Crispy Southern Style Deep Fried Cornish Game Hens!
During the holidays, I usually make a huge feast. I’m talking greens, yams, potato salad, turkey, ham.. The WORKS! I don’t hold anything back! Many of my family members love to come by, and grab a plate or two, so I make sure to have plenty of food available. This year, I’m taking it easy( well, almost…). Instead of making a huge turkey, and gigantic ham. Instead I’ll be making cornish hens!
Now don’t get all bent out of shape y’all! I won’t be making your every day seasoned and baked cornish game hens. I will be making my southern style deep fried cornish hens recipe this holiday season!
To get started, I simply brine the hens in a simple salt & sugar water mixture.. You know, just like I use for my crispy old fashioned chicken wings. The sugar & salt water brine works like a buttermilk brine, however it’s cheaper, and in my opinion- BETTER! For best results, DO NOT skip the brining step!
Once the hens are brined, I rub them down with ground freshly ground herbs & garlic. I then season the cornish game hens with kosher salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. FYI, the cayenne pepper can be omitted.
My fried cornish hens recipe is super easy. If anything, it’s time consuming ( because of the brining..)
Check out how I make these cornish game hens y’all!
Deep Fried Cornish Hens
Ingredients
- Brine
- 4 cups cold water
- 1 tbsp salt
- 2 tbsp sugar
- Hens
- 2 cornish game hens cleaned & cavity emptied
- 1 package of poultry herbs blend includes: rosemary, thyme, and sage
- 2 spriggs of marjoram
- 5 cloves of fresh garlic
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 cup self rising flour
- 5 cups peanut oil or vegetable oil for deep frying
Instructions
- Clean the cornish hens thoroughly.
- Combine the ingredients for the brine, and stir until the sugar and salt dissolve.
- Place the cornish hens in a large bowl, and pour in the brine.
- Brine for 4 hour, or overnight.
- Remove the hens from the brine, pat dry, then cut the backbone off of the hens.
- Grab all of the herbs & garlic, and grind them down into a paste.
- Rub the hens down with the paste, then season the hens with the salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.
- Coat the hens with self rising flour, then let them sit for 10 minutes.
- Next, pour the oil into a deep fryer or large frying pan.
- Heat the oil to 360 F.
- Fry the hens until there's no blood, and they're golden brown.
- Carefully remove the cornish hens from the oil, then place on a cooling rack .
- Serve & enjoy!
Video
Notes
Check these recipes out as well!
I haven’t cooked Cornish Hens in years, and only in the oven. This recipe is so darn awesome! Definitely will be making this one. Pinned. Thanks for a new way to cook a Cornish Hen. Have a great week!
Hi Mary! Let me know when you try the recipe! XOXO
I cooked this over the weekend and it tasted amazing. I always used to bake my Cornish hens, but this is definitely the way to go. I never even considered deep frying a Cornish hen until seeing this recipe, and after tasting this, I’m not sure I can ever go back to the old way.
What is a brine and will 2 hours work as well instead of 4 hours? Im trying your recipe tonight. How long should i fry? What do i look for. The last time I fried chicken was 40 years ago and it looked cooked but the inside was pink. My dad wasn’t not amused. Thank to KFC I never fired chicken again but tonight you’ve inspired me because this time its not chicken parts. Its a whole damn chicken. Im excited but worried the inside will be raw. Help me out if you get this message as to how long should I cook my 3 tiny hens. Also what do you mean by cut the backs out???? Please don’t forget to tell me approx how long to cook my 3 hens. Thank you for inspiring me. Wish me luck:-0
Lu
Hi. The brine is the salt/ sugar water. Also,yes you need 4 hours. I can’t tell, how long to cook the hens. I don’t know what kind of pan you’re using, how much they weight, and etc. Please watch the video to see how I prepared the hens. Thanks 🙂
WOW! I fried 3 of those little birds and they were hit with my family. My son rarely, if ever, eats chicken but he ate that chicken. My husband never eats dark meat chicken but he ate the whole bird and I did too. He also ate half of my sons bird as well. lol. Im a southern gal so Im looking fwd to trying more of your recipes. I will never forget my first fired Cornish hen. All my pals on FB were holding their breath and rooting for me the entire time and wow! The hens turned out perfectly yummy. They were so crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. I was so proud of myself. I used my moms old pressure cooker pot sans the pressure. It worked great for cooking all 3 birds at the same time. I think it took about 2 hours (high altitude) all in peanut oil. Afterwards my stove was covered in oil so the next day I purchased a splatter screen in preps for my next fried Cornish hen adventure. You’ve opened my world. Thanks to you, Im going to try new recipes more often, especially your recipes. That cabbage and ham hocks recipe looks killer. If I can find the ham hocks up here in the Rockies, Im going to try that next. Maybe one day, with the aid of your wonderful recipes, I’ll be able to cook southern food as well as my mom. Until then, THANK YOU ROSIE!!!!
Hi Lu!! So glad that you liked the recipe! XOXO
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. This was my first time making hens. I did everything except cut the back bone out. My family loved them. I will be adding them to my menu.
Thanks for giving my recipe a try!
We have done the recipe twice in an electric turkey fryer, 11 minutes and they were cooked perfectly. Both times they were crazy good! One time my wife cut out the backbone the other time she didn’t. I didn’t notice a difference in the one that still had his. What does removal of the backbone get us?
It usually cooks faster, but if you’re not seeing a difference, go ahead and leave it. LOL! Happy cooking!
I love your recipes, especially the Smothered Turkey Wings!!!!
Can I used dried herbs instead of fresh?
Yes.
Yummy recipes.
Hi Rosie my grandmother always fried her Cornish Hen because she treated them as chicken . Because of their size. I love them fried, baked and Barbecued. You are terrific!
These look so delicious! I’m definitely trying this recipe for Christmas this year.
Excellent
Hi, Rosie—this looks soooo good! I do have a question regarding the “package” of poultry seasoning: 1) what brand is this, as I’ve not seen it in a “package”, but would like to look for it, and 2) if I have regular poultry seasoning in a typical spice jar size, how much would I need? Thank you so much!
Hi Ali! It’s a fresh herb blend that’s in the produce isle. It will be by the fresh thyme, oregano, and etc. If you choose to use dry poultry seasoning, I suggest seasoning to taste for your preference. XOXO
OKAY…you have officially BLOWN my mind! I ALSO have NEVER done this before but here I go…I have never seen/heard/or TASTED fried Cornish hens before! Nor have I commented on a recipe BEFORE trying it! YOU my dear COUSIN have made me do BOTH! God love your heart! It’s 6:55 AM and I’m making a grocery list so I can make it for Sunday. I’d make it sooner but busy week ahead. I WILL let you know how much my family LOVED it (LOL).
Hi Marion! Yessss, this one will be a keeper! My family absolutely loves this recipe.