Black Garlic Cornish Hen

Key Ingredients for Black Garlic Cornish Hen

This flavourful Black Garlic Cornish Hen recipe benefits from the best of the Asian condiment market. It consists of umami-packed sauces: Tamari soy, Oyster, Hoisin, honey and a dash of sesame oil for a nutty flavour note.

Both the Black and regular garlic amplifies the flavour. Be sure to save the pan sauces or drippings to spoon over your steamed rice.

Yield: 4 servings of halved Cornish Hen.

Cornish Hens & Marinade

Black Garlic Cornish Hen Recipe

Ingredients:

2 small whole Cornish hens (~1 to 1.5 lbs each)

Coarse salt

1/2 teaspoon of Marash or Allepo pepper (ground black pepper works)

1 Tablespoon avocado oil (vegetable oil works as well)

3 cloves of fresh garlic, chopped & mashed (~ 15g)

3 cloves of Black Garlic mashed (~12g)

2 Tablespoons of Tamari soy sauce (use any light soy sauce)

2 Tablespoon Oyster sauce

1 Tablespoon sesame oil

1 Tablespoon honey

1 Tablespoon Hoisin sauce

Green onions - thinly sliced only for garnish.

Preparation Method:

1. Chop & mince the fresh garlic with coarse salt. Mash the Black Garlic with a fork.

2. Place all ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Whisk all ingredients well except green onions. This will be the marinade for the Cornish hens.

3. Split the Cornish hens - remove the backbone, leaving the breast bone intact.

4. Pat dry the Cornish hen and use the marinade to cover all over Cornish hens. The marinade is enough for both Cornish hens. But also leave some extra for basting.

5. Leave the marinated Cornish hens in the fridge to marinate for about 2 to 3 hours; the best method is to let it marinate overnight. Tip: For those that need to cook the Cornish hen the same day. See insert below "Vacuum Packing Tip" on how to do the shortcut.

Cooking Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF

2. In a large metal pan or ovenproof casserole dish, arrange the split Cornish hen neatly (skin facing up). Baste the skin with more marinade.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Raise the oven temperature to 450ºF to broil the Cornish hen for about 5 minutes until it browned; careful not to burn. Baste with pan juices if required.

4. Lower the temperature to 325ºF and bake until Cornish hen is cooked. Baste at least once more.

5. Remove the Cornish hen from the oven and place it on a serving platter. Adjust the pan drippings flavour by adding more salt, sauces, or honey; then pour over the Cornish hen. Serve immediately

6. Garnish with chopped green onions (optional).

You can also cook the Cornish hen on a BBQ grill

Black Garlic Cornish Hen

If you tried making this recipe, I would love to hear from you. Leave a comment below or tag me with your lovely photos at #food4lifemarketgarden or on Instagram @food4lifemarketgarden.

Happy cooking & experimenting!