Lemon Roasted Game Hens
Ingredients:
4 whole game hens, clean and patted dry First thing you want to do is thoroughly wash the game hens inside and out and pat them dry with several absorbent paper towels. Then immediately season them with the salt and pepper and the poultry mix. When each hen has been liberally coated, take your hands and rub the seasoning into the little birds well. Next, sprinkle into the belly cavities one half of the oregano and one half of the minced garlic. Then in a large, high-sided frying pan, melt the butter and-over medium high heat-brown the hens all over. When they turn a toasty golden color, immediately transfer them to the crock pot, standing them breasts-down and legs up. At this point, sprinkle the remaining oregano and garlic over the birds and lightly stuff them with the dressing you made earlier. Meanwhile, add the chicken broth to the frying pan and with a wooden spoon scrape up all the "debris" and the "stickings" to deglaze the pan and create a light sauce (which you should pour immediately over the hens in the crock pot). All that's left after this is to cover the crock pot and cook the poultry on the LOW setting for about 6-8 hours or until they become "fall-apart tender." By the way, you drizzle on the lemon juice during the last hour of cooking. When you're ready to eat, transfer the game hens to a cutting board and begin portioning them out into serving size pieces (half a bird per person is recommended). As far as the drippings left behind in the crock pot are concerned, I suggest you skim away any excess fat, whisk an envelope of commercial chicken gravy mix into the pot liquor, and create a rich and flavorful sauce to spoon over the hens. This is probably the original definition of "finger-lickin' good!"
1 dash kosher salt
1 dash cayenne pepper
1 tsp. Frank Davis Poultry Seasoning
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. butter, unsalted
1/2 cup chicken broth
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
