Roasted Cornish Hen with Mustard Sauce

How to prepare roasted cornish hen with mustard sauce

1. Pat the chicken dry thoroughly, then let it sit for 1 hour to come to room temperature.
2. Mix the butter with mustard, honey, salt and ground black pepper to make a soft paste. Rub the chickens all over with this paste, including under the breast skin. Insert a peeled garlic clove and a sprig of thyme into each chicken.
3. Place the chickens breast-side down (important!) in a heat-resistant baking dish (ideally one that can also go on the stovetop, so you can make the sauce directly in it). The dish should fit the chickens with a few cm between them, do not crowd them. The dish should not be too large, otherwise at the end you will not have enough juices for the sauce, plus the butter can burn.
4. Roast at 200C for 15 minutes.
5. Turn the chickens over, baste with the pan juices and roast for another 30-35 minutes, still at 200C. Halfway through, baste again with the pan juices. At the end, when you pierce the thigh with a fork, clear juice should run out. They will also be very golden due to the honey.
7. Remove the chickens to a platter and loosely cover with aluminum foil.
8. Place the roasting dish on the stovetop (if the dish cannot go on the stovetop, pour the juices into a skillet) over low heat. Add the flour and stir with a whisk until the flour is absorbed into the fat. Gradually add the hot milk while stirring constantly with the whisk. You will have a creamy bechamel sauce. When it thickens, add the cream and lemon zest and bring to a boil again, continuing to stir. You will have a thinner creamy sauce. Let it simmer for a few bubbles. Add mustard, salt and black pepper to taste. Mix until smooth. If the sauce is too thick now (it should flow easily from the spoon), you can add a little more milk until you reach the desired consistency.
9. Serve the chickens immediately with the mustard sauce on the side.

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