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    Home » Chicken & Poultry

    Wine Can Cornish Hens

    Published: Jun 25, 2021 · Modified: Aug 17, 2021 by Zimmy · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

    Four wine can Cornish hens are placed on a skillet on a grill. Two wine glasses (one white, one red) are in the background.

    Wine Can Cornish Hens.

    Marinated with Calabrese peppers, cilantro, parsley, garlic, Dijon, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper and olive oil.

    I cooked two hens on Pinot Grigio cans and 2 two on Shiraz cans to see if there was a difference in flavour… both Elaine and I agreed there was! We enjoyed the Pinot Grigio more with this marinade.

    Ingredients
    • 3 Calabrese peppers in oil
    • 2 tablespoons of the flavoured oil
    • 3 garlic cloves, minced
    • ½ cup parsley leaves
    • ½ cilantro leaves and tender stems
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon pepper
    • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
    • Zest of one lemon
    • Juice of one lemon
    • ½ cup of olive oil
    • 4 cans (each 250 mL) white wine (Pinot Grigio)
    • 4 Cornish hens, 1 ½ lbs (680 g) each (remove neck from cavity)
    Preparation

    In a mini food processor, blend together the peppers, oil, garlic, parsley, cilantro, salt, pepper, Dijon, lemon zest & juice. Then in a slow stream while the food processor is running, add the olive oil. Coat Cornish hens well with the marinade, cover and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.

    Pour out half of each can of wine, into a glass for sipping while you cook.

    Preheat grill to med-high heat with lid closed.

    Carefully work 1 can into the cavity of each hen as far as it will go. Place all the hens in a solid-bottomed high heat resistant pan, such as a cast-iron pan. Reserve excess marinade.

    Place the pan on one side of the grill and close the lid. Turn down the heat on the side with hens to low and cook with the indirect high heat of the other side of the grill for 15 minutes. The grill temperature should be between 400°F – 425°F

    Rotate the pan to cook hens evenly. Baste with reserved marinade.

    Close lid and cook until hens are browned, and internal temperature reaches 160°F. (45-60 minutes total).

    Cover the hens with foil and let rest for 8-10 minutes (temperature will come to 165°F) before carefully sliding hens off cans.

    Chefs note: Keep the grill lid closed! Yes, the birds are cute and you’ll want to take lots of pictures, but the skin will never crisp up with the lid open!

    • Prep time: 10 minutes
    • Inactivate time: 2 hours
    • Cook time: 1 hour
    • Total time: 3 hours, 10 minutes
    • Serves 4
    A close up of wine can cornish hens are placed on a skillet on a grill. The skin is crispy, golden brown.

    Cooked in my Hestan Culinary 12.5″ NanoBond Skillet on my Hestan gas grill.

    Proud Hestan & Hestan Culinary Ambassador. Opinions in this post are my own.


    Hope you enjoy my Wine Can Cornish Hens recipe! We would love to hear from you, please leave us your feedback in the comment box below.

    Have a delicious day! James (aka Zimmy) & Elaine

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    Hi, I’m James (aka Zimmy), a home chef who loves to grill year-round. In partnership with my wife Elaine, we work with and passionately promote the stories of local farmers, food producers/purveyors, as well as the products of companies who share our passion for quality, innovation and design.

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