Cold Smoked Cornish Game Hens! Doesn’t it sound weird?? I know what you are thinking, man you gotta smoke with heat. Well, I am here to tell you the flavor is amazing if you cold smoke, the meat is exposed to more smoke longer which means it absorbs more flavor!
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Now the old lady is obsessed with finding deals, I remember the first time I asked her to pick up some she had a cow at how expensive they were. She now just picks them up on $5 Fridays at Safeway for the two-pack. It works out perfectly since I like to brine my chickens frozen to grab them frozen.
What is a Cornish Game Hen?
A Cornish game hen is a particular variety of boiler chicken, it is served young and immature. Typically they are less than 2 pounds in weight but they are not game birds. They are like miniature chickens, perfect for a single serving. They are most often found in the frozen section of the grocery store.
Cold Smoked Cornish Game Hens Supplies:
- Cold Smoke Generator
- Plastic Bin to Brine In
- Gas or Propane Grill
- Pellets
Money and time-saving tips from the old lady. If you order pellets online from Walmart and spend $35, they will drop them off at your door for free!! Their everyday price on pit boss pellets is amazing, plus the expert grill brand has a great price. (see them ->here)
Now I sit here and wonder however did I smoke and grill without Smoke Chief Cold smoke generator! Now I will preface this by saying I AM NO PROFESSIONAL, I am a homegrown, self-taught, Google searching, and recipe modifying guy, but my food tastes amazing! I prefer to use apple pellets, but a buddy swears by hickory. As you smoke I suggest you try different pellets to find what flavor suits you. (I even wrote a guide on how to Cold Smoke with a smoke chief -> here)
Smokehouse Products 9500-000-0000 Smoke Chief Cold Smoke Generator
Super Smoker Variety Value Pack – 1 Lb. Bag – Apple, Hickory, Mesquite, Cherry, Pecan and Jack Daniel’sSmokehouse Products 9770-020-0000 5-Pound Bag All Natural Apple Flavored Wood Pellets, Bulk
Cold Smoked Cornish Game Hens Ingredients:
- Cornish Game Hens-The Cornish game hens can go in frozen into this brine.
- Water
- Salt
- Garlic Salt
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Black Pepper
- Montreal Steak Seasoning
- Ice
How To Make Cold Smoked Cornish Game Hens:
In a large bin that has a lid pour in all your brine ingredients and give the brine mixture a good swirl. If your Cornish game hens are thawed then throw in some ice to the brine as well.
Set in your game hens in the brine I don’t fully submerge mine since as they thaw they will add more liquid, you can add more water later on if necessary.
Storing in the fridge they stayed cold and icy so I didn’t add ice be sure to monitor the temperature and follow food safety guidelines for meat temperature.
Make sure your grill is clean before you start the cold smoke.
Follow the directions for setting up your cold smoker.
On your top rack and bottom rack space out your Cornish game hens.
Fire up the cold smoker and let the fun begin.
I set times for every half hour to 45 minutes to go push pellets down and rotate the chicken around. The cold smoke will fill your grill to flavor up the Cornish game hens.
Now as you can see even though it’s a cold smoke the hens start to cook a bit, the cold smoker puts out some heat right next to it. Since then I have learned to put the hens on the other side they still get the smoke but it doesn’t cook them.
Allow the hens to be smoked for a couple of hours on the grill with just the cold smoker.
Once you are close to wanting to eat fire up a couple of burners and allow the chicken to cook at low heat. I fire up the burners on the opposite side of the grill from the chicken so they take a bit longer and also will absorb more of the smoke flavor.
Once they are done they will have amazing crisp skin and color to them!! Use a meat thermometer to ensure they are cooked to 165 degrees.
Now we were celebrating a buddy’s birthday so we also had a nice lobster tail to go with the Cold Smoked Cornish Game Hens and some Smoked Loaded Baked Beans as well. It was the perfect dinner by the time we paired it up with some nice cold drinks!
What do you make a cold smoke generator? Favorite side dis to serve with cold smoked Cornish game hens?
How to Store leftover Smoked Cornish Game Hens
Store in an airtight container in the fridge. The remainder meat will be good for two to four days if stored properly. You can also debone the cornish game hens and freeze the meat. I would use the remaining meat within 30 days after freezing.
What To Serve With Smoked Cornish Game Hens:
The sky is the limit on What to serve with Cornish game hens, starches and vegetables are my go-to! See my list of ideas -> here.
Side Dish: Caesar Salad, Rice, Smoked Baked Potatoes, Smoked Deviled Eggs, Grilled Twice Baked Potatoes, Smoked Potato Salad, Oven Roasted Potatoes, and Deviled Egg Macaroni Salad
Desserts: Pumpkin Bundt Cake, Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bakes, Pink Fluff, Oreo Fluff, 2 Ingredient Peanut Butter Fudge, Cake Mix Cookies, Ice Cream Floats, Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake
Smoked Cornish Hens Recipes:
These are some of my favorites to smoke. The flavor is always excellent, and they are easy to change up each time you make them. These can be made on a pellet smoker or any smoker.
- Sweet And Spicy Cornish Game Hens
- Mediterranean Smoked Cornish Game Hens
- Cold Smoked Cornish Game Hens
- Smoked Cornish Game Hens With Brine And Dry Rub
- Coca-Cola Smoked Cornish Game Hens
- Smoked Cornish Game Hens With Brine
Pellet Smoker Recipes To check out
Looking for more smoker recipes?? Be sure to check out Smoker Recipes. The post contains smoker recipes from ham to macaroni and cheese to Prime Rib! See it -> here.
- Dutch Oven In The Smoker Recipes
- Special Occasion And Holiday Recipes
- Smoked Side Dishes
- Smoked Deli Salads
Delicious Cold Smoked Cornish Game Hens!!!
Ingredients
- 4 Cornish game hen
- 1 gallon Water
- 3/4 Cup Salt
- ¼ cup Garlic Salt
- ¼ cup Worcestershire Sauce
- 4 Tablespoon Black Pepper
- ¼ cup Montreal Steak Seasoning
- Ice
Instructions
- In a large bin that has a lid pour in all your brine ingredients and the brine mixture a good swirl. If your Cornish game hens are thawed then throw in some ice to the brine as well.
- Set in your game hens in the brine I don't fully submerge mine since as they thaw they will add more liquid, you can add more water later on if necessary.
- Make sure your grill is clean before you start the cold smoke.
- Follow the directions for setting up your cold smoker.
- On your top rack and bottom rack space out your Cornish game hens.
- Fire up the cold smoker and let the fun begin. I set times for every half hour to 45 minutes to go push pellets down and rotate the chicken around. The cold smoke will fill your grill to flavor up the Cornish game hens.
- Now as you can see even though its a cold smoke the hens start to cook a bit, the cold smoker puts out some heat right next to it. Since then I have learned to put the hens on the other side they still get the smoke but it doesn't cook them.
- Allow the hens to be smoked for a couple hours on the grill with just the cold smoker.
- Once you are close to wanting to eat fire up a couple of burners and allow the chicken to cook at a low heat. I fire up the burners on the opposite side of the grill from the chicken so they take a bit longer and also will absorb more of the smoke flavor.
- Once they are done they will have an amazing crisp skin and color to them!!
Notes
Seriously, I started salivating at the first glance of these. I might have to borrow my neighbors smoker and make these! Or just give him the recipe and ingredients and let him do it 🙂