CORNISH HENS WITH LEMON TARRAGON SAUCE

Serves 4

You can get more juice from a lemon if you roll it around on a flat surface first while pressing your palm against it fairly hard. This ruptures the little juice sacks. You’ll also get more juice if the lemon is at room temperature rather than just out of the refrigerator.

2 fresh Cornish game hens

1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh tarragon, divided, or 1/2 teaspoon dried

1 cup chicken broth

Juice of one lemon (about 1/4 cup)

Salt and ground pepper to taste

1/2 pound fresh asparagus, or substitute green beans

2 teaspoons water

With sharp knife or poultry shears, cut hens in half, lengthwise. Remove and discard backbone and skin. Coat hen pieces lightly with flour and sprinkle with half of tarragon. Place hens bone side up, with legs to inside, on a microwave-safe roasting utensil.

In a 4-cup glass container, combine chicken broth, lemon juice, remaining tarragon and pepper. Microwave at HIGH (100% power) 3 to 4 minutes, or until boiling. Baste hens with half of hot broth. Cover with wax paper; microwave at MEDIUM-HIGH (70% power) 10 minutes per pound combined weight of hens. Halfway through cooking time, turn hens bone side down and baste with remaining broth mixture. Re-cover and complete cooking. Let stand, covered, 10 minutes.

Slice asparagus diagonally into 1-inch pieces and place in a 2-quart microwave-safe utensil with water. Cover; microwave at HIGH 3 TO 4 minutes. Let stand 2 minutes; drain and set aside. When ready to serve, add asparagus to lemon sauce and pour over hens.

Chicken Recipes – The Perdue Chicken Cookbook

Copyright (C) by Mitzi Perdue – Used with Permission

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