This Cornell professor invented a barbecue chicken recipe that got the presidential seal of approval
The north-east of the U.S. is home to the legendary Cornell chicken, a recipe created by a professor who pursued poultry innovation.
Developed by a former Cornell University professor, an iconic barbecued chicken recipe has been a favorite in the United States’ north east for decades - and has even received the presidential seal of approval.
Who was the inventor of Cornell BBQ chicken?
Known as Cornell chicken, the recipe was invented in the mid-20th century by Robert Baker, a poultry science academic who spent 19 years as director of the Ithaka university’s Institute of Food Science and Marketing.
A professor who dedicated his career to “research[ing] and develop[ing] innovative ways to use poultry”, according to a Cornell profile, Baker is also best known as the creator of an early version of the chicken nugget.
A member of the American Poultry Hall of Fame, the Newark native died in 2006, aged 89.
So how do you make Cornell chicken?
Cooked in chicken halves on a coal-fired grill, Cornell chicken is made by regularly turning the halves - or “broilers” - on the barbecue as you baste the meat with Baker’s sauce.
Outlined in Baker’s publication Barbecued Chicken and Other Meats, the sauce is made up of egg, oil, apple cider vinegar, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper.
The presence of the egg is key, notes Joe Regenstein, a Cornell professor emeritus in food science who taught alongside Baker.
An eggs-tremely important ingredient
“In addition to the emulsion property, which combines the oil and vinegar, there is viscosity, which keeps the poultry seasoning floating throughout the mixture rather than clumping at the bottom," Regenstein explains to Epicurious food writer Alexis Deboschek.
Regenstein adds that the viscosity provided by the egg helps the sauce to “stay evenly on the brush”, while the ingredient’s adhesive properties ensure the sauce sticks to the chicken.
Cornell chicken: the ingredients
1 egg
1 cup of vegetable oil
2 cups of apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons of salt
1 tablespoon of poultry seasoning
½ teaspoon of pepper
Cornell chicken: cooking instructions
Cornellians, a publication for Cornell alumni, offers the following cooking instructions:
“Beat egg, then add oil and beat again. Add other ingredients and stir.
“Place broiler halves over coals after flame is gone. Turn every five to ten minutes, depending on heat. Chicken should be basted with sauce at each turning - lightly at first, then heavily near end of cooking.
“Cook about one hour. Test by pulling wing away from body: if meat splits easily and no red is visible in the joint, chicken is done.”
You’ll find recommendations for optimum barbecue design in Barbecued Chicken and Other Meats, which you can view online on the Cornell website.
“Where’s the chicken?”
Serving up his legendary broilers at his Chicken Coop food stand, Baker was a staple of Syracuse’s New York State Fair for decades.
In 1999, his stand even received a visit from then-U.S. president Bill Clinton - who, when handed a basket of New York State apples by Baker’s daughter, Reenie Sandsted, is said to have replied: “Those apples look good, but where’s the chicken?”
In an article in the Cornell Chronicle, Blaine Friedlander reveals: “Clinton didn’t leave [the Chicken Coop] without rendering his position on the Cornell barbecue recipe.
“As he got into his car to tour the rest of the fair, the president turned to Sandsted and Baker - and gave a big thumbs up.”
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