These Beer Can Cornish Hen recipe is so YUMMY and simple! I marinated the hens overnight in the spicy rub, then finished then baked them in the oven! No need to light the grill if you don’t want to, because they work so well in the oven!
I was kind of watching either the Cooking Channel or Food Network the other day and happened to pay attention when I saw this recipe on Burgers, Brew and Que and it happened to be a restaurant in Dallas, the Rustic. Thought this looked so good, so I wrote the recipe down and the rest is history!
The spice rub has brown sugar, salt, ancho chile powder, smoked paprika, cumin, garlic powder and onion powder. After rubbing the hens on both sides, every nook and cranny, I stored them in the refrigerator overnight to allow those flavors to penetrante them. Then I poured about half of each beer and placed a hen on each can. Then baked them in a 350 degree oven until internal temperature reached 165!
If you aren’t familiar with Cornish Hens, they are usually in the freezer section of your grocery store unless you are shopping at a store like Whole Foods or Central Market that have a fresh meat market where they are readily available. I bought mine from HEB and the brand was Tyson. Here’s a link for the hens I purchased: https://www.heb.com/product-detail/tyson-premium-twin-pack-rock-cornish-game-hen/87724.
Cornish game hen is the USDA-approved name for variety of broiler chicken, produced from a cross between the Cornish and White Plymouth Rock chicken breeds, that is served young and immature, weighing no more than two pounds ready to cook.
I used a Texas Pilsner from Independence Brewing Company. You know, I live in Texas, I wanted to use a Texas made beer! But you can use any beer.
I served this with my Gruyere Au Gratin Potatoes. That was an excellent side dish for this recipe because they are so cheesy and the potatoes just soaked up the juices from the sauce on this chicken. Here’s the link for the potatoes if you want to serve them too: https://the2spoons.com/best-cheesy-au-gratin-potatoes/.
So Yummy – Simple Beer Can Cornish Hens
Here’s the easy recipe! Hope you make these.
Beer Can Cornish Hen
Ingredients
For the Cornish Hen and Dry Rub
- 2 Cornish Hens
- 2 tbsp light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp salt
- 1 1/2 tbsp ancho chile powder
- 1 tbsp hot smoked paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 8 oz or 12 oz beer of your choice, I used a Texas Pilsner
For the Sauce
- The remainder of the beer after cooking the hens
- 1/2 stick butter at room temperature
- 1 tsp ancho chile powder
- 1 tbsp minced cilantro
- 2 tsp fresh squeezed lime juice
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir with a wire whisk to evenly combine. Coat each game hen evenly with the dry rub inside and out, making sure to push rub into any crevices and openings in the hens. Allow the game hens to brine in the refrigerator for 24 hours before cooking.Pop the top of each beer can, pour out about half of the beer and place the game hens aboard. Cook in a 350 degree oven for 40 – 50 minutes, until the hens reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
- You can make the sauce two ways. If you are using a mild beer you can add the butter and lime juice through the beer can opening shaking a little to combine, then pour over the hens and serve topped with cilantro. I used a pretty strong pilsner and it was a little bitter to my liking for a sauce, so I poured the remaining beer content into a skillet, reduced it by about half to get rid of the bitterness, added the butter and lime juice then poured that over each hen before serving.
