First Cornish Game Hens

smoker pete · October 06, 2010, 02:20:04 PM

As I continue my learning curve I decided to smoke a couple of Rock Cornish Game Hens. A little $pricey$ @ $3.34 a lb considering what you can get chickens for but what the heck, I've always wanted to smoke a couple of these and after all, need to add to my repertoire :)

Here are the little guys ready for processing

Did some research on line and chose to remove the backbone for easier smoking

Rubbed each one with some EVOO and some Poultry Seasoning. Ready to go in

Preheated to 250ºF and using 2 hours of Cherry. Put em in 45 minutes ago. The ambient temp was 70ºF with a light breeze. The IT of the hens when inserted was 57ºF. Going to pull them at 170ºF and FTC them for 30 minutes.

Will report later and post some more pictures.

hal4uk · October 06, 2010, 07:37:35 PM

Cool... How they lookin now?

smoker pete · October 06, 2010, 07:44:42 PM

Finished and devoured the Cornish Hens ;D
Pulled them when the IT hit 170º and FTC for 20 minutes. Took 4 hours and 20 minutes to reach IT of 170º. Controlled the OBS with my Auber PID at a temp of 250º. Don't know how or why I ever smoked without my PID!!!

Here they are before FTC. The skin was actually eatable

The money shot ... A little rice and salad ... Enjoy

Lessons learned:

First time I used Cherry bisquettes. Found them to be rather mild. Maybe cause there was only 2 hours of smoke. Either longer smoke or different bisquettes. Guess I'm becoming a smoke eater ;D
At least now I can better plan dinner knowing that I need about 5 hours

hal4uk · October 06, 2010, 07:47:08 PM

Looks mighty fine!!!

Quarlow · October 06, 2010, 10:50:04 PM

Nice job Pete. Glad it came out good.

SouthernSmoked · October 07, 2010, 04:49:06 AM

Heck Yeahhh!! Looks good.

Let's Eat!

albertapoacher · October 07, 2010, 07:54:26 AM

Damn Pete those look great!

squirtthecat · October 07, 2010, 07:57:15 AM

Awesome! I'm baching it this weekend... Maybe I'll snag a couple at the store today, and try out some new rubs/sauces I have.

smoker pete · October 07, 2010, 12:46:33 PM

Quote from: squirtthecat on October 07, 2010, 07:57:15 AM
Awesome! I'm baching it this weekend... Maybe I'll snag a couple at the store today, and try out some new rubs/sauces I have.

STC, What kind of smoke will you use and for how long? I used 2 hours of cherry and they were good but rather mild. Not like the turkey breast I did with 3 hours of apple and pecan. Never used cherry before so I'm not sure what it should taste like.

Thanks everyone. They tasted as good as they looked but a little light on the smoke flavor. Oh well ... Not complaining - just stating a fact.

squirtthecat · October 07, 2010, 12:49:48 PM

I looked at some in the store, and they were micro-sized.. (measured in ounces)

So I left them in the freezer and walked away. ;D

EZ Smoker · October 07, 2010, 04:17:33 PM

never done cornish game hens, but I would think they'd be better without the FTC, because they're already tender enough that FTC won't really help you, and because FTC will make the skin less crisp/more rubbery. I understand sometimes FTC helps with timing a meal (you don't want to tell your wife, "Honey, dinner will be ready between 5 and 9.), but I don't think I'd plan on it with whole birds. Also, a few minutes under the broiler in a very hot oven could crisp that skin up beautifully, though you might want to pull it from the smoker at a lower IT if you're going to do that. Just a thought.

DTAggie · October 07, 2010, 09:54:37 PM

Nice

smoker pete · October 08, 2010, 08:30:04 AM

Quote from: EZ Smoker on October 07, 2010, 04:17:33 PM
never done cornish game hens, but I would think they'd be better without the FTC, because they're already tender enough that FTC won't really help you, and because FTC will make the skin less crisp/more rubbery. I understand sometimes FTC helps with timing a meal (you don't want to tell your wife, "Honey, dinner will be ready between 5 and 9.), but I don't think I'd plan on it with whole birds. Also, a few minutes under the broiler in a very hot oven could crisp that skin up beautifully, though you might want to pull it from the smoker at a lower IT if you're going to do that. Just a thought.

Point taken EZ. I did the FTC cause I don't know any different as I had never smoked cornish hens before. With an IT of 170º when pulled they probably were done and could have rested and gone straight to the plate. I did find a little red meat down by the hip joint which made DW and I uncomfortable so we discarded those portions (not the whole leg and thigh but just the meat around the joint).

Habanero Smoker · October 08, 2010, 01:23:55 PM

Red or pinkish meat especially near the bone in chicken is common for chicken. When chicken is cooked at a low temperature this can occur. Secondly chickens are slaughtered at a younger age (cornish hen are just young chickens) and it is believed the redness is associated with their bones being underdeveloped. So you can get this reddish color when you cook chicken at higher temperatures.

To test for doneness touch the area with a piece of white paper towel. It the towel remains clear the chicken is fully cooked, if it turns pinkish it is not done.

smoker pete · October 08, 2010, 02:00:52 PM

Quote from: Habanero Smoker on October 08, 2010, 01:23:55 PM
Red or pinkish meat especially near the bone in chicken is common for chicken. When chicken is cooked at a low temperature this can occur. Secondly chickens are slaughtered at a younger age (cornish hen are just young chickens) and it is believed the redness is associated with their bones being underdeveloped. So you can get this reddish color when you cook chicken at higher temperatures.

To test for doneness touch the area with a piece of white paper towel. It the towel remains clear the chicken is fully cooked, if it turns pinkish it is not done.

Thanks Hab. Will keep that in mind for the next smoke.