Cornish Hen under a brick - Serves 4

Here is a simple recipe to cook Cornish hens quickly. This recipe can be done after work or if you have unexpected company. By spatchcocking the bird, the cooking time is cut virtually in half. To spatchcock a Cornish hen, you need a sturdy pair of kitchen shears. Place the hen, breast-side-down, on a cutting board. Using the shears, cut away the backbone and discard it. Then, flip over the bird and press down to flatten it. You will hear a snap when the breast plate cracks allowing the hen to lay flat. To keep spatchcocked birds from drying out too quickly over a grill or under a broiler, brine or marinate them first. Another trick to keeping them flat is to use a metal skewer and skewer the bird through the legs and body to keep it flat. This also allows you to flip them easily.

2 brined cornish hens – spatchcocked
2 large bricks – coated in 2 layers of aluminum foil
Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper (try an unusual pepper here)
Avocado oil or other neutral oil for cooking.

Heat the avocado oil in a pan – large enough to hold one hen laid out flat. When the oil is hot, place the Cornish hen back side down in the pan and place the bricks on top to hold it flat in the pan. Cook until brown and the skin is crispy (about 10 minutes) place this hen onto a cookie sheet in a 375F oven brown side up and cook the other hen the same way weighing down with the bricks. When the Cornish hens are cooked to an internal temperature of 150F (check the temperature in the thickest part of the leg) remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes covered.

To serve: Cut the hens in half. Serve 1 half a hen along side the carrot bundles.