I love the taste of lemon, and sometimes finish grilled or broiled poultry with just the fresh juice. But when I wanted to take advantage of the complex flavor of lemon–rind and all–I came up with this crisp-skinned Rock Cornish hen.
It’s topped with lemon slices that brown nicely under the broiler and become sweet and tender enough to eat. And it’s drizzled with just enough balsamic vinegar to make you wonder where the extra flavor is coming from.
The technique is simple. Butterfly the hen, then cover the flesh side with very, very thin slices of lemon and cook until browned. Then, turn it over and brown the skin side before covering it with more lemon slices and browning them.
A mandoline is best for slicing the lemons; it will deliver 15 or even 20 slices from each lemon. (But a food processor slicer works well, too.)
This recipe can also be made with a 3-pound chicken; figure at least 10 minutes additional cooking time. The birds should brown slowly but steadily. If they seem to be incinerating, or not much is happening at all (you should hear cooking noises within just a couple of minutes), adjust the distance between the rack and the heat source.
If you have an electric oven, chances are the heating element will cycle off when the oven becomes hot; you can counter this by leaving the oven door a little bit ajar while you’re cooking, and moving the bird as far back in the oven as possible.
BROILED ROCK CORNISH HENS WITH LEMON AND BALSAMIC VINEGAR
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
2 Rock Cornish hens
1 to 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt, freshly ground pepper
2 lemons, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar or to taste
Chopped parsley, optional
1. Adjust broiler rack to about 4 inches from heat source; heat broiler. Use sharp, sturdy knife to split hens through their backbones. Rub skin side with olive oil. Flatten hens in broiling or roasting pan, skin side down; liberally sprinkle exposed surfaces with salt and pepper to taste. Lay slices of 1 lemon on birds.
2. Broil hens about 10 minutes, or until lemon is browned and birds appear cooked on top; rotate pan if necessary. Turn birds over; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Return to heat. Cook until skin is nicely browned, about 10 minutes longer.
3. Lay remaining lemon slices on skin; broil 5 minutes. Lemons should be slightly browned and birds cooked through; if not, cook a couple of minutes more. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar; garnish with parsley.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ………… 395 Fat ………… 24 g Saturated fat … 6 g
% calories from fat .. 56 Cholesterol .. 135 mg Sodium ……. 480 mg
Carbohydrates ….. 0.4 g Protein …….. 42 g Fiber ……….. 0 g
