Chicken Little

Jeepster47

Decided to try a couple of Cornish Game Hens on the grill. @anton did his whole a couple of days ago, so I decided to butterfly this pair ... spatchcock is too big a word for these birds.  One was rubbed with the standard BGE cookbook rub and the other was rubbed with Dizzy Pig Raging River Rub.  My not-so-secret Santa sent me a sample pack of Dizzy Pig rubs ... with instructions ... so, this was the first trial run with one of them.  The egg was set up raised direct with the dome at 375 degrees.  Threw on a couple of potatoes and then 30 minutes later added the two game hens.  Used the Maverick 'cuz I can read and watch the temps without having to keep jumping up and going out in the rain.

The bird was cooked in 30 minutes ... whew that was faster than Jimmy Johns can deliver a sub.  The fire was good, but an inch or two off center.  Never gave it a thought until checking meat temp with the Thermopen.  Turns out the offside of the offside bird wasn't at temp yet, but the other bird was perfect.  Darn.  Gave both birds a little more time and then pulled them.  Ended up recooking one breast and both thighs on the cold side bird before throwing them in the frig for lunch tomorrow.

The BGE cook book rub lost by a knockout ... looks like I'll have to buy more than a sample of Raging River rub.  The next butterfly cook with game hens, will either be with a lower temp and cooked raised direct or indirect at 375 degrees to allow the temps in the meat to even out more.  Any suggestions there?

Yea, i know the potatoes are tin foiled ... didn't know how long the game hens were going to take, so took no chances:



And, on the plate w/ the obligatory fork:

Mattman3969

Looks good!! Gonna have to put the hens on my list of things to cook.

anton

Tasty little fellers aren't they @Jeepster47? Like you, my temps were differing, so I kept spinning mine around on the wire stands every temp check. I will probably spatch them next time. Looks good brother. Have you done a Hasselbeck potato yet? It's the method with many thin slices that don't go all the way through, then put sliced garlic in the cuts and salt and butter, they are killer.Again, nice dinner.
:-bd

Jeepster47

anton said:

Tasty little fellers aren't they @Jeepster47? Like you, my temps were differing, so I kept spinning mine around on the wire stands every temp check. I will probably spatch them next time. Looks good brother. Have you done a Hasselbeck potato yet? It's the method with many thin slices that don't go all the way through, then put sliced garlic in the cuts and salt and butter, they are killer.Again, nice dinner.
:-bd

Yep, should have pretended they were wings ... keep flipping and moving ... that would have helped.  Didn't know about Hasselbeck potatoes, but do now ... thanks ... that's on the to-cook list now.

@Mattman3969 ... Does the to-cook list ever get shorter?

 

Mattman3969

Naw, but it does get stale from time to time. I just came out of a rut where nothing sounded exciting to cook.

Zmokin

Jeepster47 said:

Decided to try a couple of Cornish Game Hens on the grill.

The bird was cooked in 30 minutes ... whew that was faster than Jimmy Johns can deliver a sub.  The fire was good, but an inch or two off center.  Never gave it a thought until checking meat temp with the Thermopen.  Turns out the offside of the offside bird wasn't at temp yet, but the other bird was perfect.  Darn.  Gave both birds a little more time and then pulled them.  Ended up recooking one breast and both thighs on the cold side bird before throwing them in the frig for lunch tomorrow.

I find the microwave is a great way to finish off chicken if it's a tad under-cooked when pulled.
I've microwaved BBQ chicken, oven-roasted chicken as well as deep-fried chicken.  It's quick and easy and doesn't change the preparation method results.