Spatchcock Barbeque Game Hens. Boy, that’s a mouthful, but it’s a good tasting mouthful. Want a nice change of pace? Try spatch-cocking a Cornish game hen and cooking it on the grill with a little Charlie Mills BBQ Sauce. I just did and it was mighty good.
A few weeks back, I had bought 4 frozen Cornish game hens in anticipation of a company dinner. But inclement weather meant no company and now I had to deal with 4 birds. I cooked a couple the traditional way, with a mushroom sauce in a hot oven and it was okay, but not worth a repeat. A few days ago, I saw the remaining two game hens in the freezer and thawed them in the fridge, not knowing how I would cook them when they were ready. I looked at several interesting recipes but decided that since I hadn’t done barbeque chicken on the grill in a while, I’d grill the game hens, ands to make the process easier and quicker, I spatch-cocked the small hens.
Spatchcock simply means removing the backbone, splaying the birds apart and cooking in one piece. It’s a great way to cook a chicken in the oven and it worked well for the game hens. The secret is to cook them slowly on the grill and to use a great BBQ sauce like Charlie Mills.
Charlie Mills BBQ Sauce Mix is authentic Eastern North Carolina sauce. All you need to do is mix the dry ingredients (3 T0 with vinegar (1/2 C) and water (1/2 C)and you’re in business. If you know how to make authentic Carolina sauce, go for it, but this is easier and likely better. You can get the sauce for $5.99 a pack from the distributor, agrisupply.com.
Not much to this recipe, really. Remove the birds from the package, rinse and pat dry and remove the backbone with a pair of good cutting shears. I rubbed a little olive oil on and in the birds and seasoned with salt and pepper and let them rest at room temperature while I mixed the sauce according to directions.
Put the birds on the grill over low heat so they won’t burst into flames and then cook them evenly on both sides, dousing with the sauce with each turn. When the legs wiggle easily, they’re done.
One game hen is perfect for one person, and they cook quicker than a fryer hen, so keep this in mind for company, even if you cook indoors.
But try them on the grill. They’re good.
BBQ Spatchcock Game Hens
1 bird per person
2 T. olive oil
S & P
Charlie Mills Packaged BBQ Sauce
Add Vinegar and water
