Spicy Marmalade-Glazed Game Hens
serves 4
Use leftover game hens and reserved fat from drippings for chicken pot pie with fennel and apples. Leftover pan drippings can be used to make barbecued pork chops.
This recipe is part of Andrew Schloss's Sunday Dinners.
4 game hens, weighing about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds each
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup spicy barbecue sauce
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1/4 cup fruit vinegar, such as raspberry, blueberry or citrus
prep: 10 minutes
total: 1 hour
large roasting pan (with rack)
mixing bowl
1. Wash the game hens inside and out and pat dry.
2. Mix the salt with the pepper and rub the mixture over the walls of the game hen's internal cavity. Place the hens, breast-side down on an oiled rack in a large roasting pan and roast in a preheated 450F oven for 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine the barbecue sauce with the marmalade and the vinegar. Set aside.
4. Remove the game hens from the oven. Place the hens, one at a time, in the sauce and coat thoroughly. Return them to the rack on the roasting pan, breast-side up.
5. Turn the oven down to 350F. Return the hens to the oven and roast for 30 more minutes, basting with any remaining sauce halfway through the roasting.
