How to Fry a Cornish Hen

Fried Cornish hens are a good option for dinner and last-minute meals.

Cornish hens are typically four to six week old chickens that weigh around 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 lbs. Because they are small, a single serving in most cases because they are so small. Fried Cornish hens are a good option for dinner and last-minute meals because they don't take long to cook. The marinating time is flexible, and you can pair them with a lot of flavorful side dishes that will please almost any crowd. Does this Spark an idea?

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2 1-lb. Cornish hens
2 cups of buttermilk
1 small grated onion
1 tbsp. of chopped garlic
1 bunch or 30 sprigs of thyme
2 tsp. of hot red pepper sauce
10 cups of canola or peanut oil
2 cloves of peeled garlic
1/2 tsp. of salt
1 cup of all-purpose flour
2 tsp. cayenne pepper

Instructions

- 1
  
  Cut off the fat, rinse it under some cool water and pat it dry to prepare the Cornish hens for frying. Coat and marinate the birds in the buttermilk, onion, garlic, four sprigs of thyme and hot pepper sauce. Refrigerate for six to 12 hours.
- 2
  
  You need a 4-qt. Dutch oven to fry the bird in and a deep-fat thermometer. Fill the Dutch oven with 10 cups of oil and heat it to 350 degrees F. Take the hens out of the fridge, remove them from the marinade, dry them with a paper towel. Put the garlic cloves and the rest of the thyme in cavities of each hen, tie the legs with twine and sprinkle them with salt.
- 3
  
  Mix your flour and cayenne pepper together in a bowl and dredge the birds in it. Shake off the excess flour and fry them individually for 10 minutes until they are crispy and thoroughly cooked. If you have a meat thermometer, insert it into the thigh meat. The temperature of the bird should read 170 degrees F when it's done. Rest the Cornish hens on a wire rack to let off any extra oil and let them sit for 10 minutes before serving.