Cornish hens are a great dish to serve for a special occasion or a dinner party.

However, it’s not always easy to finish the entire bird in one sitting.

That’s why Cornish hen leftovers are perfect for another meal.

But how do you reheat Cornish hen without drying it out or making it tough?

In this blog post, we’ll provide helpful tips and tricks on reheating Cornish hen using various methods such as conventional oven, microwave, skillet, searing, air fryer, toaster oven, broiler and slow cooker.

Is It Safe To Reheat Cornish Hen?

Before we dive into the different methods of reheating your cornish hen leftovers, let’s talk about some general food safety concerns.

According to USDA guidelines, any cooked meat should be heated to an internal temperature of 165°F before consuming it again.

This rule applies to all meat dishes including chicken.

When reheating your cornish hen leftovers in any form of cooking appliance make sure that you have a temperature control thermometer handy.

This way you can check the temperature before eating it to ensure that is safe for consumption.

How To Reheat Cornish Hen in a Conventional Oven

One of the easiest ways to reheat your leftover cornish hen is by using your conventional oven. Here’s how:

1. Preheat your oven at 350°F.
2. Grease an oven-safe dish with some butter.
3. Put the cold cornish hens onto the greased dish and pour some melted butter over them.
4. Cover tightly with foil ensuring there are no overlapping corners of foil.
5. Place in preheated oven.
6. Bake on low heat between 10-15 minutes
7. Check for internal temperature after 10-minutes
8. Repeat until internal temperature reaches at least 165°F
9. Remove from oven

Enjoy your cornish hen which is now fresh and hot.

How to Reheat Cornish Hen in the Microwave

If you’re on a time crunch, then reheating cornish hens in a microwave could be your best option. However, it’s crucial that you do it correctly to avoid it from being dry or rubbery.

1. Remove all excess fat and skin from your cornish hens.
2. Put the hens into a microwave-safe dish, breast side up
3. Lightly cover the top of the dish with cling wrap, making sure there is enough air escape at top
4. Set your microwave oven to defrost mode for about 3 minutes — this will help thaw the meat.
5. Change to low-power cooking setting and restart microwave for between 10-12 minutes.
6. Check with temperature gauge after ten minutes
7. Repeat until internal temperature reaches at least 165°F
8. Serve!

Compared to other methods such as oven and skillet cooking reheating in a microwave is faster but can sometimes leave your hen dry, so keep an eye on your chicken.

How To Reheat Cornish Hen In A Skillet

To heat up leftovers using regular stove-top frying pan is one of my favorite methods because I can make sure that my meat won’t be dry out by controlling the heat.

Here’s how to use skillet to reheat:

1. Cut off any excess fat or skin from previous day chicken
2. Preheat non-sticking pan over medium-high heat
3. Use some oil or butter for greasing pan.
4. Place breast-side-down starting with thickest part of bird
5. 5 Rotate every few moments ensuring even browning for between 4-6 minutes
6. Flip hen over onto back-side (use tongs if needed) between 1-2min each side
7. Check internal temperature while heating replacement is approximately 165°F before serving

Eat straight away while it’s still that warm and juicy.

How to Reheat Cornish Hen by Searing

Searing is a quick way of reheating your cornish hen meat that will also give it some added texture- even though it probably won’t be as juicy as the original version. This is an option if you don’t have much time to spend on reheating.

1. Place large skillet on stove and heat over medium-high heat
2. Cut chicken into bite-sized portions.
3. Add oil into pan
4. Toss in all pre-cut chicken bites
5. Heat for between 1-2 min each side until warmed through
6. Check temperature using thermometer ensuring 165°F has been maintained
7. Serve up those juicy, crispy pieces.

How To Reheat Cornish Hen In An Air Fryer

The air fryer method is perfect for a quick fix or “lazy cooking” meal solution. Here’s how:

1. Preheat your air fryer at 350°F
2. Grease the basket with butter.
3. Put the chicken pieces inside of the basket in a single layer
4. Spray with canola oil until they have an even coating.
5. Set timer for 10 minutes and let the chicken cook, stirring every few minutes keep checking temperature gauge
6. Check temperature using thermometer ensuring 165°F has been achieved

Enjoy! Your perfectly crisped, moist cornish hen.

How To Reheat Cornish Hen Using A Toaster Oven

A toaster oven (or mini-oven) could be another perfect accessory to make your leftover cornish hens appetizing again:

1. Preheat oven, approximately between 350°F – 375° F
2. Grease baking tray with butter or non-stick cooking spray
3. Place hens onto tray skin side up
4. Toast for around 10 -12 minutes or until hot in centre
5. Ensure internal temperature reaches at least 165°F

Serve fresh, hot and juicy.

How To Reheat Cornish Hen In The Broiler

Broiling is great for crispy skin on top, but if you use this method, you should try to add little moisture by basting the hens or adding a small amount of liquid inside your baking tray:

1. Preheat your broiler anywhere between 375°F – 400°F
2. Grease oven-safe dish lightly with non-stick cooking spray
3. Place Cornish Hens into dish with breast side up
4. Baste bird generously to avoid drying out
5. Place in oven under the broiler heat for around 7-10min
6. Rotate birds every few minutes until internal temperature is between 160-165°F whilst maintaining moisture.
7. Eventually, Lower oven temperature from broil to baked-for approximately another four minutes until your chicken heats enough

Using this method results in crispiness without compromising that juicy interior!

How To Reheat Cornish Hen In A Slow Cooker

A slow cooker makes a fantastic option if you want to have your chicken done while carrying out other tasks around your home.

1. Turn slow cooker onto low setting mode.
2. Pour some leftover broth/stock (or even water) into it
3. Then put the Cornish hens-
4. Allow cooking for about three hours. Monitor temperature every hour
5. Temp must reach at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit before serving

This may be one of the easiest methods because all it entails is turning on a switch and forgetting about it!

Conclusion

Now that you know how to reheat cornish hen by using various different appliance/reheating techniques, leftovers are going to be an enjoyable and delicious meal any time of day.

Remember just always have a thermometer handy around so that you can check internal temperature – keep food safe!