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#ad Orange Glazed Smoked Cornish Game Hens Recipe for Christmas Dinner
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CornishHenHolidays #CollectiveBias Messaging below is intended for ages 21+ and is intended to be enjoyed responsibly, in moderation. Smoked Cornish Game Hens are THE way to go for the holidays! Fast cooking, easy to serve, and delicious, Tyson® All Natural Premium Cornish Hens are a better way to feast during the holidays.
This smoked cornish game hens recipe is relatively easy to make and will certainly knock the socks off all of your guests this Christmas. It knocked my socks off! And here's the biggest surprise – you can get everything to make this upscale looking meal, including Tyson® All Natural Premium Cornish Hen twin pack, at your local Walmart.
100% All Natural Tyson® All Natural Premium Cornish Hens
You can rest assured that you are getting quality when you choose Tyson® All Natural Premium Cornish Hens. Each Tyson® All Natural Premium Cornish Hen is bagged individually to protect against freezer burn.
The 100% All Natural with no added hormones or steroids Tyson® All Natural Premium Cornish Hens are perfect for holiday meals rather than traditional ham or turkey. One time we smoked a turkey and it took over 12 hours! These hens cook in under 2 hours in the smoker – talk about a stress-free holiday! Even if you're looking to make an every day meal, special, Tyson® All Natural Premium Cornish Hens make it easy to make comfort food that feels fancy and tastes great.
Smoking meat is the stress-free way to cook for the holidays
We loved smoked meats but many times, they can take hours to prepare. Because of the compact size of the Tyson® All Natural Premium Cornish Hens, we were able to smoke them in record time! this is perfect for holiday celebrations when you'd rather be chatting it up with guests instead of slaving over a hot oven.
Put the hens in the smoker and let it do most of the work. The skin gets nice and crispy and full of smoky goodness from the smoker. We used hickory chips this time but you can also use fruit woods.
Since oranges are such an iconic holiday symbol, we stuffed the hens with a combination of orange slices and herbs. We also created an orange glaze to finish the hens off, including orange juice, Grand Marnier, orange zest, star anise, and more.
We also made a sausage stuffing that we cooked separately in ramekins, allowing the herbs to fill the hens, the smoke and scent permeating them without bread stuffing getting in the way.
And that's how to turn Tyson® All Natural Premium Cornish Hens into a gorgeous smoked holiday dinner! CLICK HERE for a printable version of this recipe.
PrintOrange Glazed Smoked Cornish Game Hens Recipe
Perfect for Christmas dinner, these smoked Cornish Game Hens will become a holiday tradition!
- Prep Time: 30 min
- Cook Time: 60 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 2
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Smoking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
• 2 Tyson® All Natural Premium
Cornish Hens
• 1/2 orange, cut into wedges
• 1/2 onion, cut into large chunks
(wedges)
• 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 10 fresh sage leaves
• 6 cloves of fresh garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Hickory wood chips, soaked
GLAZE:
• 1/2 fresh orange, sliced into rounds
• 2 cups orange juice
• 2 Tbsp orange blossom honey
• 6 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 shots (3 oz.) Grand Marnier
• Zest from 1 orange
Instructions
1. Stuff each Cornish Game Hen with half of the herbs, onions, garlic, and orange wedges.
2. Salt and pepper the Cornish Game Hen. Rub the salt and pepper into the skin.
3. Squeeze the juice from one orange wedge onto the skin.
4. Place the Cornish Game Hens onto a hot grill with a smoker box attached. The Hens should have some
space between them so the smoke can surround them on all sides.
5. Close the lid of the grill.
6. Load the smoker box with wet wood chips.
7. Smoke the Cornish Game Hens for 1.5 to 2 hours, until the internal temperature of the hen is 165 F. Smoker
temperature should be between 225F and 250F.
8. Remove the Hens from the grill and place on a baking sheet.
9. Prepare the glaze by heating all ingredients in a sauce pan. Reduce by half on medium high heat.
10. Apply the glaze to then hens using a brush.
11. Serve
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 hen
- Calories: 425
- Sugar: 56.7 g
- Sodium: 1257.3 mg
- Fat: 5.6g
- Carbohydrates: 80.3 g
- Protein: 12.9 g
- Cholesterol: 22.7 g
Want to make more than 2 Cornish Game Hens with this recipe?
If you're having a holiday party, you probably want to make more than two hens, right? You can cut each hen in half because half is probably enough to eat but it doesn't look as pretty on the plate. Here are some guidelines to help you with making this recipe for more than 2 hens:
- For 2-6 hens: multiply the ingredients for the hens until you get the desired number. The recipe is for 2 hens so if you are making 6, you need 3 times the ingredients. If you are making 4 hens, you'll need 2 times the ingredients for the hen. For the GLAZE, just follow the recipe as is. It should be enough for all 6 hens.
- For more than 6 hens: multiply the ingredients for the hens until you get the desired number. The recipe is for 2 hens so if you are making 12, you need 6 times the ingredients. For the GLAZE, it makes enough for 6 hens. So if you are making 12 hens, multiply the glaze ingredients by 2. If you are making 8 hens, multiple the GLAZE ingredients by 1.5, and so on.
Have you ever tried cornish game hens? I'd love to know in the comments!
About the Author
Jennifer Priest is a 20+ year designer in the arts & crafts industry and home DIYer with a passion for creativity. An Army veteran raised on a ranch, from her experience, she shares smart DIY projects that save money and fun craft ideas that anyone can make. Besides blogging, Jennifer is a Master Practitioner and Trainer of NLP, Hypnosis, and MER, and coaches other online entrepreneurs on money mindset, business, and living an intentional life. When not blogging, Jennifer is having adventures in the wilderness, on road trips, playing with her cats, and making paleo food.
Oh these look so yummy! I’m pinning and saving this recipe to my Plan To Eat keeper. These might just make the perfect Christmas dinner for us.
Thanks so much!! I’d love hear how you liked them 🙂
These hens have the most beautiful color and look like the perfect holiday main dish! Beautiful, Jennifer! #client
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing such delicious recipe! need to try it
OMGosh this looks amazing! Thank you for this recipe!
Oh Gosh that looks so yummy!
I don’t have a smoker. What’s the alternative?
Hello, You can roast it in the oven, following the package instructions. To get a smoky flavor, add just few tiny drops of liquid smoke to the pan.
I want to make it for 6 people how much of the ingrediants would I need to use. Thanks
Hello, That’s a great question! I just updated the recipe and bottom of the post to explain how to increase the recipe. Enjoy!!