When I make Cornish hens I stuff them with prepared Near East long grain and wild rice, and wrap them in aluminum foil. After about an hour I open the foil and coat the hens with either apricot all fruit spread, or jalapeño jelly, then put them back in the oven for about 15 minutes, but they never get brown.

My wife and I do not care if they have browned, because we know they are fully cooked. But, I am planning to serve them to guests, and need to know what I am doing that causes them to not brown.

Thanks,

Unwrap the aluminum foil for the last 15 minutes of the hour, before putting on the apricot all fruit spread or jalapeño jelly.

I have only fixed cornish game hens once. They were the messiest thing I ever tried to eat. My husband looked like a Neanderthal trying to eat his.

I guess I neglected to state that I do open the foil to coat the birds, and then return them to the oven with the foil open.

Thanks,

Try opening the foil for 15 minutes to allow them to brown before coating them.

You didn't mention your oven temp, but as a first step, I would ditch the foil. I've never wrapped in foil, and they brown nicely.

Oven temp 350.

I wrap them in foil so that I do not have to sew them up after I stuff them. This time I am making six, so I do not want to have to sew up six birds.

OK, now I have a grasp of your situation. I applaude your choice of stuffing. 350 -375 deg sounds normal. If it was me; I'd rub the breast and legs with butter, season with a little kosher salt, ground pepper, and some paprika. I'd abandon the foil, and watch them closely. If they appear to brown more than to your liking, you could loosely tent with foil at that point. Frankly, I don't believe that will be necessary. You may even be able to cut your oven time by 15 minutes or so. I don't believe that sewing them is critical, particularly if you can serve some rice mix on the side. I would not tolerate un-browned skin. In addition to being visually unappealling, it would not be crisp. That is the whole deal right?
Good luck; I hope this helps.

Just use a few toothpicks to close them.

I love Cornish game hens. I have never covered them with foil either. They cook so quickly that the skin would never brown. I use the metal skewers that you get for turkeys. The kind you get with the string. One skewer per hen will truss them nicely and they slide right out when done.

Thanks all.