Cranberry and Yogurt Cornish Game Hen Brochette with Cranberry Gastrique

     This game hen recipe has a very nice flavor.  Many people seem to think that cranberries are only a holiday season fruit.  Cranberries are nice any time of year.  Fresh cranberries are best but frozen cranberries are not bad.  Cranberries are one of the few fruits that freeze well.
     Goat milk yogurt marinades are used often in Persian and Arabic cuisine.  The enzymes in yogurt tenderize and flavor the meat.  The cranberry yogurt marinade flavor of the grilled game hen is nice and savory.  The Cranberry gastrique adds bright crisp cranberry flavors. 

     Cornish Game Hen Fabrication:
     Split a game hen lengthwise through the back bone.
     Open the hen with your fingers and partially split the breast bone with a sharp strike of a chef knife.  (Do not try cut all the way through the breast bone!  Just crack the bone.)
     Split the breast bone by bending the two halves of the game hen by hand.
     Use a boning knife to remove the breast bone, rib cage, wish bone and thigh bones.  Be careful not to damage the skin!
     The only bones that should be left in the game hen are the 2 wings and 2 leg bones.
    
     Cranberry Yogurt Marinade:
     Heat a sauce pot over medium high heat.
     Add 2 cups of water.
     Add 1/3 cup of chopped cranberries.
     Add 1 teaspoon of sugar.
     Bring the liquid to a boil.
     Reduce the temperature to low heat.
     Simmer and reduce, till the liquid becomes a very thin syrup.  There should only be about 3 tablespoons of syrup after reducing.
     Remove the pot from the heat.
     Pour the syrup through a fine mesh strainer into a container.
     Allow the syrup to cool to room temperature.
     Place 1/2 cup of goat milk yogurt in a mixing bowl.
     Add the cranberry syrup.
     Add 1/2 of a minced garlic clove.
     Add 1/2 teaspoon of minced shallot.
     Add 2 pinches of ground sage.
     Add sea salt and black pepper.
     Add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice.
     Add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil.
     Mix the marinade ingredients together.
     Place the deboned game hen in the marinade.
     Coat the game hen with the marinade.
     Marinate the game hen for at least 2 to 3 hours in a refrigerator.

     Cranberry Gastrique: 
     This recipe makes a few small portions of gastrique.  Gastrique has a long shelf life if it is refrigerated.  
     This recipe involves working with hot molten sugar.  Hot sugar can cause very serious burns.  Wear protective clothing and gloves!

     Heat a sauce pot over high heat.

     Add 1 1/2 cups of water.

     Add 1 cup of sugar.

     Boil till the liquid evaporates and till the sugar starts to foam and bubble.

     Cook the sugar just past the hard crack stage to a light amber stage.  (335º to 345º)

     Add 1 cup of chopped cranberries.

     Do not stir.

     The fruit will immediately stop the sugar from cooking any further and the sugar will seize the fruit like candy.  The sugar will pull the flavor and color out of the cranberries!

      Reduce the temperature to medium heat.

     Add 3 ounces of red wine vinegar.

     Add 1/2 cup of dry white wine.

     Add 1 cup of water.

     Add 2 bay leaves.

     Add 2 pinches of thyme.

     Add 2 to 3 pinches of sea salt.

     Add 10 to 12 black peppercorns.

     Add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice.

     Bring the liquid to a gentle boil.

     Reduce the temperature to low heat.

     Stir as the sugar melts back into a liquid.  

     Simmer and reduce, till the gastrique becomes a thin syrup consistency.

     Pour the gastrique through a fine mesh strainer into a small bowl.

     Keep the gastrique warm on a stove top.

      
     Sticky Black Rice: 

     Black rice will not stick to itself on its own.  It must be mixed with a starchy rice.  Sticky rice can be found in asian markets.  Indonesian black rice can be found in good grocery stores and asian markets.

     Heat 2 cups of water over high heat.

     Bring the water to a boil.

     Add 1/2 cup of Indonesian black rice.

     Add 1/2 cup of white sticky rice.

     When the liquid returns to a boil, reduce the temperature to low heat.

     Cover the pot with a lid.

     Let the rice cook and steam for about twenty minutes.

     Keep the rice warm on a stove top.

     
     Cranberry and Yogurt Cornish Game Hen Brochette:
     Remove the game hen from the marinade.
     Brush off any excess marinade.
     Place the game hen flat on a cutting board with the skin side facing up.
     Spread the game hen flat and position the legs and wings so the look nice.
     Press the game hen gently with one hand against the cutting board.
     Insert a bamboo skewer through the wing and breast meat, with the skewer parallel to the cutting board.
     Insert another skewer through the legs and upper thigh meat.
     The game hen should be skewered, so it remains flat and so the hen retains its shape when it is picked up by the skewers.

     Cranberry Fruit Garnish for the Gastrique: 

     Heat a sauce pot over medium high heat.

     Add 1 1/2 cups of water.

     Add 1/2 cup of cranberries.

     Poach the cranberries, till they just start to become tender.

     Drain the water off of the cranberries.

     Place the cranberries in a small bowl.

     Add 1 to 1 1/2  ounces of the cranberry gastrique.

     Set the cranberries en gastrique on a stove top and keep it warm.

     Grilling and Roasting the Cranberry and Yogurt Cornish Game Hen Brochette:  
     Heat a cast iron ribbed grill or a char grill to a medium temperature.
     Brush the grill with vegetable oil.
     Grill the game hen brochette with the skin side down, till grill marks appear.
     Flip the game hen to grill the bare meat side.
     Grill each side twice and try to create cross-check grill marks.
     When the game hen brochette becomes marked with grill marks, place the brochette on a roasting rack in a roasting pan.
     Roast the game hen brochette in a 350º oven, till the game hen becomes fully cooked.  (A probe thermometer should read 165º.)
    
     Cranberry Yogurt Glacé Cornish Game Hen Brochette with Cranberry Gastrique: 
     Place a large portion of black rice into a small bowl shaped mold that is lightly brushed with oil.
     Gently press the rice into the mold.
     Invert the mold onto a plate.
     Lean the Cranberry Yogurt Glacé Cornish Game Hen Brochette against the mound of black rice, with the skin side facing upwards.
     Spoon the cranberries and the cranberry gastrique over the gam hen brochette and onto the plate.
     Garnish the rice and brochette with an Italian parsley sprig.
     Serve with a vegetable of your choice.
     The vegetable in the pictures is sauteed thin strips of zucchini.
    
     The flavor of the gastrique is fruity and tart with herb overtones.  The gastrique is not sweet tasting at all.  This is a very nice game hen brochette and gastrique entree that is not too difficult to make.  This recipe does take patience and skill to make it correctly.  The only way to learn is to try and practice!  Yum!  ...  Shawna