Ingredients
40 cloves garlic, peeled, large cloves halved
13 sprigs fresh oregano
1 large yellow onion, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch half moons
1 rib celery, cut into 1/4-inch crescents
2 dried bay leaves
3 Cornish game hens
3 lemons, cut into quarters lengthwise
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 to 1 cup homemade or low-sodium canned chicken stock, skimmed of fat
1 1/2 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted
Preparation
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cut 6 garlic cloves crosswise into very thin slices. Set aside in a small bowl. In another small bowl, set aside 12 cloves. Pick leaves from 3 or 4 sprigs oregano, and set aside in a small bowl. Set aside 3 sprigs oregano. Place remaining garlic cloves and oregano, onion, celery, and bay leaves in the bottom of a medium nonstick roasting pan.
With your finger, gently loosen the skin on the breast of the hens. Gently slide a few garlic slices and a few oregano leaves under the skin in a single layer. Place 4 garlic cloves, 1 sprig oregano, and 2 lemon wedges in the cavity of each hen; set aside remaining lemon wedges.
Tie each hen’s legs together with kitchen twine. Tuck wings under breast; place hens in pan over the garlic mixture.
Add wine and 1/2 cup chicken stock to pan. Brush the skin with melted butter; transfer pan to oven.
Cook, basting occasionally and adding more chicken stock to pan if dry, until golden brown and internal temperature reaches 165 degrees when measured with a meat thermometer, 45 to 60 minutes. Remove hens from pan, and set aside on a board to rest 5 minutes before serving with reserved lemon wedges.
