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Roasted Cornish Hens with Mushroom-Crème Fraîche Sauce

Makes 6 servings
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Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • ¼ cup kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 6 about 1¼ pounds each Cornish hens, giblets removed
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • Mushroom-Crème Fraîche Sauce recipe follows
  • Garnish: fresh thyme sprigs roasted garlic (see Kitchen Tip)

Method
 

  1. In a small bowl, combine salt, sugar, and pepper. Reserve 1 tablespoon salt mixture.
  2. In a large baking dish, place hens; rub remaining salt mixture onto hens. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours.
  3. Rinse hens; pat dry with paper towels.
  4. Preheat oven to 375°. Spray a large rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Place hens on prepared pan. Brush with oil. Sprinkle with reserved 1 tablespoon salt mixture. Tie legs together with kitchen twine.
  5. Bake until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest portion registers 165°, about 45 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes. Serve with Mushroom-Crème Fraîche Sauce. Garnish with thyme and roasted garlic, if desired.

Notes

Kitchen Tip: To roast garlic, cut ½ inch of top end of 3 garlic heads, keeping cloves intact. Place each head of garlic, cut side up, on a sheet of foil. Drizzle each with 2 teaspoons oil, and wrap in foil. Place on prepared pan with hens. Bake until softened and browned, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool and spread garlic pulp onto French bread, using as desired.