Cornish Game Hens Smoked on the Rotisserie

[Matt2979]

Okay, this weekend I picked up a rotisserie attachment for my grill. Never used one before, but really wanted to try it. Pretty happy with my first attempt. Anyway, I saw no recipes involving a rotisserie so I'll share my first experience.

Ingredients:
(2) Cornish Game Hens (frozen)
olive oil
garlic salt
pepper
Italian seasoning (we use a pre-filled grinder of Italian seasoning)

As always, you should feel free to experiment with different seasonings to suit your own taste.

Once the hens are removed from their packaging (completely thawed, of course), rinse the birds, pat them dry and then rub down with a thin coat of olive oil. Season to taste, being sure to push some seasoning under the skin so that more flavor gets into the meat.

You will have to tie the legs together, and tie the wings to keep them snug against the birds; otherwise, they will flop around as the rotisserie turns, and they will not cook evenly. Be sure to center everything, and that it's not turning lopsided. When inserting the "forks" on either side of the bird, be sure not to push them into the prime part of the meat. ("Forks" are the pieces on either side of the rotisserie that will hold the meat in place as it turns).

Once your grill is preheated, carefully put the loaded rotisserie bar in place, making sure that the meat is centered in the grill. Turn off your middle burners, and turn the outer burners down to low. I used some apple wood (leftover from smoking a butt the day before) to add some more flavor to my experience. After letting them slowly spin above the indirect heat for about 75 minutes, I turned off the outer burners, and turned on my rotisserie burner to get that golden color. (If your grill has no rotisserie burner, it will be fine, but you may have to leave them over the indirect heat a little longer.)

Once the meat in the thickest part of the thigh reaches 170 degrees, you should carefully remove the rotisserie from the grill, and cover the birds with foil to allow them to rest for about 15 minutes.

While they rested, I threw some slices of potato bread (with butter and garlic salt) on the grill. Amanda made some mashed potatoes with milk, butter, sour cream and cheddar cheese, and opened a can of pinto beans. Add a cold beer and this made for another great Labor Day Weekend meal at the Jackson House!

 

[Metachrosis]

Get an injector,only way to fly to flavor town . . . .

 

[Matt2979]

Get an injector,only way to fly to flavor town . . . .

What would you inject into chicken or game hens? I actually have an injector. I bought it a few weeks ago, but I'm scared of it! lol I used it once and had bad results. I shot some Zesty Italian dressing into some chicken leg quarters. Normally mine come off the grill DRIPPING with juiciness, but those were dried out (not terribly, but I was definitely disappointed).

My brother deep fries turkeys. I know he injects them with Coke and all kinds of cajun spices. Maybe the Zesty Italian was my mistake with the chicken?

 

[Metachrosis]

I do alot of cooking when Im home,being raised around cooking(in old school Texas)
Everything is pretty much home made,I did an injected whole roasted yard bird last night that was pretty tasty.
Whole butter,whole lemon,granulated garlic(never use the salt junk)and canned chipolte'(adobo removed)
Simmer 1 stick butter,chopped up lemon,1Tbs garlic and 2 fine chopped peppers
Simmer for about 5 min and let stand till cooled,strain the chunks and its ready.
Always inject as deep as possible(to the bone)

Injections are easy if you know what flavor(s) you like,the store bought stuff is garbage more times then not(read the labels).

 

[Matt2979]

I do alot of cooking when Im home,being raised around cooking(in old school Texas)
Everything is pretty much home made,I did an injected whole roasted yard bird last night that was pretty tasty.
Whole butter,whole lemon,granulated garlic(never use the salt junk)and canned chipolte'(adobo removed)
Simmer 1 stick butter,chopped up lemon,1Tbs garlic and 2 fine chopped peppers
Simmer for about 5 min and let stand till cooled,strain the chunks and its ready.
Always inject as deep as possible(to the bone)

Injections are easy if you know what flavor(s) you like,the store bought stuff is garbage more times then not(read the labels).

Thanks for that recipe. Looks like I'm going to brave my injector again and see how it turns out. Sounds like it will be MUCH better than the Italian dressing that I used!!

 

[Metachrosis]

Look into brining for chicken,once brined it can be cooked any way you want
Basics are sugar,salt and water but many other things can be added to the mix
for different flavor profiles.(Tea-kill-ya and lime)
Always use fresh complete ingredients,stems,peelings,seeds etc for maximum flavor
I'll throw you one more for pork ribs,soak over night in pineapple juice/nectar with coarse black pepper.
Drain and salt good with more pepper and sea salt
Cool smoke for 2 hrs with fruit wood or pecan around 175*F,crank up the heat and char for deep color.Wrap in foil and drop in the oven @ 325 for 3.5hrs.
Turn off the oven and open foil,drain pan and let the ribs stand to dry up some of the moisture.Ribs have best flavor when warm not hot,now their ready for your favorite sauce.I use direct flame for saucing ribs,the trick is to "set" the sauce without burning the sugars.