Cornish Game Hens

Prairie Doggin'

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Anyone got a great recipe for these little chickens? Had a 6-pack at Sam's for $16.00, so had to buy them. Thinking I'll brine and smoke, but wondering if anyone had something better...
 


CatDaddy

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Can't go wrong with brine and smoke.....try buttermilk brine for something different.

Beer can method keeps them moist and flavorful too.
 
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Fitz

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I found that you don't need to brine them. I've put a basic rub on them and cooked them in the air fryer. Simple and easy. Turn out great every time.

Salt, pepper, garlic, paprika, basil, oregano, thyme
 

LBrandt

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Cooked them for Thanksgiving one year, everyone had their own little turkey. Roasted them in the oven if I remember right. LB
 

guywhofishes

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We always roasted them nestled together four to a pan w stuffing.

Most are brined at the factory (check the label)

Kids loved having their own “baby turkey”. LOTs of leftovers cuz most kids didn’t eat much due to lots of side dishes. Boil leftover birds whole for hours, let cool, separate meat, strain broth, add veg, then noodles or wild rice. Fantastic soup.

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We do same with turkeys/chickens. Best soup possible. We even keep bare bones that were picked clean during the meal and make sure their goodness gets extracted into the broth.
 


bilbo

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We always roasted them nestled together four to a pan w stuffing.

Most are brined at the factory (check the label)

Kids loved having their own “baby turkey”. LOTs of leftovers cuz most kids didn’t eat much due to lots of side dishes. Boil leftover birds whole for hours, let cool, separate meat, strain broth, add veg, then noodles or wild rice. Fantastic soup.

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We do same with turkeys/chickens. Best soup possible. We even keep bare bones that were picked clean during the meal and make sure their goodness gets extracted into the broth.

This is what we do as well whenever we make fowl. When I was growing up Mom would make egg noodles on the countertop from scratch and make soup. They were more like long, skinny dumplings and they were great. Haven't had that in a long time. The last few years when we all got together for Thanksgiving we fried a turkey for eating and roasted one basically just to get the meat and carcass for making stock and leftover recipes like soup, pot pies, ala king, etc.
 

tikkalover

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I Grilled these for Thanksgiving. Splayed and seasoned them Wednesday night.

8DD3504F-F24D-4D87-8A2B-56D1A9C64404.jpg
 

snow

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MEM DAY BBQ.jpglove these little morsels of bird flesh,I usually spatch em ,use a dry rub or on a nice fall day rotissari em on the grill.use apple wood smoke,pan of beer with herbs under birds makes em nummy
 
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Prairie Doggin'

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Thanks for the input. Our air fryer is the toaster oven type, so not really enough headroom to get them in there. I'll check and see if they're brined, and maybe just cram some herbs under the skin and give them some smoke. Might throw them in the deep fryer when done smoking if I'm not happy with the skin. I do that with wings to crisp them up after smoking.
 

guywhofishes

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[COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.95)]This may also be described as "added water" or even "self-basted" What it means is that the chicken was injected with a flavor- or moisture-enhancing solution of salted water.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.95)]The FDA requires the amount of solution (as a percent of the weight of the bird) and the ingredients be labeled. The amount can be anywhere from a relatively modest 3% to 10% or more. Solutions generally contain as much as 300mg of sodium per 4-ounce serving, so check ingredient lists and sodium levels. [/COLOR]

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I’ve accidentally “double brined” chickens etc. before. It sucks.

So I always check to see if they pumped them full at the plant.
 

Fitz

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Fritz how long in the air fryer and what temp---would like to try it

I've done both 360 and 380. Usually go 20 minutes with flipping them half way. A little olive oil on the skin before the rub will really crisp up the skin.
 

7mmMag

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We always roasted them nestled together four to a pan w stuffing.

Most are brined at the factory (check the label)

Kids loved having their own “baby turkey”. LOTs of leftovers cuz most kids didn’t eat much due to lots of side dishes. Boil leftover birds whole for hours, let cool, separate meat, strain broth, add veg, then noodles or wild rice. Fantastic soup.

- - - Updated - - -

We do same with turkeys/chickens. Best soup possible. We even keep bare bones that were picked clean during the meal and make sure their goodness gets extracted into the broth.

I smoke whole chickens and turkeys and my wife always takes the carcasses and turns them into broth. She freezes the broth in ice cube trays and then throws the cubes in freezer bags. Whenever she needs broth for a recipe she can just grab some cubes out of the freezer. We even heat up the cubes on the stove and drink the broth if we are feeling under the weather.
 

sl1000794

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^^^^^ 7mm she's a keeper. I used to chop up the Thanksgiving turkey bones and make turkey vegetable soup. Wife told me not to bother. Still want to make soup.
 


snow

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I smoke whole chickens and turkeys and my wife always takes the carcasses and turns them into broth. She freezes the broth in ice cube trays and then throws the cubes in freezer bags. Whenever she needs broth for a recipe she can just grab some cubes out of the freezer. We even heat up the cubes on the stove and drink the broth if we are feeling under the weather.

That's a great idea,but for me after thanksgiving turkey,two or three following days of turkey left over's I'm done with turkey,don't even want to smell turkey.
 

guywhofishes

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That's a great idea,but for me after thanksgiving turkey,two or three following days of turkey left over's I'm done with turkey,don't even want to smell turkey.

lol - true

we freeze the broth in a big baggie- make it a couple weeks down the road
 

eyexer

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I cook them on my rotisserie on the grill. Sometimes inject them first with butter/garlic
 

BDub

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That's a great idea,but for me after thanksgiving turkey,two or three following days of turkey left over's I'm done with turkey,don't even want to smell turkey.

Turkey is great the day it's cooked. Maybe a sandwich or two later. Then it's time for the soup kettle.
 


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