Cornish Hens with Fig - Cranberry Sauce

Here is the final product, served with lobster mashed potatoes (yes, a part of a lobster tail as well!), roasted pickled cauliflower, and some fresh fig slices.

This is for two!

For the Hens:

2 Cornish Hens

Salt and Pepper

1 cup of croutons

¼ cup wheat germ

¼ cup finely chopped celery

¼ cup chicken broth

3 Tablespoons melted butter

½ teaspoon sugar

Clean the hens and pat dry with paper towel inside and out. 

Then sprinkle body cavity with salt and pepper. Twist wing tips up and back, tucking neck skin under wings to secure. In large bowl, combine croutons, wheat germ, celery, broth, 1 tablespoon melted butter, sugar, ½ teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper. 

Spoon into body cavities and tie legs and tail of each hen together. Place on rack in roasting pan and brush with melted butter. Roast, breast side up, in open roasting pan at 425 F for one hour. Brush occasionally with melted butter, then baste with the juices that collect.

For the Sauce:

Some figs, stems removed and chopped

Handful of dried cranberries

A couple of minced cloves of garlic

A shallot, finely minced

A bottle of good Porter or stout – something you enjoy

Mix everything together in a sauce pan. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer. After 30 minutes or so, use an immersion blender and roughly blend. (Don’t want a smooth consistency. Nice to have some chunks of cranberries and figs in it. This is to help thicken it.)

With 15 or so minutes left on the roasting time, coat the hens with some of the sauce, reserving the rest of the sauce to serve with the meal.