Cornish Hens

I have never made a turkey. The first holiday season that TC and I were together for, we lived in fifth wheel. For those of you that have lived in campers and travel trailers, you know that the oven is generally very small. There is no way a turkey could fit in ours. I went for the smallest fowl I could find, cornish game hens. It's been something of a tradition ever since. Eventually, I will make a turkey, but for now, the hens work just fine.

Ingredients:
2 Hens
Salt & Pepper
4 Pieces of Bacon cut into 1/2 in. pieces
4 tbsp Butter
±1/4 c Sugar
4 tsp Chili Powder
1 tbsp Orange Juice

Directions:

• Melt butter
• Stir in sugar and chili powder
• Stir in orange juice
• When the color starts to change, reduce heat or remove from heat. 
• Preheat oven 350°
• Cut hens in half (the long way so that each half has a wing and a leg)
• Rinse well and pat dry.
• Place hens in a baking dish for 10 minutes (skin side down)
• Turn hens over and baste generously with chili mix
• Bake for 45 minutes or until well browned, baste repeatedly during these 45 minutes
• After 45 minutes, wrap hen with bacon and cook until the bacon is browned or however you like your bacon. 

Notes:
I tried this once with lemon juice and honey instead of sugar and OJ. It was not delicious. I don't recommend doing it that way. 


Review:
Eating these was a little embarrassing. I basically wanted to lick my plate when I was done. It was a little messy, as sauces are, but I will gladly take the mess if it means it's going to taste like that. I also have no idea how to remove meat from a chicken or turkey in a decent fashion, so there is usually a lot of ripping and tearing. TC says, "It was awesome. I want more."  Enough said. We all gave it a 5. 


Total Score:
5