Serve Cornish hens instead of turkey for Thanksgiving
On Thanksgiving Day, why not follow presidential custom and grant your turkey a pardon? Sure, the big bird has always been at the center of the traditional feast, but cooking it is almost always a headache.
The problem is how long to cook it. Sometimes a 16-pound turkey is cooked to perfection in three hours flat. Sometimes it requires three hours and 45 minutes. This unpredictability makes it tough to plan the cooking of the other items on your menu and to figure out when the meal itself can begin.
That's why I'm proposing Cornish hens instead of turkey. They're at least as scrumptious as turkeys, but they're much smaller — weighing in at 1 pound to 2 pounds — making them easier to cook. They roast up much more quickly, and you don't have to wrestle them into a roasting pan to make them fit. With hens that are on the large size, you get two servings out of every bird. (After the bird has cooked and rested, slice it in half, starting at the mid-line of the breastbone.)
Stuff birds that are 1 to 1¼ pounds with one-third cup stuffing instead of the half-cup, and start with a cooking time of 25 minutes. You'll know they're properly cooked when the internal temperature, taken in the thickest part of the thigh, registers 165 degrees.
You'll be roasting these hens at a high heat, 450 degrees, so make sure your oven is very clean or your kitchen will smoke up. Also, use a roasting pan with high-ish sides to keep the spitting fat and juices from spraying everywhere. Once you've pulled the hens from the oven, they must rest for at least 10 to 15 minutes to guarantee a moist bird. If you try to slice it in half too soon, the juices will come streaming out.
The stuffing recipe yields a little more than you'll need for four large hens. So when the hens are resting, spread out the extra stuffing in a pie plate and heat it up in the oven — covered, if you want it moist, uncovered, if you want it crispy.
• Sara Moulton is host of public television's “Sara's Weeknight Meals.” She was executive chef at Gourmet magazine for nearly 25 years and spent a decade hosting several Food Network shows, including “Cooking Live.” Her latest cookbook is “HomeCooking 101.”