Cornell Chicken

I have just read about this style of grilled chicken, and it sounds delicious!

Has anyone made this at home, or have a good recipie to share.

This Texas girl doubts she will be able to find it served in any eateries down here.

This came straight off the first website in my Google search for "cornell chicken."

1 egg
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups cider vinegar
3 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon ground black pepper


I have used this many times and it works great. Marinate the chicken overnight, but hold back some of the recipe to baste as you cook without contaminating the cooked chicken. Grill as high as you can over coals, turning and basting frequently.

I also do this with wings and they are delicious.

Avoid the temptation to add anything to the recipe -- its simplicity is one of its charms.

I was born and raised in central New York State and this is the only kind of chicken barbeque that I ever knew. Cornell chicken can be found most any Saturday or Sunday as a fund raiser by volunteer fire departments and by church groups. One half a chicken is usually served with potato and macaroni salad and a soft dinner roll with pat of butter.

The recipe was developed by a professor at Cornell University and that is the reason for the name.

The recipe is as follows:

1 egg
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups cider vinegar
3 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

You beat the egg well and add the rest of ingredients and blend very well. I usually shake it in a quart jar. You then pour this over chicken halves and let marinade overnight. Grill the chicken over med heat and baste occasionally with the marinade.

This is absolutely delicious!

See my thread "Roadside Chicken BBQ" on page 2 of the BBQ forum. Michael had posted a great photo. There's also an interesting history to it posted there. As a Central New Yorker it is definitely a fav!

Thanks Y'all! I am going to give it a try this weekend.

a legendary dish!!....as the guy says,DON'T ADD ANYTHING!! serve w/ new potato salad,corn on the cob and you are in a wonderful place

quote:

Originally posted by Lone Star

I have just read about this style of grilled chicken, and it sounds delicious!

Did you read about it here or somewhere else?

Seems as if I posted about this in another thread, but here goes again: The sauce was developed by Cornell Poultry Science Prof. Robert C. Baker. It was part of a larger project to improve the lot of New York poultry farmers. Prior to Dr. Baker's project, most chickens were not slaugthered until they reach a "dressed weight of 4 or 5 #. These were fryers. Any bird larger than this was a roaster.

Dr. Baker reasoned that if a market could be developed for a bird with a dressed weight of 2 3/4 to 3 #, the grower could get more turns and also open up a new market for his prodduct. Thus the "broiler" with an optimum wt of 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 # per half.

You will get the best results with your chicken 1/2 cooked on racks exactly 26" above the base of the charcoal fire. I would expect that this dimension, along with the sauce recipe was the result of much trial and error in the late 1940's and early to mid 1950's.

During my years as a Cornell undergrad, I never took a course from Dr. Baker, but I did get to know him casually.

GO BIG RED

Wally
Cornell '67

Like Chezkatie, I grew up in what's known as the Southern Tier of New York and the Cornell recipe was the only BBQ chicken I ever knew, nobody cooked it any different. No red sauce allowed here. I have deviated a bit from the original recipe, I cook it most any sunday, even in the winter! Here's my take on it.

3 x-large eggs <I prefer brown eggs>
1 and a half cups vegetable oil
3 cups apple-cider vinegar
1 Tbsp salt
3 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp onion powder
2 Tbsp poultry seasoning
2 Tbsp WHITE pepper
1 Tbsp Old Bay Seasoning

Whirl the daylights outta this mixture in the blender and then introduce it to your chicken parts and let them sleep together for at least a day..then cook 'em up.
Cheers!

Actually the best resturant-version of this recipe was just reviewed by Michael. It's a place called Phil's Chicken House in West Corners, New York <just outside Endicott>. If you can get there, you'll have a fabulous Cornell Chicken dinner, and no mess.

RockyB--Your variation sounds great! I love Phil's, too. (Do you happen to know how they make their coleslaw dressing?)

No, Bobo, I don't. It's from what I hear a closely guarded secret.
Rocky

Thanks, Rocky. I guess I'll have to keep going and try to figure it out.

Recently saw an Emeril show in his usual bad tatste about BBQ.
A "winner" (they apparently had a contest - no one invited me) boiled a chicken for an hour in water and butter and then grilled it. Has anyone here tried anything like that?

I just posted a bit about NY Barbeque chicken under the Regional specialities thread. Forgot that its actually known as Cornell chicken, been away from home too long!

This is one of my all-time favorite ways to cook chicken, the family has to cook it any time I'm home (and its not too cold to grill!)

Salt potatoes are the best side dish....4 pounds of tiny new potatoes boiled in 1 pound of salt until tender. Melt one stick of butter over them and serve. The flesh is creamy and not too salty. Wonderful!

I am sooooooooooooo hungry!
Gail

I picked up two birds from Bob's BBQ in Homer NY, last night. It was good timing, they are closing for the winter after this weekend....sigh.

But the Homer Fire Department had the grills cranked and smokin this morning, so there's hope for more cornell chicken this fall!

Sounds wonderful---and salt potatos,too---got a few questions though if you experts dont mind-----1. i am assuming we are "grilling" rather then "smoking", meaning does this work as well with coals and gas? 2.i can do this outdoors with either gas or wood but with this great a distance from the heat,should i do this in a enclosure or open air,or semi enclosed? and #3 being transplanted New Englander and know alot of New Yorkers--(thats we 18 -20 yrs olds from Mass went to party back in 65-66-67)-i have a feeling this stuff was often accompineed by copius amounts of Gennie Cream Ale and wonder if i should try to find it--what do you all suggest we drink with this fine sounding bird!

quote:

what do you all suggest we drink with this fine sounding bird!

Why, tiki, as we were in college about the same time, you should remember a song composed for just such occasions: "Cold Malt Duck."

We are thankful to our upstate friends on this forum for information about "Cornell chicken". It turns out that it is just about the same as the chicken halves frequently available around the Hudson Valley at church and other organization's picnics.

We have been experimenting with it all Summer and have found that we prefer herbs like tarragon and rosemary to the basic herbs in the
real Cornell Chicken, and that the beauty of the recipe is its simplicity
and adapability. Just the marinating, in whatever blend of herbs, seems to be the secret of the success of the recipe. We also find that marinating in a brine solution with the herb mix also makes for a delicious bird.

I used RockyB's recipe (w/o Old Bay), and used fresh, not powdered garlic and onion, used rosemary flavored olive oil after seafarer john.

I had too much rosemary for my taste. I should have upped the garlic instead of using strongly rosemary flavored oil. But I got some raves.

I still have a batch of marinade. But I would rather have some original cornell next time.

Don

quote:

Originally posted by chezkatie

One half a chicken is usually served with potato and macaroni salad and a soft dinner roll with pat of butter.

The recipe was developed by a professor at Cornell University and that is the reason for the name.

The recipe is as follows:

1 egg
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups cider vinegar
3 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

You beat the egg well and add the rest of ingredients and blend very well. I usually shake it in a quart jar. You then pour this over chicken halves and let marinade overnight. Grill the chicken over med heat and baste occasionally with the marinade.

This is absolutely delicious!

With the raw egg in the marinade, how long would it keep in the refrigerator?

quote:

Originally posted by wallhd

Seems as if I posted about this in another thread, but here goes again: The sauce was developed by Cornell Poultry Science Prof. Robert C. Baker. It was part of a larger project to improve the lot of New York poultry farmers. Prior to Dr. Baker's project, most chickens were not slaugthered until they reach a "dressed weight of 4 or 5 #. These were fryers. Any bird larger than this was a roaster.

Dr. Baker reasoned that if a market could be developed for a bird with a dressed weight of 2 3/4 to 3 #, the grower could get more turns and also open up a new market for his prodduct. Thus the "broiler" with an optimum wt of 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 # per half.

You will get the best results with your chicken 1/2 cooked on racks exactly 26" above the base of the charcoal fire. I would expect that this dimension, along with the sauce recipe was the result of much trial and error in the late 1940's and early to mid 1950's.

During my years as a Cornell undergrad, I never took a course from Dr. Baker, but I did get to know him casually.

GO BIG RED

Wally
Cornell '67

I increased the ginger and garlic in the marinade to balance the rosemary, which I found too strong. Didn't cut up the chicken breast as before, but left it whole...skinless, boneless. Marinated for only 2 hours, cooked in fry pan in more reserved marinade. Delicious. I am astounded.

Don

quote:

Originally posted by WildWalker

quote:

Originally posted by chezkatie


The recipe is as follows:
1 egg
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups cider vinegar
3 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

With the raw egg in the marinade, how long would it keep in the refrigerator?

I read in the Food Code (FDA, 2001) that foods with pH below 4.6 are off the "potentially dangerous list". I'd guess the vinager's pH is below 2.0, but I don't have a pH meter handy now, so does anyone have a table of the pH of common foods including vinager?

Wild Walker
mad scientist at work in the kitchen

quote:

Originally posted by WildWalker

quote:

Originally posted by WildWalker

quote:

Originally posted by chezkatie


The recipe is as follows:
1 egg
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups cider vinegar
3 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

With the raw egg in the marinade, how long would it keep in the refrigerator?

I read in the Food Code (FDA, 2001) that foods with pH below 4.6 are off the "potentially dangerous list". I'd guess the vinager's pH is below 2.0, but I don't have a pH meter handy now, so does anyone have a table of the pH of common foods including vinager?

Wild Walker
mad scientist at work in the kitchen

Titration Junction!

Given a very accurate table it would still require a degree in chemistry to calculate the resulting pH of a recipe. If you really want to know you will need a pH meter.

Cakes

quote:

Originally posted by WildWalker

quote:

Originally posted by chezkatie

One half a chicken is usually served with potato and macaroni salad and a soft dinner roll with pat of butter.

The recipe was developed by a professor at Cornell University and that is the reason for the name.

The recipe is as follows:

1 egg
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups cider vinegar
3 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

You beat the egg well and add the rest of ingredients and blend very well. I usually shake it in a quart jar. You then pour this over chicken halves and let marinade overnight. Grill the chicken over med heat and baste occasionally with the marinade.

This is absolutely delicious!

With the raw egg in the marinade, how long would it keep in the refrigerator?

Akways thow any leftover marinade away! We never save it.

quote:

The recipe is as follows:
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups cider vinegar
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon pepper mix

Without the raw egg in the marinade, how long would the reserved marinade that had not touched the raw chicken, keep in the refrigerator?
I read in the Food Code (FDA, 2001) that foods with pH below 4.6 are off the "potentially dangerous list". I'd guess the vinager's pH is below 2.0, but I don't have a pH meter handy now, so does anyone have a table of the pH of common foods including vinager?

Wild Walker
mad scientist, with enough science degrees, at work in the kitchen

quote:

Titration Junction!
Given a very accurate table it would still require a degree in chemistry to calculate the resulting pH of a recipe.

I have the degrees, where is the table?

quote:

If you really want to know you will need a pH meter.
Cakes

You are saying food establishments need a pH meter to implement the Food Code of the FDA? I think it's easier than that.
Using my modified recipe, the pH of the marinade is very close to that of vinager of 5% acid.

WildWalker
Mad scientist at work in the kitchen.

I hit my first chicken BBQ of the season a couple of weekends ago. The Cortlandville Fire Department was out in the snow raising funds. Good chicken was had by all... Can't wait for the weather to warm up a bit, and see more some white smoke rise to the sky.

quote:

Originally posted by Cosmos

I hit my first chicken BBQ of the season a couple of weekends ago. The Cortlandville Fire Department was out in the snow raising funds. Good chicken was had by all... Can't wait for the weather to warm up a bit, and see more some white smoke rise to the sky.

I sure envy you............miss those central NY chicken BBQ's so much. Somehow, it just doesn't taste as good done on our grill in Maryland.

I intend to attempt to recreate the recipies published above on my weber this summer...we'll see if its as good. Otherwise, I'll have to build one of the concrete block monstrosities. Think my nieghbors would mind if I put one by the curb?