Spicy Sweet Cornish Hens
Delicious and juicy Cornish Hens, marinated and basted in a Teriyaki Curry Sauce in this Spicy Sweet Cornish Hens recipe.
When my daughter turned thirteen she didn’t ask me for makeup or a new phone; what she asked me for instead, was a puppy!
And of course, I said no! After all, we already had an older dog.
But, Murphy’s law or fate (depending on whose point of view you take), intervened and we crossed paths with an abandoned puppy at our local animal shelter.
When we took him to the vet’s the next day, the vet was overjoyed to tell us that he thought our puppy was a rare-to-be-found-in-this-area Newfoundland! He went on to tell us that they grew to be about 150-170 LBS! 😯 And I had to sit down as I couldn’t imagine walking a dog that big!
But, as time went by, our little Ollie didn’t seem to grow like the vet said he would. He seemed to eat 5 times his weight, but, at his one year check-up, he was only 53 lbs.
It was then that the vet said that maybe Ollie wasn’t a pure bread Newfoundland after all! Yes! He was a mix! A fusion – of a Newfoundland and a smaller dog!
Which meant he wouldn’t take up my whole kitchen when he was in it!
Even though I reluctantly let him into our lives, my daughter and I adore our little fusion dog! And, speaking of “fusion”, we also happen to love this fusion Spicy Sweet Teriyaki Curry sauce I’ve been making for awhile now.
It is a simple blend of Teriyaki Sauce, coconut milk, fresh garlic & onion, curry powder, cayenne and paprika. I cannot take full credit for it as I vaguely recall reading about a similar recipe somewhere. This sauce is incredible with just about every meat, fish or veggie around.
For today’s recipe, I grilled up some Cornish Hens as a special treat, which I had marinated in the Teriyaki Curry sauce for a couple of hours. These Cornish Hens are All Natural with no artificial ingredients or preservatives, and No added hormones or steroids. The Teriyaki Sauce acted as a brine and helped the Cornish Hens stay juicy!
Started off these Spicy Sweet Teriyaki Curry Cornish Hens by:
• First add a chopped onion and garlic to a pan with olive oil in it, and saute till onions are translucent
• Then I added a can of full-fat coconut milk to the pan, along with 1/2 a cup of teriyaki sauce
• Followed by adding 1 1/2 teaspoons of curry powder, cayenne, and paprika and letting the sauce simmer for 30 minutes over a low/medium flame – stirring occasionally. When done – I let it cool a little.
• I then placed two Cornish Hens in another pan and marinated them in half the sauce.
• The other half of the sauce, I returned to the stove and let it reduce down over a very low flame (for about 30-40 minutes)
• After a couple of hours, I grilled the Cornish Hens on foil for about 35-40 minutes, basting them with the thickened sauce during the last 10 minutes or so of grilling.
• Then, let the Cornish Hens cool down before enjoying with more of the reduced down, Spicy Sweet, Teriyaki Curry Sauce.
Here in Georgia, we tend to stay warm till early October; so, my daughter and I are trying our very best to soak up as much of summer as we can by grilling and staying outside as much as we can.
Ingredients
- 1 small red onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 can full fat coconut milk
- 1/2 cup Teriyaki Sauce
- 11/2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 Cornish Hens
Instructions
- Saute onion and garlic in a pan with olive oil in it, till onions are translucent
- Add coconut milk to the pan
- Then add teriyaki sauce, curry powder, cayenne and paprika and let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes over a low/medium flame – stirring occasionally. When done – let cool a little.
- Place two Tyson® Cornish Hens in another pan and marinated them in half the sauce.
- Return the other half of the sauce to the stove top and let it reduce down over a very low flame (for about 30-40 minutes)
- After a couple of hours, grill the Cornish Hens on foil for about 35-40 minutes, basting them with the thickened sauce during the last 10 minutes or so of grilling.
- Let the Cornish Hens cool down before enjoying with more of the reduced down, Spicy Sweet, Teriyaki Curry Sauce.
Hi Shashi,
This recipe sounds amazing! If I were to roast this in the oven instead, how would I need to modify the cooking process?
Thanks!
Thanks Shakeel – if you baked them, then make sure to preheat your oven to 375 and bake them for 1 hour (or until their internal temp is 180 F). In the last 15 minutes or so, you might want to drape them with some foil just so they don’t burn
Excellent! I will try this out. Thanks 🙂
I love fusion dogs and this fusion dish sounds amazing as well! [client]
Haha – thanks so much Janet!
Wow, what a beautiful dinner. Totally worthy of being an entree at a dinner party. 🙂
Thanks so much Ramona!
Wow! That dog is really giant Shashi! These cornish hens looks absolutely delicious! And addition of teriyaki sauce sounds even more YUM! 🙂
Haha! Anu – I’ve had big dogs since I was little, besides, they are good deterrents!
Thanks so much!
Those Cornish Hens look so inviting! I bet your kitchen smelled wonderful!
Thanks so much Cindy – it sure did!
Fate it must have been as I am sure your little puppy dog is your best running partner and also perfectly sized to stay in the kitchen to assist you in clean up patrol. I saw your delicious little hens on several social media sites and at first I could not believe it! I don’t think I have ever seen such a beautiful bird. They are perfectly golden and beautiful. Sharing everywhere!
Haha – yeah, you are right – he is a great dog – but I only take him running in winter – he gets really hot in summer and just stops after a couple of miles and it’s kinda hard for me to carry him back! 🙂
Thanks so much Bobbie
Oh my…you’ve reminded me of the first time I made cornish hens…I was so excited, feeling that they were so elegant, of course – and as I removed them from the oven and went to set them on the counter – I missed and they fell, all over the floor – juices and all! Funny now…sad then! ha! I will take special care to make sure these babies don’t fall – such a flavor packed recipe! I love it!
Oh no Annie!!! Well, I hope you get to make them again soon (maybe even try this recipe)and not drop them next time 🙂
Thanks so much!
I love Teriyaki Sauce sauce, and mainly use it on my stir fry’s. Lovely pups Shashi 🙂
Thanks so much Tandy
Yay for bringing Ollie home, he’s so adorable! These cornish hens look amazing! Love the teriyaki curry sauce!
Thanks so much Kelly! Ollie is a cutie indeed! 🙂
Wow… Just to look at them make me drool. What a great dish, Shashi!
Thanks so much Denise
Wanna know why I like cornish game hens?? Because I can have a WHOLE ONE to myself… It’s the perfect portion for my big mouth!
Haha – duuuuuuuuuuuuuude – I couldn’t finish a whole one – I did try though….
I am not impressed. Dudes are supposed to stick together and finish their hens!
Hahaha! Next time…net time I won’t run my mouth talking, I will run it eating!
I’ve never made a cornish hen… it looks so pretty though! I love your curry twist on it… yum!
Thanks so much Elizabeth!
Your puppies are so sweet! And hooray when it comes for fusion – in dogs AND food! This dish of yours looks delicious!
Haha – fusion is the best! Thanks Marissa!
Such a sweet dog story! I’m a dog tragic-one look at their faces and I am unable to resist! 😀 What a stellar looking recipe Shashi. These would be so perfect to serve to guests as they’re already portioned!
Thanks so much Lorraine – my daughter gives me her puppy dog eyes and I am unable to resist! 🙂
Awww yay for dogs! haha I think I would totally be the crazy dog lady if my husband would let me 🙂
These cornish hens sound wonderful! Love that sauce!
Ashley – my daughter would be that crazy dog lady too!!!
Thanks so much BTW!