Cornell-Style Chicken

If you happen to find yourself in central New York between Memorial Day and Labor Day, there’s a high probability you’ll encounter Cornell-style chicken. This regional specialty is served at every fair, fundraiser, and cookout between the Finger Lakes and the Hudson Valley. You’ll know it by the distinct scent of grilled chicken that wafts through the air, perfuming a good quarter mile in all directions.

This summer staple comes by way of Robert Baker, PhD, a Cornell professor who was tasked with creating a recipe to incentivize people to eat more chicken. At the time, the chickens on the market were primarily used as egg producers, and so the meat was tough and lean. With this recipe, originally published in 1950 in a bulletin titled “Barbecued Chicken and Other Meats,” the chicken became succulent. The apple cider vinegar–based marinade does a couple of things here. First, it tenderizes the meat. The egg-enriched mixture also adheres to the chicken during the grilling and basting process, ensuring flavor on the outside as well as the inside.

Here, I’ve made a few tweaks to Dr. Baker’s original recipe to impart even more flavor into every piece of chicken. Cornell chicken is really meant to feed a crowd, so this recipe can be easily doubled, or even tripled, for summer grilling season. While this method really begs to be made on the grill, thanks to the nature of turning and basting, I’ve included instructions to make an oven-cooked version. Just note that the smokiness and char from the grill is part of the allure.