Roasted Cornish Hens with Lime Garlic and Oregano Marinade (Cuban)

Elegant and perfectly-portioned Roasted Cornish Hen recipe you can make whenever you want to impress. This Cornish chicken dish is made by marinating Cornish game hens in a lime juice, garlic, fresh oregano based marinade overnight and roasting them in the oven low and slow for almost 2 hours.

Marinade:
2/3 cup lime juice, freshly squeezed (8-10 limes)
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 Tbsp. fresh oregano leaves, chopped
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. kosher salt

Cornish Hens:
4 (1¼-1½ lbs) whole Cornish hens, at room temperature, rinsed well and patted dry
1 cup water
½ small yellow onion, sliced thinly
½ tsp. black pepper, freshly ground

Garnish:
fresh oregano, chopped

For the Marinade:
Whisk together the lime-juice, olive oil, garlic, oregano leaves, cumin and salt in a bowl.

Divide the marinade in between two 1-gallon resalable plastic bags. Place two hens in each bag and press to get as much air as possible out of it before sealing. Repeat the same process for the other two hens. Place them in the fridge and let it marinade at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.

Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C/200°C fan, Gas Mark 7).

For the Roasting:
Place the hens and their marinade in a large (mine was 9x13") casserole dish. Add water and arrange the slices of the onion around the birds. Sprinkle the hens with freshly ground black pepper.

Roast for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375°F (190°C/170°C fan, Gas Mark 5) and roast for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Let them rest for 20 minutes. Garnish with fresh herbs and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Cook's Notes:  Cornish hens are hard to find fresh, most will be frozen. They can easily be thawed overnight in the refrigerator. Them them come to room temperature before cooking, about 30 minutes. Then be sure to pay dry.