Cornell Chicken

Name: Cornell Chicken
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 4 h 5 min
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients: 1 cup apple cider vinegar; 1/2 cup vegetable oil; 1 large egg; 2 teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal); 1 1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning (for substitute, see Tip); 1 teaspoon black pepper; 3 1/2 to 4 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces

Recipe from Dr. Robert C. Baker

Adapted by Ali Slagle

Published Oct. 26, 2023

Cornell Chicken — David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes, plus 3 to 8 hours’ marinating
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, plus 3 to 8 hours' marinating
Rating: 4(421)
Comments: Read comments

Herbaceous, tangy, juicy and crisp-skinned, this chicken is a common grill staple at fairs, fundraisers and cookouts in central New York. The recipe was developed in the 1950s by Dr. Robert C. Baker, a professor of food and poultry science at Cornell University, as a way to get people to eat more chicken. (It’s hard to believe it now, but at the time, chickens were more valued for their eggs, not their meat.) To provide more flexibility and control, a few changes have been made to the original recipe, but the essentials remain: Marinate bone-in chicken in oil, vinegar, egg and poultry seasoning, then grill and baste with the same mixture. The egg gives the chicken a creamy coating that also keeps it from burning (much like mayonnaise). —Ali Slagle

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

1cup apple cider vinegar
½cup vegetable oil
1large egg
2teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
1½teaspoons poultry seasoning (for substitute, see Tip)
1teaspoon black pepper
3½ to 4pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
In a large bowl or reusable container, whisk together the vinegar, oil, egg, salt, poultry seasoning and black pepper until combined. Add the chicken, turn to coat, cover and refrigerate for 3 to 8 hours.
Step 2
Prepare a charcoal or gas grill for two-zone cooking over medium-high heat. (For a charcoal grill, pour the coals on one side. For a gas grill, heat all burners covered on high, then reduce one burner to medium-high and turn off the other.) Clean the grates.
Step 3
Shake any dripping marinade off the chicken, add the chicken to the cool side of the grill and cover the grill. Every 5 minutes, baste the chicken with the marinade, flip it over and cover the grill. Repeat for 20 to 25 minutes, until pieces reach about 130 degrees. If using a charcoal grill, position the vent over the chicken.
Step 4
Move the chicken to the hot side of the grill. Flip and rotate often (no need to baste) until browned, crisp and cooked through, 10 to 20 minutes. If using a gas grill, cover the grill between flips. If flareups occur, move to the cool side. (Cook times will vary depending on sizes and cuts of chicken pieces, so check that the breast is at least 155 degrees and the dark meat at least 165 degrees in the thickest parts.) Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

Tip

To make your own poultry seasoning, combine 1 ½ teaspoons dried sage, 1 teaspoon dried thyme or marjoram, and a grating of nutmeg.

Ratings

4 out of 5

421 user ratings

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Comments

Nano1 year ago

As a Cornell grad who spent many hours in Baker Hall (not sure it was named after Prof. Baker), I'd love to make this - and it sounds very tasty. But I live in a condo: no outdoor grill. Please advise me how to cook Cornell chicken in an ordinary oven.

Susan Ryhanen1 year ago

I'm from upstate NY (originally) and we made this all the time. I always use raw chicken..if you parboil you lose lots of flavor....and the marinade doesn't permeate the chicken as well. The trick is a grill on low heat..and baste every 8 minutes with the marinade. Best grilled chicken ever!!

bnorth1 year ago

Can this recipe be made successfully in a regular oven?

Grace6 days ago

I've made this often with a quarter cup of dijon for some spice and taste, no extra seasonings needed, and marinated overnight. It actually doesn't hurt the integrity of the chicken and when grilled, is crisp on the outside, juicy in the middle. I love making this in the summer.

andrsnr2 months ago

It produced moist grilled chicken meat. This is one of only a few grilled chicken recipes I've made where the skin browns nicely and doesn't stick to the grill grate. The Poultry Seasoning flavor was kind of lost in the marinade. The second time I made this, I left the Poultry Seasoning out of the marinade and sprinkled it on the chicken skin just before I grilled it. I didn't baste it this time - the skin crisped nicely and the the Poultry Seasoning added a nice flavor.

CL6 months ago

One thing I would note about this recipe is that the egg and oil amounts are essentially the ones you use to make mayo. For this reason, I prefer to do that part first using a blender or a hand blender to slowly add the oil to the egg like you would for a standard mayo recipe. Once it’s nice and emulsified and stable, then I whisk in the other ingredients. Also, if you don’t want to bother with that or don’t have a blender/hand blender (like I have from time to time at a summer rental or AirBnB or just due to laziness/wanting to get the chicken marinating sooner) just start with like a hefty cup (technically one egg and one cup of oil makes about 1.25 cups of mayo, but a heaping cup works just fine) of your favorite mayo (but not Kewpie) and whisk in the other ingredients as directed. My results have been pretty similar either way. If I have the time and the fridge space, I like to dry brine the chicken parts overnight first with salt, uncovered in the fridge on a sheet tray with a a cooling rack on top and then I just add like a pinch or two of salt to the marinade itself because the chicken is already nicely salted. You still need some salt in the marinade, but only a little if you dry brine it first.

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