Slow Cooker Cornish Hens With Grand Marnier Sauce
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This elegant but simple recipe for slow cooker Cornish hens is paired with a rich Grand Marnier sauce and can be easily adapted for the oven. It’s perfect for a special occasion or romantic dinner, but easy enough for any day!
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What Are Cornish Game Hens?
While Cornish game hens sound exotic, they are not actually “game” at all. Cornish hens are really just young chickens.
They generally weigh around two pounds, and are processed much younger than chickens – between four and six weeks. They are sometimes referred to as Rock Cornish Game Hens.
Are Cornish hens healthier than chicken?
Cornish hens are healthier than chicken because they have less fat and fewer calories. They are high in protein and B12.
Where can you find Cornish game hens?
Although they sound like something you can only find on an autumn shoot at your English cousin’s estate, Cornish hens are found in the freezer section of most grocery stores. If you’ve never seen them there, it’s probably because you didn’t notice them! You can even find them at big box stores like Costco.
How much does one Cornish hen serve?
This is entirely subjective. Some recipes call for one hen per person, and some suggest one for every two people. That will depend on how hungry you and your guests are, or how many sides you have for the Cornish hens.
My family of four, all adults, split two hens between the four of us.
How to Cook Cornish Hens in Slow Cooker
Preparing the game hens is similar to preparing a whole roasting chicken. They are already pretty clean, with the giblets usually removed. Simply remove the packaging and pat them dry.
Season well with salt and black pepper. Stuff the cavity with fresh sage and thyme for extra flavor. Split the birds down the back and flatten them out. Put them in the slow cooker, breast side down.
Mix the zest and juice of one orange, soy sauce, garlic, honey, brown sugar, and salt together and pour over the Cornish game hens in the crock pot.
Cook on high for 1 1/2 hours. Flip birds and continue cooking an additional 1 1/2 hours.
This Cornish hen crock pot recipe can be easily adapted to the oven, and I’ve included instructions for both in the recipe card below. Cooking in the oven takes less time than the slow cooker. But cooking crockpot cornish hens frees up oven space if you’re preparing other dishes.
How to Make the Grand Marnier Sauce
The Cornish hen cooking liquid can be transformed into a glossy and delicious Grand Marnier sauce!
Strain the cooking juices into a saucepan, removing any bits of herbs or skin. Heat over a medium heat until the sauce is reduced by half and is about as thick as maple syrup.
Remove the sauce from the heat and whisk in 2 Tablespoons Grand Marnier and 4 Tablespoons butter. Spoon or pour sauce over the birds just before serving.
Recommended Sides for Cornish Hens
I love to serve these slow cooker Cornish hens with Cranberry Pecan Wild Rice, which has a wonderful autumn feeling. Brussels sprouts are a classic vegetable for the fall.
Pear and Gorgonzola Salad with Candied Pecans is elegant and seasonal.
My favorite super easy dessert for entertaining is Lemon Posset.
I hope you enjoy this easy and elegant slow cooker Cornish hen recipe!
This post was originally posted on December 17th, 2011 and has been updated to contain nutritional information.
Cornish Game Hen with Grand Marnier Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 Cornish game hens cleaned and patted dry
- kosher salt and pepper to season the birds
- 1 Orange zest and juice
- 4 Tablespoons soy sauce gluten free, tamari or coconut aminos
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Grand Marnier Sauce
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 2 Tablespoons Grand Marnier divided
Instructions
Roasted Game Hens
- Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Mix zest and juice of one orange, soy sauce, garlic, honey, brown sugar, and salt together in a bowl.
- Pat dry the game hens, season with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavities with fresh sage and thyme leaves. Tie or truss legs together.
- Place game hens in a small roasting pan. Pour sauce over the hens and cover. Roast at 425 F. for 20 minutes.
- Reduce heat to 350 F. and continue roasting an additional 60 minutes or until thermometer inserted in thickest part of leg reaches 160 F. See below to finish the sauce.
Game Hens in the Slow-Cooker or Crock-Pot
- Mix zest and juice of one orange, soy sauce, garlic, honey, brown sugar, and salt together in the slow cooker.
- Split the birds down the back and flatten them out and put in slow cooker, breast side down.
- Cook on high for 1 1/2 hours. Flip birds and continue cooking an additional 1 1/2 hours.
For the Grand Marnier Sauce
- Remove birds from crock pot or roasting pan and strain the juices.
- Heat the remaining juice/marinade over a medium heat until reduced by half and slightly thicker. This will depend on how much liquid you have left. There will be more liquid if you cooked the birds in a slow cooker. You want the sauce to be about as thick as maple syrup. Remove pan from heat.
- Finish sauce by whisking in 4 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons of Grand Mariner. It will be glossy and coat the back of a spoon
- Finish birds by browning skin under broiler for a couple of minutes until the skin in golden brown.
- Spoon some sauce over each bird.
What a great idea. I never thought to cook cornish hens in the crock pot. I love the addition of the Grand Marnier. Pinned this one to add to one of my Healthy Round Ups.
This meal looks like perfection!! I love that you cooked them in a crockpot and I love the rice recipe. Brilliant!!
Thanks Tara, I love using the crockpot! It makes every recipe practically foolproof!
This looks great! I love that you used the crock pot! <3
Thanks Brandi! I love my crockpot!
Thank you so much for attending week 6 of #PureBlogLove and linking your fantastic blog post. This hen recipe looks delicious, Cynthia! I can’t wait to see what you have in store for our party next week Thursday 8 PM EST- Sundays at midnight . Your post has been added to the #PureBlogLove Pinterest board for all to see 🙂 Have a great day!
Nicole
http://picnicnz.blogspot.co.nz/
Cynthia, I love your story. What a great adventure for you to reminisce about. Your recipe sounds delish. Love the orange. Thanks so much for sharing at #theWeekendSocial. You always make me hungry! Pinned. Hope to see you again Thursday 9:00 PM EST. http://www.theKitchenChopper.com
I love that you cooked these in the slow cooker! Genius!
I love the slow cooker as well Lauren!
I love game birds – pheasant, quail and eat as much of it as possible when I go back to Europe – since you’re right Cornish game hen is about all we get! I also love rabbit, something I had never eaten until moving to France. Now we eat it all the time. Our local butcher makes and amazing rabbit pate that I could eat by the pound!
Andi, I’m with you on pate! I LOVE it! I went to cooking school in San Francisco…probably not too far from you. I would love to track down some great pate!
That sauce! It looks and sounds delicious!
Perfect timing! I’ve been eying Cornish game hens at the store and getting so tempted to give them a try — this recipe has it all, from the Grand Marnier to the wild rice…sounds like a winner.
Thanks Sue! It’s so easy and would be great for a small family or an elegant dinner party. too.
sounds like a magical time!!! i ate a lot of cornish game hen in law school… but it was from the freezer section of my market and cooked in the microwave. LOL
April, it was a magical time! Ah, to be young and carefree again!
Hi Cynthia, how much thyme and sage do you use to fill the cavity
Thank you
I buy one bunch of each and divide it in half and stuff each bird with some of each. I usually grab some from my garden.
Thank you!
I had to giggle when I read the PBS line – because that’s EXACTLY what I was thinking it sounded like. Ahhhh, dreamy… 😉 These cornish game hens sound lovely!
Heather, I was a great time! I’m glad I realized it and savored the time rather than taking it for granted…I most assuredly DO NOT live in a PBS kind of world today!
that’s so cool that you got to experience the entire process. i don’t know if i have the stomach for plucking and removing the shots.. but i do love target shooting and have always wanted to try hunting. i imagine it’s so much more difficult. i was never really good at skeet shooting either with moving targets. 😛
What a gorgeous dinner! We don’t cook game hens that often but this makes me want to run out and get some right now!
Des, they really are a pretty inexpensive meal. They are plentiful in my grocer’s freezer section right now. I think they also make a nice elegant meal for a small party.
I have so much “awe” for this recipe – first, cornish hens in a crockpot is simply brilliant! And – gosh – that Grand Marnier Sauce sounds so insanely delicious! I cannot wait to give this a try!
Oh my gosh, this looks wonderful!
Your painted such a lovely picture by describing your evenings in England as ” magical, 1940’s PBS drama, kind of time”. And speaking of magical – wow – cornish hens in the slow cooker must taste anything but magical indeed!
my kids LOVE game hens, it always made them feel special as littles that they got their own bird – but I never thought to make them in the slow cooker…what a great idea
Thank you Heather! They are so easy!
This chicken is so moist! Perfect dinner.
I love the method of using the slow cooker for these. And that sauce recipe! I can already taste it in my head. Yum!
Thank you! It’s not only delicious, it’s easy too!
This looks so great! I love white meat, it is easy to digest and very tasty. Never tried it like this but I will try your recipe. Thank you for sharing it.
Wish a great day!
Greetings!
Flo from
https://femeieastazi.blogspot.it
This dish looks amazing. The Grand Marnier is such a great flavor for the sauce! I love that the slow cooker will do the heavy lifting!
I don’t know why in the world I haven’t made this yet! An elegant dish that’s made in a slow cooker? That’s a major accomplishment, Cynthia! Great recipe and I love that it’s totally original. Good for you!!
I love these little birds! I never thought to cook it in the slow cooker, great idea!
I’ve never had game hens, but I have had (and loved) pheasant, so I bet I would love this!! It looks so delicious!
It would totally work with pheasants!
Such a flavorful recipe!