How many Game hens can I cook at one time and for how long
I am done Game Hens for everyone this Easter and need to know how many I can put in my oven and temp and roasting time. AWWWWW HELP.
They will only be stuffed with lemon and rosemary and butter rubbed with salt and pepper.
I want to try to cook 16 of them, how can I keep them warm if I need to do 2 batches?
Recommended by Food52
4 Comments
They won't roast properly where the flesh of two birds touch each other. This is why rotisserie chickens are often roasted on rotating spits, to minimize contact.
You may want to truss the birds so they are a bit more compact. This is not a preparation that benefits from crowding the pan.
This is even more important because you are roasting a large number of birds and the typical household oven doesn't maintain an even temperature throughout the entire oven. There are hot spots and cold spots in the average consumer oven.
I would try to roast eight birds on two sheet pans. You will want to rotate and swap the pans a few times to help cook more evenly.
If your oven has a convection fan, use it to help promote air circulation.
They won't all reach the target 165 degrees at the same time. If you have a remote meat thermometer, you can stick it in one bird, but you should start doing spot checks of the birds starting around 150 degrees because some may cook faster than the bird with the probe. Use an instant read thermometer and measure all sixteen birds starting with the birds that visibly look more done than the others.
One by one as they arrive at 165 degrees, set those finished birds aside. I suggest using one of the disposable aluminum serving pans, the kind people use at picnics, tailgates, etc. Cover with aluminum foil to keep the birds warm.
Best of luck.