Air Fryer Cornish Hen
This Air Fryer Cornish Hen recipe is perfect for entertaining or an elegant dinner at home! The hens are rubbed with lemon and flavorful spices, then air fried to perfection. They are packed with flavor and you'll get perfectly crisp skin every time! No one will ever know they only take about 30 minutes to cook with hardly any fuss at all!
Ingredients
- 2 16 oz. Cornish game hens See Note 1
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- zest of one lemon
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped plus 2 sprigs
Instructions
- Prep Air Fryer: Preheat the air fryer to 400°F. If your air fryer doesn't have a preheat setting, just turn it to 400 and give it about 3-5 minutes to come to temperature.Line your air fryer tray or basket with a liner like this. Optional, but highly recommended for easy clean up!
- Prep Hens: Remove hens from the package, and rinse well. Place on a plate and pat the hens with paper towels until they are VERY dry, inside and out. Then, trim off any excess fat/skin with kitchen shears (optional).
- Spice It Up: Combine salt, pepper, lemon zest, smoked paprika, garlic powder and rosemary. Rub each hen with olive oil--use your hands! Then, sprinkle on the spice mixture and rub it all over the hens, inside and out. Cut the remainder of the lemon you used for zest in 4 pieces and stuff 2 into the cavity of each bird, along with one stem of rosemary. This will ensure the hens are flavorful all the way through!
- Air Fry: Place the hens in the air fryer breast side down and air fry for 16-18 minutes. Then, flip and cook another 10-15 minutes until the hens reach an internal temperature of 165°F when an instant-read thermometer is inserted into the thickest part of the leg.
- Finish: Remove hens from the air fryer and let them rest for 10 minutes, then serve immediately. There may be yummy juices in the bottom of your air fryer basket, so don't forget to pour them over the top of the hens when serving!
Notes
Note 1: For this recipe, I used 16 oz. Cornish game hens. At the store, they usually range from about 16 oz to 32 oz. A 16 oz. hen is perfect for one person. If you are serving 4 people, 32 oz. hens will be your best bet--two people can share one hen. Use whatever size suits you, just remember that cooking times are for a 16oz. hen. Adjust accordingly. Also, keep in mind the size of your air fryer when choosing hens to buy.
Nutrition
Serving: 1henCalories: 720kcalProtein: 57.2gFat: 46.8gCholesterol: 920mgSodium: 937mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!