Pat's Deep-Fried Cornish Game Hens

Name: Pat's Deep-Fried Cornish Game Hens
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Global
Ingredients: 1 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper; 3 liters buttermilk; 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper; 4 kilograms Cornish game hens; 473 milliliters all-purpose flour; 1 Tbsp kosher salt; 2 teaspoons lemon-pepper seasoning; 1 onion, cut into wedges; 6 servings Peanut oil, for frying; 1 Tbsp poultry seasoning; 1 Tbsp crushed red-pepper flakes; 1 bunch fresh thyme sprigs

Pat's Deep-Fried Cornish Game Hens might be just the main course you are searching for. This recipe serves 6. One portion of this dish contains about 137g of protein, 113g of fat, and a total of 1838 calories. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes about 45 minutes. Head to the store and pick up pepper, cornish game hens, flour, and a few other things to make it today. To use up the onion you could follow this main course with the Candy Corn Cupcakes as a dessert.

Instructions

Whisk together the first six ingredients in a small bowl. Set half of thismixture aside.

Equipment you will use

Whisk

Bowl

Divide the remaining seasoning mixture between two large mixingbowls, and pour the buttermilk evenly between the two bowls,whisking to combine. Put half of the onion and thyme in each bowl.

Ingredients you will need

Buttermilk

Seasoning

Onion

Thyme

Equipment you will use

Whisk

Bowl

Place three game hens in each mixing bowl, and turn to coat. Coverthe bowls with plastic wrap, and leave in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight(the longer the better; allow the seasonings and flavors to permeatethe game hens).

Ingredients you will need

Seasoning

Game Meat

Wrap

Equipment you will use

Plastic Wrap

Mixing Bowl

Heat the peanut oil to 375 degrees F in a large Dutch oven ordeep-fryer. Preheat your oven to 200 degreesF, and cover two heavy-duty sheet trays with wire racks.

Ingredients you will need

Peanut Oil

Equipment you will use

Dutch Oven

Oven

Remove thegame hens from the buttermilk mixture while the oil is heating.

Ingredients you will need

Buttermilk

Cooking Oil

Whisk together the flour and the remaining seasoning mixture ina large casserole. Working with one game hen at a time, put one gamehen in the flour and toss to coat, then shake off the excess. Slip thecoated game hens, in batches according to the size of your fryer, intothe hot oil, and fry for 13 minutes, until beautifully golden brown.

Ingredients you will need

Seasoning

All Purpose Flour

Shake

Game Meat

Cooking Oil

Equipment you will use

Whisk

Place each fried hen on the wire-rack-fitted sheet tray, and hold in thewarm oven. Repeat with remaining hens.

Equipment you will use

Oven

ALTERNATIVE

Baked Cornish Game Hens

Ingredients you will need

Cornish Hens

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cover two heavy-duty rimmed sheet trayswith wire racks, and spray with nonstick spray.

Equipment you will use

Oven

Drain the hens from the buttermilk marinade, and pat dry.

Ingredients you will need

Buttermilk

Marinade

Place the henson the sheet trays, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

Ingredients you will need

Salt And Pepper

Olive Oil

Put the pan in the oven, and roast for 45 minutes, or until an instant-readthermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degreesF and the juices run clear.

Equipment you will use

Oven

Frying Pan

Pat's Guide to Deep-Frying

One of the things I think people really don't know about me is that I was fryingfood before I was grilling! (Nowadays my love of fried food comes second only tomy love of grilling.) Fried food in the South is like pizza in Chicago: if you grew up in Memphis, you grew up with it. My grandfather used to fry whole rabbits, andmy grandmother used to fry chicken for breakfast, served up with biscuits!

Ingredients you will need

Biscuits

Whole Chicken

Whole Rabbit

1 CHOOSE YOUR OIL Neutral oils like peanut, safflower, canola, and vegetableoil all have a high "smoke point," so they work well at high frying temperatures.We often like to use peanut oil, because it adds a very subtle peanut flavor; theflavor of canola oil is less pronounced.

Ingredients you will need

Cooking Oil

Peanut Oil

Peanuts

2 PICK YOUR POT If you don't have an electric fryer, select a heavy-bottomed

Equipment you will use

Pot

Dutch oven for deep-frying. You'll usually need at least 3 or 4 inches of oil inthe bottom of the pan, but more if you're frying something larger, like Cornishgame hens or chicken.

Ingredients you will need

Whole Chicken

Cooking Oil

Equipment you will use

Dutch Oven

Frying Pan

3 FILL IT UP Be careful not to overfill your pot! If you don't leave room forthe items you're frying, the oil may spill over the sides, causing a mess or,even worse, a fire. To check how much oil you need, you can first do a test runwith water. Fill the pot up with water, then slip in the food you're going to try.Wherever the water rises to, that's how high your oil is going to go—so markthat place on the pot, and don't fill it too high!

Ingredients you will need

Water