Dutch Oven Cornish Game Hens

Recipe

2 Cornish game hens
1 1/2 pounds red potatoes cut into 1” pieces
2 large carrots sliced
8 ounces baby bella mushrooms
2 stalks celery sliced
1 medium onion coarsely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
10 whole cloves garlic
1 1/4 stick butter cut into pats
1/4 cup white wine
1 lemon
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons poultry seasoning
olive oil
cornstarch

Add potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, celery and onion to your 12 inch Dutch oven. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Add some olive oil and and give it a good mix. Place garlic cloves and butter on top of the vegetables. Add white wine and lemon juice.

Cut game hens in two by slicing through the breast and backbone with a large knife. Rinse each half and pat dry. Season both sides liberally with poultry seasoning. Arrange game hen half on top of the vegetables. Place a sprig of fresh rosemary beneath each piece.

Bake using 9 coals on the bottom and 16 on top to get 350 Deg F in your 12 inch dutch oven.

When the vegetables begin to soften, transfer the broth from bottom of the DO into a sauce pan or another small 6” dutch oven using a turkey baster. Add a 1/4 stick of butter. Season with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Thicken the broth with cornstarch and reduce using bottom heat to make gravy.

While the gravy is thickening, add more coals to the lid to brown the skin on the game hens.

Total baking time is 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The meal is done when the internal temperature of the hens reaches 165 Deg. F. and the vegetables are soft.