Does a cornish game hen have to be a Cornish?

[sydney13]

I was wondering if a Cornish game hen has to be a Cornish breed? What I'm asking is can you butcher a breed other than CornishX, young to have a game hen? Or do other breeds not have enough meat when so little?

 

[Ariel301]

You can butcher other breeds, but they technically are not Cornish game hens, as the definition of a Cornish game hen is a Cornish cross pullet butchered at around 2 pounds. I don't find birds of other breeds to be meaty enough until 5-6 months to be worth the processing, and they will never be anything like the Cornish cross birds, they don't have the same flavor, texture, or big white breast.

 

[sydney13]

So let's say I butcher some rhode island reds once they reach two pounds, would they be similar, taste and appearance wise to a Cornish game hen, or would they be small and mostly boney with no good meat?

 

[Ariel301]

They would not compare really to the Cornish. They would have less meat, especially in the breast, and a bit different flavor.

 

[donrae]

A two pound dual purpose bird is going to be mostly bone. You could give it a try, of course, but I think you'll be sorely disappointed.

 

[Bossroo]

It will be a bag of bones.

... best use would be to boil the meat off the bones and make a taco out of the meat.

Save the broth for other cooking needs or gravy.