This air fryer cornish hen recipe offers you tender, juicy meat encrusted with completely seasoned crispy pores and skin in lower than 40 minutes.
Need to change up your roasted rooster sport? Do this air fryer cornish hen recipe.
It’s a lot sooner and simpler than the roasted counterpart. It cooks in a fraction of the time and tastes unimaginable.
Desk of Contents
Why this recipe works
- Restaurant-quality outcomes. Need restaurant-quality Cornish sport hen? Then keep on with the air fryer methodology. It takes lower than 40 minutes and offers you juicy on the within, crispy on the surface meat from the consolation of your kitchen.
- No extra oil. Sizzling air quickly circulates across the hen within the air fryer. This, plus only one tablespoon of oil, creates a crispy golden-brown pores and skin and juicy, tender meat.
- Particular person servings. Want a comfy dinner for one or a romantic dinner for 2? This recipe has you lined. It’s additionally straightforward to double or triple for households and get-togethers!
- Mess-free. Identical to air fryer bacon, air fryer burgers, and air fryer brats, the clean-up after cooking cornish hen is a breeze! The air fryer incorporates all the extra grease as a substitute of splattering it throughout your kitchen.
What are cornish sport hens?
Cornish hen seems and tastes similar to rooster however are smaller and yield extra tender and flavorful meat. Due to their dimension, they make an awesome possibility for a dinner for 2 or three individuals.
Substances wanted
This air fryer cornish sport hen is very easy, and in addition to the poultry and a few seasonings, there isn’t the rest wanted to make. Here’s what you’ll want:
- Cornish hen. Use a Cornish hen that’s sufficiently small to slot in your air fryer basket. Decide up as many as you want so everybody will get their very own hen!
- Floor spices. Garlic powder and onion powder present an fragrant, savory taste, whereas paprika provides a contact of heat and smokiness.Â
- Dried herbs. I used dried rosemary and dried basil leaves, however oregano, parsley, and sage additionally style nice on poultry. Â
- Olive oil. Solely a small quantity of oil is required to coat the pores and skin and assist it cook dinner to golden brown and crispy perfection.
- Salt and pepper. To assist the unimaginable flavors on this recipe style balanced.Â
Learn how to cook dinner a Cornish hen within the air fryer
Air fried cornish hens are really easy: simply keep in mind to pat dry the poultry earlier than including the seasonings.
Make the spice mix: Mix the spices and herbs in a small bowl.Â
Season: Pat the Cornish hen dry, rub it with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Then rub the spice combine throughout.Â
Air fry: Place the chicken within the air fryer basket and cook dinner till it’s golden brown. Let it relaxation earlier than slicing and serving.
Tricks to make one of the best recipeÂ
- Preheat the air fryer: A scorching, preheated air fryer will all the time provide you with an evenly cooked Cornish hen with further crispy pores and skin. Yum!
- Use a meat thermometer: It’s one of the best software to make use of for those who’re not sure if the chicken is cooked by means of or not. Stick the thermometer into the thickest a part of the hen because it cooks. You’ll understand it’s prepared to come back out of the air fryer when the inner temperature is between 160ºF and 165°F.Â
- Let it relaxation: Let the Cornish hen relaxation on a reducing board for five to 10 minutes after air frying. This provides these great meaty juices time to settle, supplying you with essentially the most moist and tender meat.Â
Taste and recipe variations
There are nearly no guidelines in relation to including taste to poultry. The seasoning choices are infinite!
My favourite methods to present Cornish sport hens a pop of taste is with dry rubs and marinades:
Dry rubs. Pat the hen dry with paper towels earlier than seasoning it with blackened seasoning, Cajun spice rub, lemon pepper, Italian seasoning, Greek seasoning, or poultry rub.
Marinades. Let the hen soak for 1 to 4 hours or in a single day in teriyaki sauce, honey mustard, 4-ingredient rooster marinade, or scorching honey.
Storage directions
To retailer: Switch the leftover Cornish hen to an hermetic container and retailer it within the fridge for as much as 5 days.
To freeze: As soon as the Cornish hen has cooled to room temperature, place it in a big ziplock bag and freeze for as much as 3 months. Let it thaw within the fridge earlier than reheating.
To reheat: Warmth the leftover Cornish hen in a 360ºF air fryer till the pores and skin is crispy once more and the meat is heated by means of.
Extra air fryer rooster recipesÂ
Regularly requested questions
A 2-pound Cornish sport hen ought to take round half-hour complete to cook dinner within the air fryer. Nevertheless, this time will differ relying on the dimensions of the chicken and the performance of your air fryer.Â
This could occur for those who don’t pat the meat dry with paper towels. First, there’s an excessive amount of oil on the floor, or the cornish hen is just too large/crowded within the air fryer.
For certain! However it’s all the time finest to thaw the birds within the fridge earlier than air frying.
Brining poultry is all the time a surefire strategy to infuse the meat with unimaginable flavors. It additionally tenderizes the meat and provides extra moisture! It’s an elective step however an awesome methodology to make use of if you wish to take this recipe excessive.
To brine Cornish sport hens, make a brine answer by dissolving salt and sugar in a big pot of water. Soak the hens within the brine for two to 4 hours earlier than cooking.
Forestall your display from going darkish
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Preheat the air fryer to 200C/350F.
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In a small bowl, mix the spices, apart from the salt and pepper.
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Pat dry the cornish hen with a paper towel. Rub the olive oil everywhere in the chicken, season with salt and pepper, then rub the spice combine throughout, together with all cavities and beneath the pores and skin.
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Place the cornish sport hen within the air fryer basket and cook dinner for half-hour breast facet down.
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Let the cornish hen relaxation for 10 minutes earlier than slicing and serving.
Serving: 1servingEnergy: 261kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 20gFats: 19gSodium: 360mgPotassium: 286mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 0.1gVitamin A: 162IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 16mgIron: 1mgNET CARBS: 1g
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