Southern Cornish Hens

To pull this off, you need an overproof, large saucepan with a cover.

If it's a good-looking pot, you can take it out of the oven and bring it
right into the dining room, removing the cover in front of the guests.
It smells wonderful.

4 Cornish hens
Peel of one orange, cut coarsely
3 tart apples, peeled and cut into pieces
10 slices smoky bacon
2 sticks butter
2 cups California Gewurztraminer
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 whole French shallot, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1. The day before, thaw the hens and brine them overnight in a
solution of 2 cups of salt in two gallons of water. Keep them cold; an
ice chest works well (with some ice, of course).

2. Rinse the salt water off (and out of) the hens, and pat dry. Divide
the orange peel and apples and stuff the cavity with them. Season the
hens with salt and coarsely-ground black pepper.

3. In a saucepan big enough to fit all the birds, for which you have a
tight-fitting cover, fry four slices of bacon until crisp. Remove from
the
heat and allow to cool for a minute or so. Place the hens in the pot,
breast side up. Sprinkle in the chopped shallot and insert the thyme
sprigs between the birds. Also add any leftover pieces of apple. Pour
in
the wine around the birds. Cover the birds with the remaining six
slices
of bacon.

4. Fit the cover onto the pot, and put it into the preheated over at
375
degrees for an hour and twenty minutes. Open the pot where your
diners can smell the aromas. Remove the hens with tongs, allowing the
liquids to drain briefly, and place one on each plate, with a slice of
bacon draped over it.

Serves four.

Submitted by Chef Morris- Downtown Atlanta

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