Bacon Wrapped Maple Baked Cornish Game Hen

This bacon wrapped maple baked cornish game hen recipe is an easy dinner that only has three ingredients!

Easy and delicious, this cornish hen recipe is guaranteed to become a family favorite!

Are you still wondering what to make for your holiday dinner?

If you don’t need a large turkey, why not consider baking a cornish hen for your holiday dinner? I guarantee it will turn out just as moist and flavorful as a turkey! (And a bonus, you can easily cook two game hens in your oven at the same time!)

There are many recipes for cornish game hens, but this one is wrapped in bacon, making it hard to resist.

What is a Cornish Game Hen?

A Cornish game hen is a hybrid of a chicken that is a lot smaller! These birds are sold whole, in most grocery stores.

Our family is enjoying our first experience with cornish game hens. Have you tried baking one of these hens yet? They look like teeny tiny little chickens and they have just enough meat to fill up one adult, or one very hungry growing teenager!

Three simple ingredients; bacon, maple syrup, and Cornish game hens. It won’t get much easier than this. If you are entertaining for the holidays or looking for an easy dinner recipe, this recipe is for you.

This easy Cornish hen recipe is paleo, gluten free, refined sugar-free, and is free of the top 8 allergens! (*If you are feeding more of a crowd, try one of these Gluten Free Chicken dinner recipes!!)

I have to tell you, baking these hens made my house smell like bacon.

Yup! Usually, I hate when the house smells like what I made, but I can forgive bacon. Bacon makes everything great, including my house :-). (I suspect our dog won’t agree…it probably made her very tempted to steal a game hen!)

There is an added bonus to the smell of bacon cooking. It is quite magic. Did you know bacon smells makes teenagers come out of their caves? (If you have teens, you know exactly what I mean!!)

My teens’ reactions were actually quite funny. I could hear their desk chairs move. Then doors opened…and sprinted downstairs. They were so excited to try a Cornish game hen.

Bummer for them they had to wait until I took a few pictures. #kidsoffoodbloggerproblems

My son, the die-hard carnivore ate a whole hen by himself! I hope that you love this recipe as much as my family did :-).

Ways to cook a Cornish hen:

• Marinate the hen and cook it on the grill.
• Stuff the hen with fresh oranges and stuffing and bake it!
• Cook it in a slow cooker with fresh vegetables.
• If you have a smoker, try smoking your Cornish game hens. Smoking adds a rich flavor that penetrates the whole hen!

Check out how Cornish game hens are to make:

Rub the cornish game hens with maple syrup. Grade B is best! Next, is wrapping these hens in bacon!

Wrap the hens in bacon and bake. How long do you bake your Cornish game hens? If your hens are completely thawed out, you can bake these for an hour.

Cornish game hen’s cook time is very similar to chicken. Make sure the internal temperature is 165 degrees when finished.

Delicious Sides to Serve with Cornish Game Hens:

• Mashed Rutabagas
• Bacon Ricotta Scalloped Potatoes
• Pan Fried Sweet Potatoes

Check out all of the dinner recipes on this blog!

(*Please note this post has affiliate links. Ordering through my site will not change the price you pay. A tiny commission will come to Fearless Dining to help offset the cost of running this blog. I truly appreciate the support.)

Things you need to make this recipe:

1. A good pan to bake these Cornish game hens in.
2. My very favorite meat thermometer.

How to bake Cornish game hens:

5 from 5 votes

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Bacon Wrapped Maple Cornish Game Hens

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

1 hr

Total Time

1 hr 10 mins

 

These bacon wrapped maple cornish game hens is a delicious dinner that is perfect for any occasion. Just three simple ingredients!

Course: Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: 2 people

Calories: 539 kcal

Author: Sandi Gaertner

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons Grade B Maple Syrup
• 2 cornish game hens, thawed
• 8 slices of raw bacon
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
   

2. Remove cornish game hens from wrapping. Place in a pan.
   

3. Drizzle maple syrup over the chicken.
   

4. Wrap the raw bacon around the hens. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
   

5. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 30 minutes, or until the cornish game hens reach 165 degrees internal temperature.
   

Nutrition Facts

Bacon Wrapped Maple Cornish Game Hens

Amount Per Serving (1 g)

Calories 539 Calories from Fat 234

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 26g 40%

Saturated Fat 7g 35%

Polyunsaturated Fat 3g

Cholesterol 170mg 57%

Sodium 681mg 28%

Potassium 62mg 2%

Total Carbohydrates 20g 7%

Sugars 1832g

Protein 31g 62%

Calcium 2%

Iron 8%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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