Roasted Cornish Game Hens Marbella

Mini just makes meals more magnificent!

Case in point.  This classic chicken dish thanks to the Silver Palate Cookbook from the early 1980’s gets even more special, thanks to mini chickens, Cornish Game Hens to be exact.

Just What is a Cornish Game Hen?

At first it may just look like a mini chicken.  And basically it is.  It is a young chicken, bred as a meat bird in Cornwall England around 1949.  At full size it is usually around 1 1/2 lbs in weight. “The Cornish meat is slightly more delicate than a typical chicken. You also can find the taste of suckling pig somewhat in Cornish hen. The “young” meat keeps softness, moisture, and sweetness”.  For a fantastic  summary of the differences between Cornish Game Hens and typical chickens, check out this link.  Because of its smaller size, and easy to bake ability, it makes for fantastic company worthy meals.  We do eat with our eyes first, and seeing a mini personal-sized chicken does have impact.  Having said this, cutting a game hen in half if on the larger size will feed one person as well.

What Makes Marbella?

Back to the Silver Palate cookbook of 1982 for this iconic recipe: This cookbook based on the famed fresh food shop in New York City gives us a celebration of Spanish, Mediterranean and Asian flavours, often in the same dishes, at a time when most people were not yet even thinking of these cuisines or any type of fusion.  Case in point: the olives, dates (or prunes) oregano, garlic and capers are everything that is right about mixing sweet and briny, which Mediterranean cooking does so well. Taking these ingredients and marinating chicken in it, even over 24-36 hours, creates a most flavourful meat.  To roast everything off, white wine and molasses are added for depth, as well as an amazing glaze for the chicken. The dates melt into the braising liquid as it all bakes, and the capers and olives balance out the molasses, for a flavour that is moreish, unctuous, spectacular!

Spatchcocking a Game Hen

This method of removing the back bone with kitchen shears is really quite easy.  A good pair of kitchen shears is the key. 

Just flip the chicken or game hen so that the back bone is on top, the breasts are on the cutting board, and the legs are pointing down.  Feel for the middle opening, and feel for the top opening.  (the butt hole and the neck hole).

Take your shears and insert in the larger hole at the bottom between the legs and start cutting up on one side of the backbone through the ribs to the neck opening.  Then cut along the other side of the backbone repeating the process till you have the backbone in one piece that can be removed. Now the bird can be opened up.

Turn the bird over, turning the knees towards the centre of the bird.  Push down on the breasts so that the cartilage cracks and the bird can sit flat.  You are ready to roast.

Alternatives to Spatchcocking for This Recipe

You can leave the hens whole, sprinkle some salt and pepper, along with fresh oregano sprigs in the cavities, and nestle on some of the olives and dates.  They will just take a bit longer to roast, by about 15-20 minutes.  If leaving whole, the tops may start to scorch towards the end, feel free to cover with foil until they are cooked through.

You can also split the hens in half after spatchcocking between the breasts.  This is great if your hens are on the larger side, as one half will feed one person.  It will also mean that you can nestle more in one baking dish.

Method

Start with all the marinade ingredients as well as the hens, place them in a baking dish and combine to cover.  Whether it is the spatchcocked game hens here, or good old chicken legs, they will all do well with this marinade.  This can be covered and left to marinade in the fridge for a good 24 hours.  Even 6 hours is good. 

But if you just don’t have the time, instead of placing the salt and pepper into the marinade liquid, sprinkle it directly onto the patted dry birds.  Let these sit out for an hour.  Heat the oven and then prepare a large baking dish or sheet pan with higher sides which can hold the hens or chicken pieces in one layer, along with the marinade ingredients. Add the chicken pieces or hens, tossing the marinade ingredients all around the birds. Continue as stated in the next step.

Either way, once the oven is ready, whisk together white wine and molasses (use date molasses if you can find it) and drizzle this over the meat.  Roast in the oven till the meat is cooked through to 165F.  Baste several times to help burnish the skin.  This should take between 40 to 45 minutes for the spatchcocked hens, or 50 or so minutes for chicken legs etc.  Always test the temperature in the thickest part of the thigh, but not touching a bone.

If in the end you would like a bit more colour on the skin, turn on the broiler element, and give the birds a little help.  But keep an eye on it, as it can happen pretty quickly.

How to Serve

Place the birds onto a serving platter, along with all the reduced marinade ingredients.  The melty dates and olives will have combined with the molasses and wine to create a fabulous sauce.  Sprinkle everything with fresh oregano.  I like to serve this dish with Baked Rice with Tomato and Garlic Confit, Mini Hasselback Potatoes with Green Tahini Sauce, or Saffron Orzotto or even Saffron Pasta.  Add some greens like Broccoli Salad with Blueberries and Poppyseed Dressing, Sauteed Brussel Sprouts with Cinnamon, Sumac and Pine Nuts or a Green and Herb Salad with Champagne Mustard Vinaigrette and you have a wonderful meal fit for company.

Final Thoughts

This dish is easy enough to make for weekday family meals.  The fact that you can prep on one day, and cook it the next, means that you can even come home after work and pop this dish into the oven.  Cook up the carby side as it bakes in the oven, and in no time dinner will be on the table. It eats great at room temperature, so leftovers are desired, even served up as a great chicken salad! Using Cornish Game Hens makes this an easy dish to whip up for company with the wow factor, that belies how little work you had to do!  

Depending on the size of the Cornish Game Hens you pick up, you can feed either two or maybe four people with this recipe.  If they are on the larger size, feel free to cut through the breastbone to create four portions.

If you want to pick up a blast from the past but with recipes that will totally work today, I do suggest you pick up a copy of the Silver Palate Cookbook.  Not only will you have the recipe that inspired this one, but recipes for many of the dishes that made a visit to the Silver Palate shop so memorable.  The book has influenced so many through the years, including Yotam Ottolenghi.  It is his version of Marbella that I am using as the base for this recipe.

If you make these Roasted Cornish Game Hens Marbella, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! It’s always lovely to hear from you guys, and I always do my best to respond to each comment or question. And of course, if you do make this recipe, and you post it on Instagram, don’t forget to also tag me so I can see! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is such a treat.

Love Jen