Now the Sweet And Spicy Cornish Game Hens, are one of my favorite ways to make Cornish game hens. While the rest of the family does not like a spice kick I am a spicy food kinda guy. Plus these little birds make the perfect single serving!
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When I was given a 12 Piece Set of Spiecology spices for Christmas the Smoky Honey Habanero was one I knew would be amazing on chicken. Now love that Spiceology is a small business out of Spokane, WA, meaning are PNW as well!! You can also grab their spices from their site->here or off of Amazon-> here. We found Mother Plucker at a coastal town and I plan to order a couple more out of the Sasquatch Line of Spiceology, so good on smoked chicken.
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Sweet And Spicy Cornish Game Hens Ingredients:
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.
how to cook cornish hens on a pit boss pellet grill:
We always get the Cornish Game Hens for 2 for $5 at Safeway. These make for a great frugal dinner. However, it does not taste like it is a cheap dinner.
Pull your Cornish game hens to thaw out, I leave mine in the fridge for a day or on the counter. Be sure to thaw them following food safe guidelines.
Once the hens are thawed rub them down with olive oil and place your oiled hen in a container.
Season to taste with Spiceology Smoky Honey Habanero, salt, and pepper.
For best flavor allow the Cornish Game Hens to set for at least a couple of hours. I tend to season them the night before smoking. Be sure to keep the Cornish game hens in the fridge if you aren’t smoking right away.
An hour before you are ready to smoke the hens remove them from the fridge. This allows them to reach room temperature before putting on the smoker.
I prefer to smoke to temperature, not by a set time. Now I have fallen in love with my Pit Boss Pro 1100 from Lowes, if you don’t have Lowes, Walmart and Amazon carry other Pit Boss options or the Pit Boss website. I love that I can set it at 225 with smoke and run inside and take a shower or prep sides, and it just cooks my meat with an amazing smoke flavor!
Start your smoker up and get it rolling smoke. I used Pit Boss Grills Mesquite pellets but you can use any flavor of pellets to smoke your chicken.
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)
Once I get my Pellet Grill rolling smoke I left it on the smoke setting with a P Setting at P7.
Set your Cornish Game Hens in your smoker and allow them to smoke. They will slowly start to increase in temperature by default but this is also cold smoking because there isn’t active heat.
When you are close to wanting to eat turn the smoker up to 225 degrees.
As the Cornish Game Hens cook, be sure to rotate the hens and flip them as needed.
Use a meat thermometer to check that your chicken has cooked to 165 degrees. (I love this one ->here on Amazon)
Remove and serve!!!
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
Other Smoked Cornish Game Hen Recipes
- Sweet And Spicy Cornish Game Hens
- Mediterranean Smoked Cornish Game Hens
- Cold Smoked Cornish Game Hens
- Coca-Cola Brined Smoked Cornish Game Hens
- Smoked Cornish Game Hens Brine
Sweet And Spicy Cornish Game Hens
Ingredients
- 1 Cornish Game Hens
- Smoky Honey Habanero Seasoning
- 1/2 Tablespooon Olive Oil
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
- Pull your Cornish game hens to thaw out if frozen, I leave mine in the fridge for a day or on the counter.
- Once the hens are thawed rub them down with olive oil and place your oiled hen in a container.
- Season to taste with Spiceology Smoky Honey Habanero, salt, and pepper to taste.
- For best flavor allow the Cornish Game Hens to set for at least a couple hours. I tend to season them the night before smoking. be sure to keep the Cornish game hens in the fridge if you aren't smoking in a short time frame.
- An hour before you are ready to smoke the hens remove them from the fridge, this allows them to reach room temperature before putting on the smoker.
- Start your smoker up and get it rolling smoke. I used Pit Boss Grills Mesquite pellets but you can use any flavor of pellets to smoke your chicken.
- Once I get my Pellet Grill rolling smoke I left it on the smoke setting with a P Setting at P7.
- Set your Cornish Game Hens in your smoker and allow them to smoke. They will slowly start to increase in temperature by default but this is also cold smoking because there isn’t an active heat.
- When you are close to wanting to eat turn the smoker up to 225 degrees.
- As the Cornish Game Hens cook be sure to rotate the hens and flip them as needed.
- Use a meat thermometer to check that your chicken has cooked to 165 degrees.
- Remove and serve!!!
Video
Nutrition
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