Game Hen with Pomegranate Five Spice Glaze



2 Cornish Game Hens
4 cups pomegranate juice
1 cup pomegranate jelly
1 t Chinese ground five spice seasoning
½ t ground coriander
1 T olive oil
salt
pepper


Have your butcher cut the hens in half, or cut lengthwise, using a heavy knife or cleaver, splitting the breast and then forcing the knife through the back (first remove the neck and giblets, if present). Marinate the hens in the juice for two to six hours, turning occasionally.

Preheat oven to 375°. Remove hens from marinade and lightly salt and pepper. Set aside. Heat the marinade on a stove top at medium heat stirring in the jelly until liquefied. Add the oil, five spice seasoning, coriander and a touch of salt while mixing. Turn to low heat.

Place the hens skin side up on a broiling pan and brush each hen with the glaze. Place in the oven on a rack in the center. Baste with marinade glaze about every ten minutes. The glaze should progressively thicken on the stove top and on the cooking hens, creating a stickier glaze as the process continues. After about one hour to an hour and fifteen minutes, the glaze should darken nicely and the hen, soften to the point that the leg joint moves easily. Remove from oven.

We like this accompanied with a wild rice or black japonica rice pilaf, cooked in vegetable broth and finished by stirring in pine nuts, dried cherries, herbes de Provence, and a little sea salt.

Serve with  2003 Mount Palomar Syrah



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