Juicy and aromatic roasted cornish hen… I made this roasted cornish hen for New year’s eve dinner, all I have to do was to marinade the chicken and then pop it in the oven. Without doing much work I got to enjoy this flavorful and juicy cornish hen. I adored the addition of rosemary, it imparted flavor and aroma to the roasted hen. Cornish hen is a hybrid chicken, mostly sold as whole and is small sized. Since it’s small it tastes delicious and is easier to cook. Being a whole chicken fanatic, roasting cornish hen was exciting. Along with the hen I also roasted veggies; that made an awesome side dish. 
Preparation Pictures Marinated cornish hen 
Roasted cornish hen 
Roasted Cornish Hen- Lemon and Rosemary Cornish Hen
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Thasneen
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: American
Serves: 4 People
Ingredients
For marinating
- Cornish hen- 1 (or use small regular chicken)
- Ground pepper- 2 tsp, to spread over hen
- Salt- as needed
- Paprika- 3 tsp, to spread over hen
- Olive oil- 3 tbsp
For stuffing
- Lemon cubed- 1, medium
- Rosemary, fresh- 2 sprigs
Other ingredients
- Chicken stock- ½ cup
- Olive oil- 2 tbsp
Veggies for roasting
- Onion, diced- 2, medium
- Carrot, wedges- 1, large
- Celery, wedges- 2 stalks
- Rosemary- 1 sprig
- Ground pepper- ½ tsp
- Salt- to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the cornish hen inside and out under running water. Drain the water, pat dry with paper towel.
- Sprinkle ground pepper, salt and paprika inside and outside of the hen, spread well.
- Drizzle olive oil inside and outside of the hen.
- Stuff the inside of the hen with cubed lemon and rosemary sprigs. Pack the stuffing tightly inside the hen. Let marinade for 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 450 F.
- Line a deep baking dish with aluminum foil or use a deep roasting pan.
- Combine the veggies with ground pepper and salt.
- Spread the veggies evenly on the baking dish, sprinkle rosemary leaves over the veggies.
- Place the marinated cornish hen over the veggies.
- Place on the center rack in the oven.
- Bake for 25 minutes.
- After 25 minutes of baking, take the hen out of the oven.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350 F.
- Combine chicken stock and oil together in a bowl.
- Pour the chicken stock over the cornish hen.
- Place the chicken back into the oven at 350 F.
- Roast again for 35 to 40 minutes or till the hen has turned golden brown in color.
- After every 15 minutes of roasting make sure to baste or pour the juice in the pan over the hen, this will ensure that the hen remains moist and juicy.
- After 40 minutes of roasting, take the hen out of the oven. Let cool down for sometime.
- Hold the hen straight onto the pan so that the juices in the cavity will drain into the pan.
- Separate the juice from the veggies and transfer to a bowl.
- Spread the roasted veggies on a platter and place the roasted hen over it.
- If the juice is too watery, you could heat it in a saucepan till it thickens.
- Pour the juice over the roasted cornish hen.
- Using a carving knife, cut the hen into halves, remove the stuffing and serve on a plate along with the roasted veggies.
