Any Poultry Works

Who remembers when frying chickens were 3 pounds and under? Heck, I can remember when they were 19 cents per pound–and that was the regular price–but I digress.

The original recipe called for poussins, which are very young and small chickens, I opted to use Cornish game hens in this orange Cornish hens recipe. Cornish hens are approximately the same size as a poussin. However, if you can find very small young chickens (and you can but it’s difficult) then by all means use them in this recipe. Regardless, any chicken parts will work here, they just need a longer cooking time.

Spatchcock Easily

Since you use small chickens or Cornish game hens in this recipe, the poultry is more or less cooked “whole,” and spatchcocked.

Spachcocking is removing the backbone and flattening out the bird. This isn’t an easy task if done with a knife–even a very sharp one. I know; I’ve tried. Believe it or not, I never owned a set of poultry shears so I treated myself to this pair. Well, this old bird (pun intended) found out what I’ve been missing all the years I didn’t have a pair in my kitchen. They work like a dream and if you love chicken as much as I do, then treat yourself to a pair.

The Gravy

All I can say is, “Oh my!”

The gravy is the best part of this orange ginger Cornish hen dinner. And even better, the gravy makes itself.

It grabs all the flavor from the juices, then slowly reduces in the final cooking time. Because it reduces, the flavors become very concentrated so there’s a definite citrusy flavor and the ginger intensifies that flavor as well.

This is one meal you’ll make often because the family is going to love this!

The Recipe

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Orange Ginger Cornish Hens

Easy to make Cornish hens and the gravy is to die for!

Prep Time25 minutes mins

Cook Time35 minutes mins

Marinate1 day d 6 hours hrs

Course: Dinner, Main, Main Course

Cuisine: British

Keyword: Asian chicken recipe, cornish hen recipe, ginger chicken, orange chicken

Servings: 6

Calories: 543kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 3 Cornish game hens
• 1 tbs honey
• 1 rounded tbs cornstarch
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the marinade:

• 1 1/2 cups orange juice
• 3 large garlic cloves crushed
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 4 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tbs chopped sage plus extra leaves to garnish
• 2 tsp thyme leaves
• 1 tbs coarsely grated fresh ginger

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• First cut the backbone out of each Cornish hen. Place the birds, breast-side down, on a chopping board and, using a sharp pair of kitchen scissors or shears, cut along either side of the bone to remove completely. Turn over and flatten the hens by pressing down with your hand over the breast bone.
• Combine all the marinade ingredients and place in a large, resealable freezer bag with the hens. Seal the bag and leave to marinate in the fridge for about 24 hours.
• When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200C).
• Take the birds out of the bag, reserving the marinade to make the sauce. Arrange them, breast-side up, in a large roasting tin and drizzle over the honey.
• Place in the oven to roast for about 20 minutes. Measure the cornstarch into a small bowl, add the marinade and mix until smooth. Pour the marinade over the hens and return to the oven for a further 15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and cut each bird in half along the breast bone. Strain the juices left in the tin to make a sauce, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Serve half a hen per person, with some of the sauce spooned over.

Notes

May also be made with regular but small chicken parts. Large parts require a longer cooking time (around 50 minutes)

Adapted from Mary Berry.

Nutrition

Serving: 1half hen | Calories: 543kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 227mg | Sodium: 809mg | Potassium: 686mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 380IU | Vitamin C: 33mg | Calcium: 43mg | Iron: 2.3mg

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Great Flavors

I love green beans! And I love them any way you can give them to me–yes even just plain!

My late husband used to accuse me of making green beans “all the time,” which was an exaggeration. However, I did serve them more than any other veggie because they go with so many different things.

Lately, I’ve been trying some novel ways of doing beans. I’ve loved them all and my favorites I’ve put on my site like Bavarian Green Beans, Copycat Cracker Barrel Green Beans and Chili Garlic Dry Fried Beans

This latest recipe combines some wonderful flavors–ginger, garlic and sun-tried tomatoes. In fact, if you wanted a light lunch, dinner or have a vegetarian meal, this would be a very good choice!

Fresh Is Always Best

As with any veggie, using fresh is always the best choice. I prefer buying whole green beans in the bag. They are a bit more expensive than the loose, but they’re already trimmed and washed. That saves me a lot of time and I find the little extra cost worth it to me.

You can use frozen–but do choose a high-quality brand. If you do use the frozen ones, make sure to thaw them first and dry them thoroughly. Frozen do not have to be blanched like the fresh–which is a slight advantage.

There’s just no comparison to fresh ginger. The powdered stuff is fine in sauces and general cooking, but here fresh is imperative so do use fresh ginger in this. You don’t have to buy the whole root. I break off only what I need in the store–usually just a knob. Ginger can be frozen so keep that in mind too.

As for the sun-dried tomatoes, I prefer the ones packed in oil because they don’t dry out. However, you can use the one that are packed by themselves, but make sure they aren’t totally dried out and hard–they won’t reconstitute while cooking these beans.

Garlic

What can I say here except use as much or as little as you want. I love the stuff so my amounts in the recipe reflect this. But if you’re not as much of an enthusiast as I am, cut the amount in half.

The Recipe

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Ginger Garlic Green Beans

A great way to jazz up ordinary green beans

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time20 minutes mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: green beans

Servings: 6

Calories: 112kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1 lb fresh green beans trimmed & lightly steamed (see NOTES)
• 4 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 tbs sun-dried tomatoes julienne sliced
• salt & pepper to taste

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Instructions

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
• Add the garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, ginger and pepper flakes; stir well.
• Add the lightly steamed green beans and stir fry for 3-4 minutes, or until crisp-tender but still bright green. Season with salt & pepper to taste
• Serve immediately.

Notes

I buy the green beans that come in the bag that are already washed and trimmed, then microwave on high for 3 minutes to lightly steam them. To do this (with any green beans) on the stovetop, drop the green beans in a pot of 1 quart boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes. For either method, dump them in ice water then drain and dry them well.

Video

Video in post (if available)

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 112kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 9mg | Potassium: 216mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 550IU | Vitamin C: 10.1mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 1mg

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