Roasted Cornish Game Hens {Paleo, Whole30}

Love love love me some Cornish game hens. It’s like having your very own little stuffed piece of heaven.

I make whole roasted chickens often– in a pretty similar way actually. (See one of my fave recipes HERE.) But Cornish game hens are fun ’cause they feel a bit special, like a rare treat. Every so often, I get a hankering for a ‘special’ din and go for it. This was one of those. It was my pre-Thanksgiving din… maybe I was prepping my belly or something. 😉 Of course there’s no rule that says you need any sort of special occasion to bust out some hens!

Since my guy and I were traveling up until Thanksgiving day, our family planned to have our Thanksgiving feast on the Saturday after. It’s not a common tradition, but it made it so we could all be together. A “Thanks Again” of sorts. Since we flew in super late the night before Thanksgiving- the morning of actually- I figured we’d just relax on Thanksgiving day, catch up on rest, and go big on Saturday. Classic me though, I got the sudden need for something Thanksgiving-like that day and headed off to the store. I couldn’t let a Thanksgiving pass without some sort of special feast. Not wanting to make it too similar to the turkey and mashed potatoes we would be having on Saturday’s Thanks Again, I opted for some game hens, Hasselback potatoes, Brussels sprouts, salad, and pumpkin pie (the mister loves pumpkin pie). Apparently I’d missed cooking on our vacay or something… my day of “rest and recuping” turned into a cooking-fest real quick! 😉

I was so excited about these hens though… I only make them maybe a couple of times a year at most. Normally, I serve one per person- everyone gets their own mini bird. I love it. These guys were pretty big though- about 1 3/4 lb! And since I’d made all this other food too, we decided to split one bird between the two of us and then enjoy the other hen the next day. It was perfect.

The stuffing is just for aromatics- it add flavors to the meat. It’s not meant to be eaten like a turkey stuffing is… though of course you can grub however you may wish. It’s not so great for grubbing though, fyi 🙂

I figured some Hasselback potatoes would be the perfect fit- thinly sliced, rubbed with ghee, then finished with a good sprinkle of salt, pepper, crispy bacon, and chives. The Brussels were simple- just sautéed with some coconut aminos and a light drizzle of maple syrup- the real stuff. It’s one of my fave ways to have them. Caramelized on the outside, soft on the inside. The hens cook in a bit of broth with lemon slices- this creates a light flavorful sauce that can be drizzled over the top once done. It’s adds flavor and moisture… not that it needs it. These birds are TEN-DER. Super delicious and moist.