You guys. Taking photos of a cornish hen that has food stuffed up her bum bum is hard. I should have tied her legs together. But I was just thinking about the stuffing…and how good it was going to taste when it was done. Not about tying her up 50 Shades of Grey style. So now you have to stare at a spread eagle hen. I apologize ahead of time. But seriously, this sh*t is delicious. If you are like me, not planning a huge Thanksgiving celebration, this is a great way to enjoy Thanksgiving without buying a giant turkey. You could also do this with chicken. Oh wait, you’re doing a turkey? That’s fine you normal human, you could stuff that turkey’s bum this way too! OR you could make it Nom Nom Paleo style!
Remember, I made this recipe with only two cornish hens, but you could definitely double this recipe or even triple it depending on what kind of bird you are making!
We decided to go to a friends house for Thanksgiving so luckily, I don’t have to do anything. I’m bringing some bacon wrapped dates and a special dessert that you’ll find on the blog soon, and that’s it. No stressing about getting all the cooking done, no dishes, no worrying about if the food tastes good. Nope, I just show up, drink then go back home to a clean house. Now THAT’S how you should do a holiday. Crap, I’m hosting Christmas. Ughhhhhhh.
You know when people slip on marbles in tv shows or movies? Isn’t that a little unrealistic? I mean, the whole slipping then flying up into the air and onto their back. Think about when you are running: wouldn’t you slip forward and onto your face? That seems more realistic, but less dramatic. Thinking about it, do it.
I must seem high a lot, huh? Sadly, I’m not the Colorado stereotype. Just crazy.
It has officially dumped snow here in Colorado. And I am quickly reminded how shoveling is an awesome workout. After living in a condo for a year then moving into our house in the spring, we haven’t really had to shovel. Until today. When we woke up to piles of snow and no shovel. I quickly sent the fiancé to Home Depot to grab one but then was left shoveling by myself. I kind of hope it snows on Thanksgiving so I can shovel, workout, and enjoy food a little extra than a normal day. I seriously cannot wait to show you the dessert I’m making for turkey day! Stay tuned!
Thanksgiving Sweet Potato & Apple Stuffed Cornish Hens with Pomegranate Glaze
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pound breakfast sausage (I used Apple Fennel Breakfast from Juli Bauer’s Paleo Cookbook)
- 2 medium white sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 apples, cored and diced
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, minced and divided
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced and divided
- 2 tablespoons fresh sage, minced and divided
- 2 cornish hens, giblets removed
- 4–5 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt + extra throughout
For the pomegranate glaze
- 2 cups pomegranate juice
- 1/4 cup coconut aminos
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees and place rack in the middle of the oven.
- Place a large cast iron skillet over medium heat.
- Add breakfast sausage to skillet and break into pieces. Cook half way through then add white potatoes and apples along with 1 tablespoon of thyme, rosemary and sage and sprinkle with a bit of salt. Cook until sweet potatoes are soft but not completely cooked through then remove from heat to let cool a bit.
- Pat cornish hens dry with a paper towel. Then place room temperature butter in a bowl along with 1 tablespoon of thyme, rosemary, sage and 1 teaspoon of salt and mix. Using your fingers, lift the skin of the cornish hen around the breast up and scoop out about 1 tablespoon of the mixture at a time, push it under the skin and spread along the meat underneath the skin. Repeat throughout each hen and spread any extra butter mixture on top of the skin.
- Use a spoon to scoop sausage mixture into the bird as much as possible. At this point, tie the legs unlike I did. Repeat with over cornish hen.
- Place the leftover sausage mixture in the bottom of a roasting pan (about 12″) and spread out into one layer. Then place the rack on top and place the hens within the rack. Put it oven to roast for 50 minutes to one hour or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.Let rest for about 5 minutes before carving.
- Once cornish hens have about 30 minutes left to roast, place cast iron skillet used for the sausage back over medium heat. Add pomegranate juice and coconut aminos, whisk then let come to a low boil and reduce bowl by a third. This will take a little over 20 minutes. Just let it boil, you don’t really have to do anything, just make sure it gets whisked a couple times to keep from burning.
- Top hens and sausage mixture from the bottom of the roasting pan with a bit of pomegranate glaze.
I made this dish using (click picture for link):
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Make This With:
Thanksgiving Maple Rosemary Whipped Yams Topped with Cinnamon Candied Pecans
Thanksgiving Savory Bacon Butternut Squash Souffle
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I love how you have started to include with your recipes things to serve it with. I also liked that in your book!
awwww good! i’ll keep doing it for sure then!
i seriously wish my family didn’t host thanksgiving every single year. it is so much cleaning. i just can’t. nobody else ever volunteers either.
Hi question for you! My husband HATES cooked apples! Do you have a sub for the apples or can they be omitted? Recipe looks amazing!
they could be omitted and you could just add more sweet potatoes!