Hi all,
Ok, a couple of weeks in a row my wife brings something home asking if it can be cooked on the smoker, and of we delivered! This week it was Cornish Hens. Darn, I am starting to love when she goes shopping free lance. It has been years since I have made Cornish Hen, and in the past always roasted in the oven with an apricot glaze. Got excited to cook on the pit based on what I have seen folks on this site do with chicken, turkey and hen. First up was Spatchcocking the hens, something I have never done with hen, chicken or turkey. Wow, it was much easier than I expected, and something I will do much more often now.
I spatchcock three hens, each about 1.5#. I used a pretty simple brine of water, salt, brown sugar and peppercorns. After spatchcocking the hens, I brined for about 1.5 hours. I pulled the hens from the brine and dried with paper towels. I then pulled the skin back away from the breast, and as much of the thigh as possible and applied rub. For tonight's cook, one of the hens was seasoned with a combination of Weber's Chili Lime rub and Dan's Backyard BBQ rub (this combo is a favorite), the other two were rubbed with Rec Tec Greek Rub (I have not used it at all since it was sent to me and thought it sounded pretty good) I have wanted to try out. I did try to pull back the skin from the breast and the thigh to expose as much meat as possible. Once all three hen's inside was rubbed I pulled the skin back over to cover the breast and thigh, and brushed the skin very liberally with melted butter. After applying the melted butter, rubbed the skin side and the underside with the Weber's/Dan's and Greek Rubs.
I had the pit set at 225* when I put the hens on. I have a RT, so also used Extreme smoke setting. Smoked the hens at 225* for 60 minutes. After 60 minutes, turned the temp up to 375* for an additional 45 minutes. I left the hens on while the temps rose. One of the hens read 169*, and one read 172 when I pulled all three. Even at those temps showing in the breast meat, the breast were very moist and the dark meat was fully cooked as well.
End product was fantastic. There was a definite smoke flavor to the hen, and each of the rubs gave a different but distinct flavor. Neither was overpowering, and the smokiness taste/flavor shined through. I was hoping I was going to enjoy the traditional flavors better (Chili Lime and Dan's), but that Greek rub turned out really really good too.
I learned about brining from many of you on this site (thanks all), and now spatchcoking, also learned here is also going to be a part of my future cooks.
Spatchocked Cornish Hens with Basic BBQ Rub and RT Greek Rub. (Traditional BBQ rub is the top hen, bottom two are Greek Rub)
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Hens on the Pit at 225*
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Spatchocked Cornish Hen ready to Serve
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