Our Favorite Cornish Hen Recipes

While a roast chicken is no stranger to the dinner table, Cornish hens might not be in your usual repertoire — but there’s really no reason to overlook these birds. Yes, there is something that feels extra special about everyone having their own Cornish hen, but they can be cooked quickly, which means they are doable on a weeknight. Just add a healthy side dish and you’ve got a winning weeknight dinner. Plus, cornish hens are really just chickens. The Department of Agriculture classifies a Cornish game hen (or a Rock Cornish game hen) as an immature chicken that weighs 2 pounds or less and is younger than 5 weeks old. If you haven’t made them yourself yet, Sunny’s 5-star recipe is a great place to start. Her advice is to ask your butcher to butterfly the hens, cutting the backbone out so they will lie flat; this will allow them to get nice and crispy on the outside when you sear them in sage butter before baking. And the best part of all? They’ll be ready in under an hour.

Looking for Sunny’s “cheat sheet”? It’s probably in your cupboard — it’s a sheet pan! This entire meal comes together on a sheet pan, which means you’ll have hardly any cleanup to worry about.

Ina’s lemony marinade, infused with garlic and rosemary, gives Cornish hens a lot of flavor and saves you from having to do a lot of work.

The secret to making golden-brown Cornish hens with the crispiest skin is an aluminum foil-wrapped brick. It helps flatten the birds so every piece of skin can saute to perfection.