Smoked Cornish Game Hens

[UWFSAE]

Another little experiment ... brined three Cornish Game Hens in a simple poultry brine (kosher salt, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, black pepper) for five hours in the refrigerator.  A quick slather of garlic-infused olive oil, a liberal sprinkling of the homemade chicken rub I used on some chicken legs, and then into the Smokin-It #3 for 2.25 hours at 250 over oak and pecan until the thigh meat hit 162.

The flavor was great and the skin crisp enough to not need a run through the oven.  I served it with my Molasses BBQ sauce but the chicken (even the breast meat) was so ridiculously juicy from the brine that it wasn't really needed.

All in all, I think next time I'll brine them an hour or so longer but beyond that a real success, and possibly back the heat down to 235-240 for a slightly longer smoke to pick up a bit more pecan flavor.

 

[NDKoze]

Those birds look awesome!

Poultry is one of my favorite smoked foods. They look really moist.

So happy to see some new posts from you Joe. You are always so innovative.

 

[DivotMaker]

Great looking little yard birds there, Joe!  Brined poultry is absolutely the best.  Let me also add how happy I am to see new recipes from you! ;D

 

[Lyles Dad]

New to the smoker so every meal is an experiment. I marinated the hens in an apple juice brine overnight. After rinsing the brine and drying, rubbed a bit of olive oil on the skin and rubbed in a mix of sage, rosemary and black pepper. Stuffed the cavity with 1/2 apple and wrapped the birds in bacon. Hickory smoked over a pan of apple juice at low temp - 165 - for 6 hours until the interior temp hit 165. Let the birds rest 15 minutes and enjoyed over a bed of wild rice. Sweet, tender and juicy.

 

[NDKoze]

Nice Job Lyle's Dad. Sounds like it was a successful smoke.

It looks like this was your first post, so I would encourage you to start a new thread in the Introductions section and tell us a little bit about yourself. Also, adding your name in your signature line let's us know who we are talking to.