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how to cook cornish hens
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4.45 from 47 votes

Easy Cornish Hens Recipe

Author: This Worthey Life

Ingredients

  • 3 Cornish Hens
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 4 large cloves of garlic minced
  • 2 lemons sliced
  • 1 large onion cut into quarters and separate the quarters into individual slices of onion
  • 10-12 fresh sage leaves
  • 6-8 Sprigs of fresh Rosemary
  • 2 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
  • 2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 tablespoon lemon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt or Kosher salt

Instructions

  • Thaw and pat the Cornish hens dry with a paper towel or if you have time after patting the Cornish hens dry, let them sit in the fridge overnight. This will prevent the hens from drying out.
  • Place the onions, sliced lemons, and half of the sage and rosemary into the roasting pan or Dutch oven. 
  • Brush the hens with melted butter, olive oil, and minced garlic.
  • Rub the hens thoroughly with the dry rub mixture.
  • Arrange the Cornish hens into the roasting pan or Dutch oven, and place the remaining sage leaves, sprigs of rosemary, and sliced lemon in between the Cornish hens. 
  • Bake, without a lid, in a preheated oven at 375 ° F until an instant-read thermometer reads inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 ° F and the juices run clear. (Cooking time: 45 minutes to an hour) 
  • If the skin on the hens is browning too quickly, loosely tent the hens with foil and continue to cook.
  • When finished baking, remove the pan from the oven and let it stand for 15 minutes. 
  • Serve.