Published September 1, 1997.
For our best stuffed Cornish hens recipe, we wanted to stuff and roast at least six grocery store–quality Cornish hens in a way that made them look good and taste great. To prevent steaming, we lifted the birds up and out of the roasting pan and onto a wire rack. We also spaced the birds as far apart as possible; crowding food while it's roasting inhibits browning. The ideal roasting temperature, as it turned out, was 400 degrees, with a quick crank up to 450 degrees at the end of cooking to promote browning. For even more color, we opted to glaze the birds with balsamic vinegar; this gave them a pleasant, spotty brown barbecued look. Heating the stuffing in our stuffed Cornish hens recipe before placing it inside the birds let it come up to the proper temperature more quickly during cooking, thereby keeping the breast meat from overcooking.
Toasted slivered almonds can be substituted for the pistachio nuts.
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