cooking under pressure: cornish game hens

How To Make cooking under pressure: cornish game hens

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  PREP/PREPARE
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  The other day, I picked up four Cornish Game Hens. The goal was to find the right pressure and time to cook a rock-solid frozen hen. I went through all four of the birds to get it right, but we had fun eating the mistakes.
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  You will need a pressure cooker, or Instant Pot. In addition, if you are doing the optional step of putting it under the broiler, to crisp the skin, you will need a parchment-lined baking sheet. More on that later.
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  What are Cornish Game Hens Cornish game hens look like a small chicken, and to a certain extent that is precisely what they are. In 1950 three farmers in Connecticut cross-bred a standard Cornish Chicken, a White Plymouth Rock Hen, and a Malayan Fighting Cock (I would have paid good money to see that) and out popped what we know as a Cornish Game Hen. According to the rules, they must be between 1 – 2 pounds (0.45 – 0.90 kg), must be processed before they are 5 weeks old, and can be either male or female. Although you can find them fresh in some specialty stores, in most cases you will likely find them frozen. They can be defrosted and cooked in much the same way you would prepare any standard chicken. In our case we will be cooking it from frozen in the Instant Pot. The flesh of a Game Hen tastes delicate, slightly sweet, with a fall-off-the-bone consistency. In addition, they have a fattier skin than regular chickens, which helps to naturally baste the meat as it cooks. And, despite the name, there is nothing “gamy” about the flavor.
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  Prepping the Bird Actually, since we are doing this bird from frozen, there is little, if any, prepping necessary. However, there is one thing to look for when you a Game Hen with the intention of cooking it from frozen... Make sure there are no giblets in the cavity (it will specify whether the bird has giblets on the packaging). The reason is that since the bird is frozen, you will not be able to remove the giblets, and I do not fancy having a plastic sack filled with giblet bits cooking inside my bird. If you are going a more traditional route and defrosting the bird before cooking, then it does not really matter. As a matter of fact, you could use the giblets and the stock to make a yummy sauce.
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  Serving Size Cornish Game Hens, have a small meat-to-bone ratio, so it is not uncommon to have one hen per person. However, I like to serve them with other things (a couple of sides, a salad, lots of wine… more wine), so I usually cut them in half, which is what the final presentation photos show in this recipe.
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  The Stock The stock I am using is fairly simple with few spices; however, feel free to jazz it up with some chopped or sliced onions, carrots, and/or garlic. In addition, after the bird is cooked, you could throw the stock on the stovetop add some flour and make a thick sauce. I prefer to leave it the stock as is and use it with the potatoes to loosen them up a bit, like a rustic mash, and then pour a bit over the chicken before serving. My preferred cooking liquid for soups, stews, sauces, the lot, are stocks (chicken, beef, veal, fish, etc.), but there is also something called broth. It takes about one hour to make a broth, and 4 – 5 hours to make a decent stock. Stocks have a deeper, richer flavor that only time can produce, and the other important thing to consider is the sodium levels. While stocks have almost no sodium in them, broths are sodium heavy. As a matter of fact, a low-sodium broth will have more salt in it than a regular stock. So, if you are using broth, cut back on the salt levels of the recipe. In this particular recipe, if you are replacing the stock with broth, you could probably get by with a quarter teaspoon, or maybe just a pinch or two of sodium. Remember you can always add spices, like salt, but if you add too much, it is rather difficult to take it out. As one of my instructors was always fond of saying: Computers have undo keys; recipes do not.
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  The Potatoes Since the potatoes will be cooking with the hen, you want something that can stand up to that pressure without turning into mush. Russets will not do here; you need a good red or yellow waxy variety. And make sure that you cut them in half. Whole potatoes placed in a pressure cooker will explode. And we HATE it when that happens. One more thing, I usually keep the skins on the potatoes, but if you want them peeled, do so. You are in charge.
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  Storage A fresh, unfrozen hen will last 3 – 4 days wrapped up in the fridge. Frozen and wrapped up in the freezer for about 5 – 6 months. Vacuumed sealed, a year or more. Never refreeze a thawed bird (or pretty much any poultry, fish, pork, or beef). Thawing and refreezing causes the item to lose flavor, and in the case of things like poultry will change their texture (mushy).
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  Gather your ingredients (mise en place).
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  Wash the potatoes and cut in half.
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  Add the potatoes to the bowl of your pressure cooker; along with the chicken stock, and bay leaves.
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  If you are adding additional veggies, do so now.
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  Add a trivet over the taters.
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  Take the hen from the freezer, remove the wrapping, and place on the trivet. Then brush on a bit of oil and sprinkle on the dry spices.
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  The amounts given for the dry spices are just to give you a start, use more or less, to your particular tastes.
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  Place into the pressure cooker and cook on high for 30 minutes, then allow a natural release for about 15 minutes.
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  Bleed off any remaining steam and open the lid.
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  OPTIONAL STEP The great thing about pressure cooking is that you get fast results; however, the downside is that you do not get crispy skin. The remedy is to pop it under a broiler for a few minutes and Bob’s your uncle.
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  Place the game hen on a parchment-lined baking sheet. If you happen to have a cooling rack that fits the baking sheet, you could use it to keep the bird above the parchment.
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  I cut the hen in half and brushed a bit of rendered bacon fat over the skin. This will assist in the crisping process and will add another level of flavor. If you do not have any bacon fat, a bit of butter would not be amiss.
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  Pop under a broiler until it begins to crisp up and brown in spots, just a few minutes should do the trick.
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  Whenever putting something under a broiler, you should never leave your post. Broiled foods can go from yummy golden brown, to burned in less than 30 seconds.
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  Just remember this: If your kitchen smoke detector is your cooking timer, you are doing something wrong.
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  PLATE/PRESENT
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  For this particular recipe I took two potato halves, slightly mashed them, and then added some of the broth to loosen them up a bit, cut and buttered some nice freshly baked crusty bread, added the hen to the plate, drizzled a bit more broth over the hen, and served while still nice and warm. Enjoy.
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  Keep the faith, and keep cooking.
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