In 1946, Robert Baker, a University of Pennsylvania master’s degree student with an undergraduate degree in pomology, created something unusual to serve at a dinner for the state’s governor. Baker, whose goal in life was to encourage people to eat more chicken, devised a tomato-free marinade with which to baste chicken parts as they cooked over charcoal. The dish was much loved by all in attendance, and when Baker moved to Cornell University in 1957, he took the recipe with him. As Cornell chicken, served at Baker’s Chicken Coop booth at the annual New York State Fair in Syracuse, it was a hit for over five decades. Long a favorite of backyard barbecuists throughout New York’s Southern Tier, Cornell chicken’s primary role is as picnic food at fund-raisers, political rallies, and church suppers. Slow-cooked over charcoal, the chicken comes off the grill with a gold glaze and plush meat.
Cornell chicken was just one of Dr. Baker’s creations. He also invented chicken nuggets and turkey hot dogs. Known as the “Edison of the Poultry Industry,” he got America’s cooks to think of chicken in terms of its parts rather than as whole birds, and he was inducted into the American Poultry Hall of Fame in 2004, two years prior to his death. Before the memorial service in his hometown of Lansing, New York, the Methodist church hosted a Cornell chicken barbecue.
Cornell chicken is picnic food.
Cornell Chicken
1 large egg
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups cider vinegar
3 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon pepper
1 chicken, disjointed
1. Beat the egg well in a medium-size bowl. Whisk in all the remaining ingredients, except chicken. Set aside a cup of the sauce to use for basting the chicken as it cooks.
2. Place washed and patted-dry chicken parts in a shallow dish and coat them with the remaining sauce. Cover the dish and refrigerate the chicken for 24 hours.
3. Grill the chicken over a charcoal fire, basting frequently.