Pressure Cooker Stuffed Cornish Hens

By JimMac

Ingredients

• STUFFING
• 1 celery rib (about 2 ounces, 55g)
• 1 small Granny Smith apple (about 6 ounces, 170g), peeled, cored and quartered
• 1 onion (about 4 ounces, 115g), peeled and quartered
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup (120ml) soft bread crumbs
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon sage
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 2 Cornish game hens (about 2 1/2 pounds, 1kg total)
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 1/2 cup (120ml) white wine
• 1 cup (240ml) apple cider or apple juice
• 1/4 teaspoon sage
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons red currant jelly
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

Details

Servings 2

Preparation

Step 1

Chop celery, onion, and apple with knife or pulse/chop with metal blade of food proc¬essor to medium chop—about 8 times.

Heat butter in medium skillet and sauté vege¬tables and apple until tender— about 5 min¬utes. Remove from heat and add remaining stuffing ingredients. Let stuffing cool

Place about half of stuffing in each hen and truss, or close opening with needle and thread. If you wish, put a little stuffing in each neck cavity and secure with toothpicks.

Put flour in paper or plastic bag, add hens, and shake until they are well coated with flour. Heat oil in uncovered Pressure Cooker and brown hens over medium heat for about 1 minute each on top and bottom.

Remove hens and wipe out any grease from pan. Add wine, cider and seasonings and scrape bottom of pan well to remove any browned bits; they could cause burning.

Put trivet in bottom of pan and put browned hens on trivet.

Cover Cooker, lock lid, and bring to high pressure (for Cuisinart cooker: third ring just showing). Then cook for 15 minutes, or 18 minutes if you like your poultry well done.

Release pressure, remove hens, and cover loosely to keep them warm while you make sauce. Heat pan juices, uncovered, over high heat until they are reduced to about 1 cup (240ml). Dissolve cornstarch in 2 tablespoons of cold water and whisk it into juices, along with jelly and mustard. Bring to boil and cook until thickened. Whisk in butter if desired. Serve hens immediately with sauce.