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If you like grilled chicken with golden crispy skin, say "thank you, to Bob Baker."
Baker was a professor of food science at Cornell University and I once had the honor of meeting him when my wife was a microbiology PhD candidate at Cornell and I taught part time there. A specialist in poultry, he helped invent such oddities as chicken nuggets, turkey ham, and poultry hot dogs. But in picturesque Ithaca, NY, where Cornell is located, about six hours from Manhattan, he is best remembered for Cornell Chicken, and there is nothing odd or artificial about his recipe. In fact, the recipe has become so popular it is served all across Western New York.
I lived in Ithaca for 18 years and fell in love with this recipe in a hurry. Every fund-raiser, every fire department cookout, every little league barbecue, must serve this recipe or nobody would come. Even though Baker died in 2006, his family continues to operate Baker's Chicken Shack at the New York State Fair in Syracuse.
Cornell Chicken is often served with Syracuse Salt Potatoes, small white local potatoes boiled in salty water. The area is also a major cabbage producer, so my recipe for Waldorf Slaw is another natural NY themed side. Wash it all down with a white wine from the Finger Lakes. Riesling is the strong suit there. End the feast with Concord Grape Pie a unique invention from nearby Canandaigua Lake topped with a scoop of ice cream from Cornell's Ag School's Dairy Bar where they students are taught to make it properly. I'll have the world's best butter pecan, please.
Ingredients
1 egg
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups cider vinegar
1 tablespoon table salt
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning (click for recipe)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 broiler chickens cut into quarters
About quartering the bird. The original recipe calls for cutting the birds in half, but I think it is better to quarter them since the breast and thighs cook at different rates, with the breasts being thicker, but less forgiving. You can overcook thighs and drums a bit and still have moist meat, but not breasts.
About the sauce. It is very close to a mayonnaise, so you can store the sauce in the fridge for a couple of weeks, even though there is raw egg, because the vinegar, salt, and cold will prevent salmonella from multiplying. Cooking, of course makes it perfectly safe. You can cut the recipe in half by discarding half the egg after whisking it.
About the salt. I found Dr. Baker's original recipe just a bit salty at 3 tablespoons, so I cut it back to 1 tablespoon.
Do this
1) In a large bowl, whisk the egg white and yolk together with a balloon whisk or a hand mixer. Add the oil and whisk until it gets thick, homogenous, and a bright yellow, for about 2 minutes. A balloon whisk is the best tool for this job since the wire strands really do a good job or emulsifying (mixing together) the two ingredients, one oil based, the other water. Now whisk in the vinegar, salt, seasoning, and pepper.
2) Stab the chicken skin several times with a fork or knife so the marinade can get in and so fat can get out when cooking. This will help make the skin crispy. Marinate the chicken for 3 to 24 hours in zipper bags. You can do this in a bowl or pan, but you need more marinade than if you use zipper bags. Every hour or so, turn the meat a bit so all surfaces get well coated.
3) Set up the grill for 2-zone indirect cooking. This is an important technique. Click the link if you are not familiar with 2-zone grilling. Place the chicken over the indirect zone and close the lid. Every 5-10 minutes baste, turn the chickens on both sides, and move the ones closer to the heat away and the ones away closer.
4) Cooking about 30 to 45 minutes until the internal temperature of each part is 150F and stop basting. Then move them over the hot direct heat side of the grill, skin side down, and crisp the skin without burning it for 10-15 minutes. Flip and heat for about 5 minutes more. This step is important to finish cooking, crisp the skins, and make sure the meat is sterile since raw egg can contain salmonella. When the skin is crisp and the joint temp is at least 165F, take the meat off. For the dark meat stick the probe of a good instant read thermometer in the joint between the drumstick and thigh. That's the place that takes longest to cook. Even if it is a bit red in there when you cut in, it is safe at 165F according to USDA. I strongly recommend you use one of the fine new digital thermocouple thermometers available nowadays to make sure your poultry and other foods are cooked properly for taste and safety.
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The tasting bore out the reputation, though. It's like chicken that was raised eating nothing but bacon. Just heavenly. Once again Meathead Goldwyn has led me down a righteous path. Keep the recipes coming and thank you, thank you, a thousand times thank you.
How nice.
casa-giardino.blogspot.com
If they keep making funny commercials like that, I might look at them occasionally :).
Ho hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz,,,,,,,,,,,!
looking forward to it.
would you consider writting some articles for the people in this situation?
thanks,
freddy.
Spiedies were originally made with lamb, but other meats work well too. Pork, especially loin or from a whole pork shoulder, works really well too. The key is giving the marinade sufficient time to really work it's flavor and tenderizing from the acids in it [vinegar, lemon if used too] to do their magic. When I make them, I give it a minimum of 8 hours for the "denaturing" to come to full effect.
I must fire up the grill this weekend. I can't stop drooling.
http://amazingribs.com/recipes/chicken_turkey_duck/big_bob_gibsons_white_sauce.html
I think the only thing the white sauce doesn't go well with is ice cream.
I will try this recipe and I like the tip about crisping the skin.
http://www.amazingribs.com/BBQ_buyers_guide/thermometer_buying_guide.html
"ANYTIME IS DINNER TIME!"
This chicken sounds delicious. I'm brining a chicken for roasting now but will give this recipe a try in the near future. For those below who lament commercial chickens, I'm using beautiful, pasture-raised chickens that simply could not be happier until that one bad day.
I lived in and nearby Ithaca from early childhood until my mid-30's [specifically in Ithaca for a while, but mostly in and around Binghamton]. My elder sister lived in Ithaca for a number of years and her late husband taught at Cornell in the Geology Department.
Having thus had the chance to avail myself of the Cornell Chicken [and done so a number of times], I know it to be absolutely scrumptious!
Being that I have lived most of my life in the Finger Lakes region, I am also familiar with the wineries there - they were and still are a national treasure. A particular favorite of mine is the "Bully Hill" winery at the southern end of Lake Keuka, but a winery tour and tasting was a trip worth making. It is one that I suggest to anyone coming to New York State, as is the berry farms and bakeries, restaurants and so on.
Since I first saw you on this blog, I have had a great deal of fun reading your posts. The descriptions and photos you provide have been reminders of some of the food adventures I have had my whole life long, and you know how the smells and flavors of food work on the memory - it's a trip back in time almost.
Thank you for your fantastic contributions, "Meat" [if you will grant me the poetic license?]. Your blog is priceless to me!