Tonight's dinner: half of a sweet and spicy slow-and-low roasted Cornish game hen.
I gave it a heavy dry rub with a blend of spicy poultry seasoning obtained at a street fair a while back, my special homemade spicy dry rub, and some thyme, chucked it into a fridge bag and let it sit sealed in the fridge for two days to allow the flavors to permeate the meat. The hen is then spatchcocked and placed wing sides up in a deep baking dish. add a tablespoon of water, seat top of baking dish with foil, and place in oven at 230° for three hours. Next, mix a blend of sweet barbecue sauce (your preferred brand), hoisin sauce, and raw honey.
Take pan out of. the oven, unseal. (Unseal carefully; pry open the seal with something protecting your hands from the escaping steam.) Pour off most of the rendered drippings, but saving enough to add flavor during the basting that will follow. the initial glazing with the sauce. Glaze the hen and return it to the oven, uncovered. Cook at low temp for as long as you like, basting periodically and also re-applying the sauce. Also maybe shake on a bit more dried thyme (optional) At this point I let it slow cook for another 2-3 hours, steadily basting.
When done to your liking, remove from oven and allow to cool. Transfer chicken to a deep container, using a wide spatula to lift it, because it will be super-tender and might fall apart during the transfer, stacking the two separated halves on top of each other, skin side up. Once in the container, pour the remaining juices over the hen and seal. Refrigerate overnight, thus allowing the flavors to sort themselves out and fully infuse. When reheating, place covered in oven set to 330° for forty minutes. When served, it will be hot all the way through, flavorful, and mist. You won't need a knife.
