Le Coquelet a la Moutarde or Mustard Hens with Cream Gravy – a simple and elegant dish for company. This is a French inspired dish and I love to make it for special occasions.
To begin, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
You will need two Rock Cornish hens. 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 2 tablespoons each of 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 or the juices run clear.
While the hens rest, prepare the gravy.
In a saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of flour and allow it to cook for just a minute. Whisk in 2 cups of half & half (or milk.) Add in 2 tablespoons of the mustard and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and 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!
Le Coquelet a la Moutarde | Mustard Hens with Cream Gravy
Ingredients
- 2 Rock Cornish hens
- 2 Tb butter, melted
- 4 Tb whole grain Dijon mustard, divided
- 2 Tb butter
- 2 Tb flour
- 2 c half & half, or milk
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- To begin, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
- 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 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!
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.
Fried chicken is my favorite dishes when I was free to do it for family gifts