“GRILLED CORNISH HEN STUFFED WITH WHITE RICE AND ROSEMARY HERBS”

The day was perfect for barbecue…then again; what day isn’t? The temperature felt like the mid-80’s, which is unheard of? I don’t recall the month of May feeling this cool in past years? “Let’s not complain, but cherish this wonderful day before SOMEONE up there feels like we here don’t appreciate a day like this. Thank You Lord and AMEN!”

THE FIRE

Mesquite Coals from across the border, works pretty well but they tend to pop every once in a while; so moisten the floor if you have something that can catch on fire (like dry grass).

The chunks of mesquite were a pretty decent size and provided several hours of grilling heat. As usual, I started the fire before to let the grill come up to heat and to let the coals ash over.

THE BIRD

In a large bowl I combined the following seasoning; 1 1/2 teaspoon of crushed Rosemary leaves, 2 teaspoons Paprika, 1 teaspoon crushed garlic, 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper, and 1 teaspoon coarse salt with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Rinse Cornish hen under cold running water, pat dry, and coat hen inside and outside with seasoning mix.

Stuff hen with cooked white rice which has been seasoned with a tablespoon of butter and honey. You can use a moistened string or bamboo skewers to secure the hen’s legs to prevent the rice from coming out during the grilling. I use metal skewers myself because they can be reused and they don’t require soaking in water.

I ended up adding zucchini to the meal. For that, all I did was to cut zucchini lengthwise and lightly coated them with olive oil and seasoned with the remaining seasoning I had used for the hen.

AT THE GRILL

Place hen and zucchini on grill and cover. Grill for 30 minutes turning during the halfway time has passed.

“GRILLED CORNISH HEN STUFFED WITH WHITE RICE AND ROSEMARY HERBS” This dish was so good that when it hit the table, the hen, rice, and zucchini were all gone before I knew it…so much for a dish picture. “Oh well, next time!”