This recipe for Roasted Cornish Game Hens was an elegant dish that we paired with a Pinot Noir from Oregon’s Willamette Valley. We wanted something that would not be too heavy, but would match the elegance of this wine. Incorporating Pinot Noir into the dish as well as adding a savory berry drizzle, help to match notes in the wine and make this pairing extra delicious.
Roasted Cornish Game hens with savory berry drizzle
Feeds: 4
Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
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Ingredients for Cornish Game Hens
- 2 Cornish Game Hens
- 4 tbs of olive oil (divided)
- ½ lemon quartered
- 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
- 8 cloves of garlic
- 3 tbs of wine (choose to match your pairing, we used Pinot Noir)
- 3 tbs of chicken stock
- Rosemary and lemon slices for garnish.
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 450.
- Rub the Cornish Game Hens with olive oil (about 2 tbs spoons)
- Season with salt and pepper
- Place 1 piece of lemon inside the cavity, followed by a sprig of rosemary and another piece of lemon.
- Line a small roasting pan with aluminum foil
- Place the 2 Cornish Game Hens in the roasting pan, breast up.
- Add your whole garlic cloves around the birds, and the remaining 2 sprigs of rosemary.
- Roast in the oven for 25 minutes.
While this is roasting make the berry drizzle
Savory Berry Drizzle
Ingredients for Berry Drizzle
- 1 cup of frozen berries (ours were blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries) * you can also use fresh berries if you have them.
- 1/3 cup of chopped dried cranberries
- ½ lemon juiced and zested
- 2 tbs frozen orange juice
- 2 tbs wine (again we used Pinot Noir)
- 1 tsp of rosemary chopped
- Salt & Pepper
Directions
- Place all items in a saucepan, warm over medium heat stirring regularly.
- Cook until the berries break down. Season to taste
*You can make this ahead if you like and just warm it before drizzling on the hens.
After 25 minutes of roasting the hens…
Whisk together your wine, chicken broth and 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Remove the Cornish Game Hens from the oven, lower the heat to 350 and pour the mixture of wine, broth and olive oil over the hens.
Return to the oven to roast an additional 25 minutes, basting with the juices every 10 minutes. The hens should be at 165 degrees with an instant read thermometer inserted at the thigh.
Take the birds out and let them rest on a cutting board under foil. Carefully pour out any juice that is inside the birds into the pan.
In the meantime prepare the sauce…
Pour the juices from the pan into a saucepan with the garlic, boil until the liquid is reduced by half.
Cut the birds in half lengthwise and arrange on a platter, spoon the sauce around the base of the Cornish Game Hens with the garlic.
Drizzle the berry sauce over the hens.
Garnish with lemon slices and rosemary sprigs.
What sides to pair?
We did a side of minted pea mash and roasted baby potatoes with burrata, basil, spinach and radicchio with lemon.
Paired with an Alloro 2018 Pinot Noir from Oregon
All of these paired beautifully with the Pinot Noir. Which we received as a sample from Alloro Vineyard.
This is the genius of Pinot Noir, it is filled with flavor but is light enough to meld well with a variety of dishes. With this dish, it was beautiful with the acid of the wine, cutting through the fat in the hens, the fruit notes, enhancing the berry sauce and rounding it out with accentuating the rosemary and garlic.
To learn more about this wine and the pairing
Jump to the recipes for…
Roasted baby potatoes with burrata, basil, spinach, and radicchio with lemon
Roasted Cornish Game hens with savory berry drizzle
This was an elegant dish that we paired with a Pinot Noir from Oregon’s Willamette
Valley. We wanted something that would not be too heavy, but would match the elegance of this wine. Incorporating Pinot Noir into the dish as well as adding a savory berry drizzle, help to match notes in the wine and make this pairing extra delicious.
This recipe was inspired by a recipe by Moon and Back on Allrecipes. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/8938/cornish-game-hens-with-garlic-and-rosemary/
We adapted the recipe for 2 game hens rather than 4 and made a few other adjustments like adding the berry drizzle.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of frozen berries (ours were blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries) * you can also use fresh berries if you have them.
- 1/3 cup of chopped dried cranberries
- ½ lemon juiced and zested
- 2 tbs frozen orange juice
- 2 tbs wine (again we used Pinot Noir)
- 1 tsp of rosemary chopped
- Salt & Pepper
- 2 Cornish game hens
- 4 tbs of olive oil (divided)
- ½ lemon quartered
- 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
- 8 cloves of garlic
- 3 tbs of wine (choose to match your pairing, we used Pinot Noir)
- 3 tbs of chicken stock
- Rosemary and lemon slices for garnish.
Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 450
2. Rub the hens with olive oil (about 2 tbs spoons)
3. Season with salt and pepper
4. Place 1 piece of lemon inside the cavity, followed by a sprig of rosemary and another piece of lemon
5. Line a small roasting pan with aluminum foil
6. Place the 2 hens in the roasting pan, breast up.
7. Add your whole garlic cloves around the birds, and the remaining 2 sprigs of rosemary.
8. Roast in the oven for 25 minutes.
9. While this is roasting make the berry drizzle
10. Use ingredients 1 through 7
11. Cook until the berries break down.
12. After 25 minutes of roasting the hens
13. Whisk together your wine, chicken broth and 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
14. Remove the hens from the oven, lower the heat to 350 and pour the mixture of wine, broth and olive oil over the hens.
15. Return to the oven to roast an additional 25 minutes, basting with the juices every 10 minutes. The hens should be at 165 degrees with an instant read thermometer inserted at the thigh.
16. Take the birds out and let them rest on a cutting board under foil. Carefully pour out any juice that is inside the birds into the pan.
17. In the meantime prepare the sauce
18. Pour the juices from the pan into a saucepan with the garlic, boil until the liquid is reduced by half.
19. Cut the birds in half lengthwise and arrange on a platter, spoon the sauce around the base of the hens with the garlic.
20. Drizzle the berry sauce over the hens.
21. Garnish with lemon slices and rosemary sprigs.
Notes
What sides to pair?
We did a side of minted pea mash and roasted baby potatoes with burrata, basil, spinach and radicchio with lemon.
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 574Total Fat 38gSaturated Fat 9gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 27gCholesterol 169mgSodium 187mgCarbohydrates 27gFiber 6gSugar 16gProtein 30g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
Alloro Pinot Noir Recipe Pairings
Here you will find all of our wine pairing Recipes
Roasted baby potatoes with burrata, basil, spinach and radicchio with lemon
This is one of those dishes that you see on pinterest and can’t get out of your head.
Inspired by this recipe from Half Baked Harvest, we updated to include different greens and
potatoes that were available in the winter.
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/roasted-mixed-potatoes-with-spring-herbs-and-burrata/
Roasted Cornish Game hens with savory berry drizzle
This was an elegant dish that we paired with a Pinot Noir from Oregon’s Willamette
Valley. We wanted something that would
not be too heavy, but would match the elegance of this wine. Incorporating Pinot Noir into the dish as
well as adding a savory berry drizzle, help to match notes in the wine and make
this pairing extra delicious.
This recipe was inspired by a recipe by Moon and Back on Allrecipes. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/8938/cornish-game-hens-with-garlic-and-rosemary/
We adapted the recipe to feed 2 rather than 4 and made a few other adjustments.
Minted Pea Mash
Sometimes you look at a plate and it just needs some green. What if you
really DON'T feel like a salad? I found a quick and easy recipe for
Pea Mash on Sprinkles and Sprouts and updated it adding fresh mint to
brighten the dish.
Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.
When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.
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