What You Need:
- Ideally, an air fryer (minimum 5 qt. capacity)
- 2 Cornish game hens, defrosted
- 1 tsp fresh sage (chopped)
- 1 tsp fresh rosemary (chopped)
- 1 tsp fresh thyme (chopped)
- Lawry’s seasoning salt
- black pepper, freshly ground
- juice from 1 large lemon
- 4 oz. Baby Bella mushrooms, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 c chicken broth (best to use 2 c water with 2 tsp Better Than Bouillon Concentrated Chicken Stock)
- ~1 tsp Italian seasoning
- Wondra (flour-based thickener)
- salt & pepper to taste
- white rice (cooked)
What To D0:
- Rinse and pat dry the hens. Rub with sage, rosemary and thyme, dust with Lawry’s seasoning salt, and a liberal amount of fresh ground pepper; Place side-by-side in air fryer.
- Cook hens for 15 minutes at 400 degrees F.
- Drizzle hens with juice from about 1/4 lemon and transfer drippings from the catch basket to a small-medium sauce pan.
- Flip hens over to cook for additional 15 min. During last 3 minutes of cooking, drizzle with juice from another 1/4 of the lemon. Hens are finished cooking when skin is crispy and drippings are not pink (internal temp should ultimately reach 165 degrees F).
- Remove hens from air fryer and cover with foil for about 5-10 minutes before cutting in half or quarters to serve.
- FOR THE GRAVY (Can be prepped while hens are cooking): Sauté sliced mushrooms in olive oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes; Add chopped garlic to mushrooms and sauté about 1-2 minutes more.
- Transfer garlic and mushrooms to sauce pan with drippings from catch basket of air fryer; Add 2 cups of chicken broth, juice from the remaining 1/2 of the lemon and Italian seasoning; Whisk in Wondra a little at a time while at a rolling boil until desired gravy thickness is achieved; Season with salt and pepper (if needed) to taste.
- Serve Cornish game hens with white rice and spoon gravy over it all. Enjoy!