Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Christmas Dinner: Cornish Game Hen and Vegetables


While the foot is still healing, I knew the long-standing tradition of a big Christmas night meal would be impossible. So, I incorporated the helpfulness of the slow cooker! With about 15 minutes of prep time and four hours on the high setting, this lovely meal was ready to devour.

You can use whichever root vegetables you'd like. I chose fennel, onions, garlic, multi-colored potatoes, and baby carrots.

2 T. olive oil
2 T. unsalted butter
2 (20 oz.) Cornish game hens, thawed, rinsed and patted dry
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Herbes de Provence
1 cup dry white wine
2 T. lemon juice
1 cup thinly sliced fennel bulb, reserve some fronds for garnish
1 cup thinly sliced yellow onions
8 cloves garlic, peeled
8 - 10 small multi-colored potatoes
2 cups baby carrots
2 T. butter

Heat olive oil and butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. When butter bubbles, add hens on at a time and brown until both sides are golden. Repeat with the other hen. Set aside when both are browned.

Add white wine to the skillet and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the skillet. Add lemon juice and let boil another minute or so.

Set slow cooker to high setting. Add fennel, onions, garlic, potatoes, and carrots. Lightly season with salt, pepper, and Herbes de Provence.


Place Cornish hens on top of vegetables. Add 1 T. of butter each to the interior of the hens.


Pour wine/lemon juice mixture over hens and vegetables. Cover and let cook 4 hours or high or 6 hours or low. The internal temperature of the Cornish game hens should be 180 degrees F.

Place vegetables on the plate and add game hen on top or side of vegetables. Spoon sauce over everything and enjoy!



1 comment:

  1. Looks good. Do you use an Instant Pot? I am loving mine!

    ReplyDelete