What is a Cornish Hen?

A Cornish hen is a breed of chicken. It is an immature Cornish chicken that is bred to have lots of white meat. It is considered a broiler/fryer.

How to safely defrost chicken?

According to Good Housekeeping , there are three ways to defrost chicken. "Thawing chicken in the refrigerator takes the most amount of planning ahead, as it takes at least a full day for the chicken to thaw, but it's also the safest and most recommended. To defrost using this method, simply place your frozen chicken in the refrigerator. " Make sure your refrigerator temperature is set at 40 °F or below, and keep the chicken wrapped and placed in a container, tray, or dish that will prevent the juices from leaking onto other foods. A quicker, more hands on method is to submerge the store-wrapped chicken in a large bowl of cold water. Food safety instructions say to drain and replace the water every 30 minutes. Depending on how large your Cornish hen is, they can be defrosted in about an hour. "Chicken thawed by this method should be cooked immediately and not refrozen. Another way to defrost is using your microwave. Take the hens out of the original packaging, place in a microwave safe bowl or plate cover loosely with paper towel or plastic wrap. Using the defrost button, start with 2-3 minutes, flipping over and continuing until fully defrosted. A 1 pound Cornish hen will take approximately 7-8 minutes. Also note that the defrost button is equivilant to 2-30 percent power. The most important takeaway is to never refreeze any chicken that has been defrosted by the cold water or microwave method. Because these methods defrost in an uneven manner, there is more risk of bacteria.

Air Fryer Cornish Hen ⋆ Deb's Daily Dish

Name: Air Fryer Cornish Hen
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: Olive oil spray; 2 tablespoons softened butter; small handful choice of herbs ( I used 3-4 sprigs each of sage, thyme and rosemary)*; 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper; 2 (16 oz. each) Cornish Game Hens

Description

This Air Fryer Cornish Hen recipe creates perfectly crispy skin on the outside and juicy meat infused with fresh herb butter. It is the perfect solution when you don't want to use your oven. Your air fryer will cook dinner in about 30 minutes.

Ingredients

Scale

Olive oil spray
2 tablespoons softened butter
small handful choice of herbs ( I used 3-4 sprigs each of sage, thyme and rosemary)*
1 teaspoon each salt and pepper
2 (16 oz. each) Cornish Game Hens

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Instructions

Preheat Air Fryer to 375°F for 5 minutes.
Gently pull skin away from the hens and smear butter underneath the skin and on top.
Place some herbs under the skin. Sprinkle hens with salt and pepper. Also salt the cavity of the hen.
Lightly spray the air fryer basket with olive oil.
Place hens breast side down in the fryer.
Cook for 15 minutes. Flip over the hens and cook for another 15 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thigh meat registers 165°F.
Remove to platter and let rest for 5-10 minutes to allow juices to redistribute.
Slice each hen in half for four servings. Or you could slice the breast meat for those that prefer white meat. And divide the legs, thighs and wings for those that prefer dark meat.
Serve with your favorite side dishes.

Notes

* If your Cornish hens are frozen, defrost them overnight on a plate in the refrigerator.

*Instead of fresh herbs you can use a 1/2 teaspoon of dried rosemary, sage, thyme. Or a general all purpose chicken or poultry seasoning.

*Use a long handled fork to lift from inside the cavity of the hens. Don't spear the meat or you risk losing some of the juices.

*Leftovers will keep for 3-4 days in the refrigerator. You can heat them in the microwave for 1-2 minutes or saute in a fry pan to heat through. My favorite way to use leftover chicken is to make cold chicken sandwiches or add to a salad.