a beer, although there are numerous liquids you can use if you don't want to be "outed" as a drinker in your church:ihe_cowboy:. Place up the backside of the hens and sit upright over the middle off burner.
As far as getting them to stand, cook supply stores often have beer can basket kits, but I'm of the Alton Brown school of not having gadgets that can only do one thing for the most part. Instead, wrap 2 bricks in foil and sit on either side of the hens so they won't fall over.
Baste with the butter sauce every 15 minutes and at 45 minutes or when a meat thermometer reaches 168 in the thigh. Let rest for 5 minutes. I halved mine the easy way by using shears on either side of the spine and then just cutting through the keel bone.
It may have been the best thing I've ever grilled!:o
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs311.ash1/27692_1447079828006_1563486605_31089361_3586176_n. jpg
Brine for 6 hours. If you don't know, brining any meat that can dry during high cooking methods is a great way to keep the meat juicy, and while people who worry about salt intake get scared at the amount used, remember that you are just using it for osmosis and very little will be imparted into the meat. All you ever wanted to know here (http://www.cooksillustrated.com/images/document/howto/ND01_ISBriningbasics.pdf): Make sure and rinse off very well.
Next I used a Chinese restaurant trick for getting crispy skin; place the birds on a cooling rack above a pan in the fridge. Overnight is great, you want the skin very dry.
For the basting sauce:
1 stick butter
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Black pepper fresh ground
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp Chipotle pepper ground (or any kind)
Shake of Cayenne
The mechanics are what made this work. You want ideally a grill large enoughthat you can do zones. I have a 4 burner propane grill so I set the 2 outside burners to medium high and left the middle 2 off until the temp reached 375.
You may be wondering how a beer can fit in a cornish hen....well it doesn't. Save a couple of small cans. In my case we had a few small cans of Knudsen's spritzer that I rinsed out, I filled these each with 1/2 of a beer, although there are numerous liquids you can use if you don't want to be "outed" as a drinker in your church:ihe_cowboy:. Place up the backside of the hens and sit upright over the middle off burner.
As far as getting them to stand, cook supply stores often have beer can basket kits, but I'm of the Alton Brown school of not having gadgets that can only do one thing for the most part. Instead, wrap 2 bricks in foil and sit on either side of the hens so they won't fall over.
Baste with the butter sauce every 15 minutes and at 45 minutes or when a meat thermometer reaches 168 in the thigh. Let rest for 5 minutes. I halved mine the easy way by using shears on either side of the spine and then just cutting through the keel bone.
It may have been the best thing I've ever grilled!:o
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs311.ash1/27692_1447079828006_1563486605_31089361_3586176_n. jpg