Cornell Chicken, a.k.a. Fireman Chicken
Looking for a simple yet delicious summer chicken recipe? Cornell chicken, a savory grilled poultry with a delicious tang, is the answer to your barbecue dreams. This grilled chicken recipe also has an interesting origin story — it was created by Dr. Robert Baker, a Cornell University food scientist. Invented in 1950, Dr. Baker created Cornell chicken to encourage Americans to eat more chicken. Today, Cornell chicken is a cornerstone of upstate New York barbecue.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken quarters or chicken pieces of choice
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp fine sea salt
- 1 tbsp poultry seasoning
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- Cooking spray
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine mayonnaise, vegetable oil, cider vinegar, fine sea salt, poultry seasoning, ground black pepper, garlic powder and paprika. Whisk until smooth.
- Pierce chicken with a fork several times to allow marinade to really sink in. Place chicken quarters into a large airtight plastic bag or other tight fitting container. Cover with marinade. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours, maximum of 24 hours.
- Heat grill to medium-high heat. You can use either gas or charcoal, however make sure you have a long burning charcoal if you go that direction.
- Place chicken on the charcoal grill on indirect heat. Reserve marinade and continue using, basting the chicken throughout the cooking process. Cook over indirect heat for 35 minutes, turning and basting.
- At 35 minutes, transfer to direct heat to get a crispy and good char marks. At this time, stop basting. If you are using different cuts of chicken, please adjust accordingly.
- Remove from the grill and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. Discard any unused marinade.