Instant Pot: Garlic Lemon Cornish Hen

1 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon salt, divided

1/8 teaspoon black pepper, divided

2 Cornish hens

1 lemon half

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup water

In your Instant Pot:

Plug in the IP with insert set in place.

Prep the hen by removing the giblets from hens and rinsing with cold water; pat dry. Giblets can be discarded or saved later for a giblet gravy. Remove any excess skin and fat.

Place lemon in the cavity of hens and tie ends of legs together with twine. Lift wing tips up and over back; tuck under hen.

In a bowl, combine minced garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper; Rub hens with garlic mixture.

Press SAUTE on the IP and add the olive oil. When shimmering, add the Cornish hens and brown on all sides. (You may have to brown one at a time depending on size)

When hens have browned, add 1 cup of water.

Secure the lid of the IP and ensure the valve is set to SEALING.

Press MANUAL and adjust the time to 20 minutes on HIGH pressure.

The display will reflect ON while the IP comes to pressure. Allow a few minutes for your IP to come to pressure.

Once at pressure, the display will reflect 20 (the number of minutes you initially set) and will begin to countdown to 0 minutes.

When the IP beeps after pressure cooking for 20 minutes, allow your IP to naturally release pressure completely (allow several minutes for this to complete). While naturally releasing pressure (also known as NPR or NR), the display will reflect numbers counting up from 1. The numbers indicate how many minutes the IP has stopped cooking since it beeped (or how many minutes it has been naturally releasing pressure). No need to touch your IP while it naturally releases pressure. The pin at the top of your IP will drop when all pressure has been released and it's safe to open.

Open up your IP when the pin has dropped (allow a few minutes for this to happen).

Remove twine from hens and split in half to serve. Discard lemon before serving. Optional - transfer split hen to a baking sheet and crisp under broiler if desired.