Herb roast poussin with aioli

Money was tight when we were growing up and Mom was often on the lookout for interesting things to cook that wouldn't break the budget. I have two main memories: frozen smelt which she lightly breaded and deep fried and oven-roasted Cornish game hens. I think part of the game hen charm was the idea that we would each get our own mini "chicken" for dinner! I have only made them a handful of times as an adult so I thought I would revisit them.

Costco had them frozen, six in a pack. Unfortunately, I didn't have freezer space so I ended up thawing all of them. I figure any leftovers will make great soup! Here's today's cast.

Mary Berry's recipe actually calls for poussin which are very young chickens. Size-wise, I think this will work. First on the agenda is to spatchcock each bird. This involves removing the backbone so the birds can be flattened. They cook much more evenly and quickly when this is done. I have a very sharp pair of kitchen shears that I use for the job. Simply cut through the ribs along one side of the backbone.

And do the same on the other side so the backbone is in one piece. You can boil them up for stock.

Then, turn the hen over and press down firmly to crack the breastbone. Because these birds are so small, I could also do it by simply grabbing each side and bending them toward the center. TMI? Sorry.

When all the hens were spatchcocked, I sprinkled both sides with Kosher salt...

And some coarsely ground black pepper.

The marinade is super-simple. Since I didn't have fresh rosemary, I used less than the recipe called for with the dry version. I added olive oil and then the honey. If you use your measuring spoon for the oil first, the honey will then slide from the spoon more readily. Some garlic and the whole thing got a good stir.

I put the hens into a two-gallon Ziploc and added the marinade.

I like using Ziplocs for marinating; first because you can massage the marinade all over the poultry without getting your hands dirty and secondly, because a storage bag doesn't take up as much space in the fridge as a rigid container. I left them overnight, turning the bag occasionally to distribute the marinade.

I ended up leaving the hens to marinate for two days. When I was ready to roast, I fired up the oven to 400 and laid the hens onto a large baking sheet and poured the marinade over them.

The recipe was for three birds and the cooking time indicated was 35 to 40 minutes. Since I had six birds, I roasted for 45 but I think even five extra minutes would have been good. I sprinkled some additional salt and pepper.

The aioli is a simple mixture of mayo, sour cream, parsley, lemon juice, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper. I thought it was a little too sweet and then I remembered the pomegranate vinegar I got from Marukai last week. I added about a teaspoon and zing! That woke it up.

The hens were tender and very fragrant with rosemary without being overpowering. The guys all liked it though I noticed that no one took a whole hen at once the way we did as kids! Both boys commented that the aioli seemed redundant since the marinade was so flavorful. I kind of liked it though; I'm a sucker for tangy sauces.

Here's the recipe:

Herb Roast Poussin with Aioli
Recipe from "Classic Mary Berry"

Ingredients:

3 poussins (about 18 oz. each)
2 T. chopped rosemary
2 T. olive oil
2T. honey
2 garlic cloves, crushed
salt and pepper

For the aioli:
6 T. full-fat mayonnaise
4 T. crème fraîche (I subbed sour cream)
4 T. chopped parsley
1 small garlic clove
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp. sugar
salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Spatchcock each poussin. Turn the pouissin over and press on the breastbone with your palm to flatten.
2. Measure the rosemary, olive oil and honey into a large freezer bag, add the garlic and the poussins and massage the flavorings into the birds, making sure each is well coated. Leave to marinate in the fridge between 3 and 24 hours (and as long as 2 days ahead).
3. When you are ready to cook the poussins, preheat the oven to 200C (400F).
4. Sit the marinated poussins in a shallow roasting tin, breast-side up and season. Tip any marinade over the birds and roast for 30-40 minutes until golden brown and the juices run clear. Leave to rest for about 10 minutes.
5. Mix all the aioli ingredients together in a bowl and season. Aioli can be made up to 3 days ahead.
6. Carve each bird in half and serve with the aioli and some sauté potatoes and green beans.