Le Coquelet à la Moutarde is an elegant yet rustic French-inspired dish featuring tender Cornish hens bathed in a luxurious mustard cream gravy.
The hens are roasted to golden perfection, their juicy meat infused with the bold flavor of Dijon mustard. The star of the dish is the thick, velvety gravy, crafted from additional mustard and rich cream, which melds into a tangy, savory sauce that clings to every bite.
This sophisticated yet comforting meal pairs beautifully with roasted potatoes or crusty bread to soak up the luscious gravy, offering a taste of French countryside charm right at your table.
I love to make this dish for special occasions or company because it really looks fancy, but is quite simple to make. I don’t have to spend a ton of time in the kitchen, and can spend my time with my guests.
This dish can be easily scaled up or down to accommodate the number of people you are serving.
To Make This Recipe You Will Need:
- Rock Cornish hens
- whole grain Dijon mustard
- butter
- all-purpose flour
- half & half, or milk
- salt
- ground black pepper
- paper towels
- kitchen shears
- baking sheet
- small dish
- pastry brush
- sauce pan
- whisk
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To begin, preheat your oven to 375°(F).
With kitchen shears, carefully cut two Cornish hens in half down the center of the breast and along the spine.
Pat the birds dry with paper towels and place them on a baking sheet. With the shears, cut the tips of the wings off and discard.
In a small bowl, combine melted butter and whole grain Dijon mustard. Whisk them together then brush the mixture all over the tops of the hens, coating them well.
Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the hens test done with a meat thermometer (165°F) or the juices run clear.
While the hens rest, prepare the gravy.
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In a saucepan, melt butter. Whisk in all-purpose flour and allow it to cook for just a minute. Whisk in half & half (or milk.) Add in some of the mustard along with some salt and pepper. Stirring continually, bring this to a gentle boil.
Let it cook for one minute and remove from the heat.
Place your baked hens on a serving platter.
Drizzle some of the beautiful, creamy gravy over the top of the hens.
Serve the hens with the remaining additional mustard gravy, and any sides that you choose. This recipe can also be easily scaled up for a larger crowd.
Enjoy!
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Mustard Hens with Cream Gravy
Ingredients
- 2 Rock Cornish hens
- 2 Tb butter, unsalted, melted
- 2 Tb whole grain Dijon mustard
For the Gravy
- 2 Tb butter
- 2 Tb flour
- 2 c half & half, or milk
- 2 Tb whole grain Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- To begin, preheat your oven to 375°(F).
- With kitchen shears, carefully cut the hens in half down the center of the breast and along the spine.
- Pat the birds dry with paper towels and place them on a baking sheet. With the shears, cut the tips of the wings off and discard.
- In a small bowl, combine the melted butter and 2 tablespoons of the whole grain Dijon mustard. Whisk them together then brush the mixture all over the tops of the hens, coating them well.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the hens test done with a meat thermometer (165°) or the juices run clear.
- While the hens rest, prepare the gravy.
- In a saucepan, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Whisk in the flour and allow it to cook for just a minute.
- Whisk in the half & half. Add in the remaining mustard, salt, & pepper.
- Stirring continually, bring this to a gentle boil. Let it cook for one minute and remove from the heat.
- Serve the hens with the gravy.
- Enjoy!
Equipment Used
- paper towels
- small dish
Nutrition
If nutritional values are provided for this recipe, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands of ingredients you use. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste or for serving. If nutritional values are very important to you, I suggest using your favorite nutritional calculating tool with the brands you use.
Unit Conversions:
Unit Conversion for measurements (if displayed), going from US to Metric is an auto-generated conversion. If you are using the metric measurements, please double-check to confirm that these are accurate with your favorite preferred conversion tool.
This recipe was originally written in 2015, updated in 2025.
The mustard gravy topped the chicken off nicely. Absolutely delicious! Thank you
Fried chicken is my favorite dishes when I was free to do it for family gifts