Jen and I are back from our weekend get away in Blue Ridge, GA. We had a great time and talked about how fast our first year of marriage has flown by. For the cooking this weekend, I asked Jen what she wanted and she said spicy on Friday and lamb on Saturday. So for dinner on Friday, I did grilled cornish hens with a jerk sauce.

Let’s cook!

Grilled Cornish Hens with Chunky Jerk Sauce

1 bunch scallions, roughly chopped

1 red bell pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lime juice

4 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons fresh thyme

1 tablespoon ground allspice

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 poblano pepper

2 cornish game hens

salt and pepper

Steam the poblano and red pepper.

The cabin didn’t have a steamer, so I had to make my own.

Combine the scallions, bell pepper, olive oil, lime juice, garlic, thyme, allspice, ginger, brown sugar, pepper and 1 tablespoon salt.

Combine well. If you want to make a paste put mixture in a food processor which will make a thick paste.

Cut hens in half and coat the outside with the jerk sauce and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat the grill on medium. Heat only one side and place the hens skin side up on the cooler side of the grill. Position the legs closer to the fire.

Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Turn them over to the direct heat side of the grill, and cook covered for 10 more minutes.

Set the hens aside for 5 minutes before you serve. Here is how I did the plating.  We had rice and sauteed vegetables as our sides.

Here is a close up of the hen:

Jen and I really enjoyed changing up the typical Cornish Hen with this chunky jerk sauce. Like Jen tells me sometimes, this recipe made her mouth do a tap-dance.

Happy Cooking!