Kitchenography: Cornell Chicken Barbecue Sauce

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Cornell Chicken Barbecue Sauce

For years and years I lived in a tiny house the size of a seaside cottage with no dining room and a kitchen and living room so small there was no way to put a table in either one. Alright, that's not strictly true. For awhile we had a table in the living room but then there wasn't room for anything else so the table went.

In winter anyone coming over for dinner had to sit with a dinner plate perched on their lap. Not very satisfying. But in summer we moved the show outside where there was enough room for a table, and when we cooked dinner on the grill, more often than not, this is what was served.

I have been making chicken this way since sometime in 1978 when my first husband, who grew up in Tompkins County, New York not too far away from Cornell University, introduced me to it. It's a completely delicious chicken, smoky and vinegary, and I love that this recipe only requires the most basic of ingredients, and has so few ingredients that the recipe is easily memorized.

The recipe comes from a poultry science professor at Cornell who developed it in the late 1940s in an effort to encourage chicken consumption. (It was originally published in a Cornell Cooperative Extension Program Information Bulletin which you can see here,)

This makes enough to marinate and baste 10 pounds of chicken. I'm usually cooking in smaller amounts and half everything but the egg.

Cornell Chicken Barbecue Sauce

1 cup of oil (I use canola oil)
2 cups of cider vinegar
3 tablespoons of salt
1 tablespoon of poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1 egg

1. Put everything in a blender and blend.

2. Pour the sauce over the chicken and marinate. I usually marinate a couple of hours before I start cooking but others marinate for up to 24 hours.

3. Remove the chicken and grill it, basting every 5 or 10 minutes with the sauce you marinated the chicken in.

Notes: I know nothing about gas grills but if you're grilling it over charcoal, keep the briquets on one side of the grill. Start the chicken on this side and brown on both sides, then move to the other side of the grill to finish it. Keep the cover on the grill while cooking it. I cook it until the internal temp is 165.

Chicken thighs are my favorite parts to grill. Far more forgiving, far cheaper, and far more flavor than chicken breasts.

May 31, 2010 | Permalink

Comments

So much oil and vinegar, so little seasoning. Looks unlikely, but delicious, so I'm going to give it a try!

Posted by: Lydia | May 31, 2010 at 11:16 PM

Looks and sounds great! Do you have a particular brand of poultry seasoning you prefer?

Posted by: Sweet Harvest | June 01, 2010 at 11:29 AM

Julie, this sounds like it would be so succulent and good. We don't have a grill yet, but hope to have one soon. Will have to try this recipe. I can smell it now...I can taste it!

Posted by: Tracy | June 02, 2010 at 02:36 PM

Always looking for new chicken ideas. Thanks

Posted by: The Food Hunter | June 07, 2010 at 12:42 AM

Hmm this is so yummy!! Hmmm i love chicken!!
Hehehe everybody loves chicken!!

Posted by: Sniffer | June 15, 2010 at 10:53 PM

Mmm. Looks good - I much prefer chicken thighs to chicken breast. :)

I have to ask a stupid question, though: what is poultry seasoning?

Posted by: adele | June 17, 2010 at 05:28 PM

Simple and delicious. I prefer chicken thighs as well...fat is way more flavorful!

Posted by: Jessica | July 01, 2010 at 05:26 PM

i'm looking for the perfect barbecue sauce. Thanks for sharing this. I'll try this. If you wont mind I'd love to guide Foodista readers to your post. Just add the foodista widget to the end of this post so it will appear in the Foodista pages and it's all set, Thanks!

Posted by: Christine | July 23, 2010 at 06:31 AM

What sumptuous dish. I love barbecue. In my opinion, this dish is mouth-watering and I really want to eat it now.

Posted by: contractor continuing education | September 01, 2010 at 04:59 PM

Always won over by BBQ, me. Delicious!

Posted by: Scott at Real Epicurean | September 17, 2010 at 12:08 PM

Excellent looking dish, and wonderful recipe. I'm drooling just by looking at it.

Posted by: Malinda Haithcock | September 27, 2010 at 03:34 AM

Awesome..

Posted by: Jen | October 08, 2010 at 07:29 AM

I'm drooling here. Just had my breakfast,but my stomach is growling with hunger.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th7hEvqX7CU It must have been quite a relish. Cant wait to taste this. Looks well cooked.

Posted by: Cornell Chicken | October 08, 2010 at 07:32 AM

Looks great! I've never seen an egg in bbq sauce before. Can't wait to try it!

Posted by: Rivki Locker | October 20, 2010 at 03:14 PM

I always worry when months go by without a post from you...

Posted by: Ellen F | November 09, 2010 at 08:19 PM

Do not use this recipe to marinate chicken for 24 hours unless you are a fan of saurebraten style chicken. An hour or so is probably fine but the recipe was actually developed to be used as a basting sauce on chicken grilled over open coals.

Posted by: Upstate Bill | November 14, 2010 at 09:50 AM

Any one would love to taste these stuff.

Posted by: uti treatment | December 15, 2010 at 05:21 AM

I'm wishing a prosperous 2011 to all. Happy new year!

Posted by: Micah - Dinnerware | February 01, 2011 at 04:10 AM

Eating is one of the things that I cannot resist and avoid and maybe that's the reason why I gained a lot of weight today. Eat clean diet foods is an essential for us to lose those excess weight. So now, I am trying my very best to eat clean and healthy foods. I also do some aerobics at least thrice a week to lose those ugly flabs.

Posted by: Noelle Dineen | February 08, 2011 at 04:24 AM

Some people may not be able to eat those kinds of foods but like you, I do love to eat clean and healthy dishes. Today, there are tons of junk foods that people adore, and that is also the main reason why these people got weight and eating related issues and disorders. We must educate our family to eat clean diet foods for them to be healthy and live longer also.

Posted by: Noelle Dineen | February 08, 2011 at 04:33 AM

Perfect recipe for feeding my masses! :) Thanks!
~Kristin

Posted by: LoveFeast Table | February 08, 2011 at 09:43 AM

Very delish and yummy chicken sauce... I wanna taste this soon...http://www.vivamagonline.com/index.php I should put this in "must to do" list... Keep it up..

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I am so excited to see a blog that features Baltimore and so many links to Baltimore blogs! I am also a Baltimore blogger :)
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Posted by: Jordan | April 07, 2011 at 12:04 AM

This one's fantastic! The food is so enticing. I actually want to have one. Thank you for posting the ingredients and also the steps. This made my day.

Posted by: Michelle (Healthy Snack) Hompton | May 12, 2011 at 11:38 PM

This is the best way to barbeque chicken, simply delicious, with a nice homemade potatoe salad.... I was just wondering why do you have to put an egg in it... What does the egg do? I went to a chicken barbeque hoping for cornell sauce & they just put seasoning on the chicken & grilled it. When I asked why don't you make the cornel sauce chicken, the owner said that he worried about the raw egg in it.... what's the problem? Just make the sauce, refrigerate (I marinate for 24 hrs), then grill. If anyone has an answer, I'd sure like to know the signifcance of the egg. Thanks.

Posted by: Mary Lou | July 03, 2011 at 12:44 AM

I am so excited to see a blog that features Baltimore and so many links to Baltimore blogs! I am also a Baltimore blogger :)

Posted by: penny auctions | July 18, 2011 at 03:16 AM

My first time having chicken done with this sauce was in 1959. My girlfriend drove 70 miles to pick me up and bring me back to his home town for their annual Firemans Mothers Day .

Posted by: student letting Newcastle | August 12, 2011 at 03:46 AM

That is a great point to bring up. Thanks for the post.

Posted by: cheap Polo Shirts | August 25, 2011 at 02:52 AM

I'll be damned! I started to write the tale of why this amuses me so, but will just link to a chowhound post response I wrote years back about this "secret recipe" from my Pennsylvanian hometown's Annual Fireman's 4th of July BBQ. Serendipity is what it is, to come across this here in the middle of the night and find out it originated at Cornell. Wyler's version replaces the poultry seasoning with one small onion, chopped up and whirled in the blender.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/184037

Posted by: clepro | September 04, 2011 at 04:02 AM

oh my gosh this sound so delicious. I'm going to put it in my Ninja and blend away for Sunday dinner this weekend. I'm on a health kick but this is too good to pass up. Food processors are great to blend vegetables into better tasting things.

Posted by: Mike Morewood | September 24, 2011 at 12:34 PM

This really looks fabulous. I'm going to try it out--soon, very soon.

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Looks absolutely awesome! I'm in need of a chicken recipe that is, well, different! Thank you!

Posted by: Tia G | October 29, 2011 at 09:21 PM

I'm going to put it in my Ninja and blend away for Sunday dinner this weekend

Posted by: nikexjordan | October 31, 2011 at 11:20 PM

Oh sounds absolutely delicious! Thank you!

Posted by: Discounts | November 18, 2011 at 07:37 PM

Must try this. Thank you for the recipe.

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