Sunday, May 2, 2010
UPDATE: Cornell Chicken - Longer is Better
As promised, I used some of the leftover basting sauce from our Cornell chicken video recipe for a test batch with a longer marination. The first time I only let it soak about 1 1/2 hours, this time it went 4. The results were very delicious! I believe I like this even better, as the flavors were more pronounced. The last test will be an all-nighter. Stay tuned!
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16 comments:
Your recipe calls for "poultry seasoning" just what is poultry seasoning. Can you buy it in the super market or is it just Italian seasoning. I never see a brand of poultry seasoning in the markets
Chef John,
I made the Cornell Chicken for the second time as also let it soak longer this time. I put the marinade together at 6A: and BBQ'd at 4PM so it was about 10 hours. I also used the whole batch of marinade on 4 small roasters (3-1/2 - 4 lbs each)cut in half with the backs removed. The birds filled the surface of my Weber Genesis gas grill and I did have to move the meat around for even cooking some. After an hour of turning and basting, they were done and just terrific. I made an additional 1/2 batch of sauce for basting and it worked out perfect.
Your demonstration of using a blender I found to be much better than the first time by hand. The oil gets emulsified and incorporated much better with the blender. The poultry seasoning makes it a very aromatic baste.
Thanks Eric!
Anon. you can make you own P.S. here http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Homemade-Poultry-Seasoning-23966
But McCormick makes it and their spice are found in almost every grocery store. You should find it easily.
CJ & fellow foodies: I went full boat and marinated 24hrs then BBQ on the weber with charcoals, if this is any indicatation my wife let me sleep in the house that night so it's a keeper in my recipe book :-)
I tried the Cornell Chicken using a 24 hour marinade on a few trimmed chicken breasts. They came out fantastic, very moist. The flavor was a bit salty to me, so I think next time I'll cut down the amount of salt I throw in the marinade to two tablespoons.
I agree with Eric, the blender is the way to go, even less hassle than using a food processor.
I tried a 24 hour marinade. It worked great. I don't know if this is some sort of blasphemy or not, but I also added BBQ sauce at the end.
The results were great, the chicken was so moist that it appeared under cooked (however it was indeed done).
I would do it again, and often.
FYI: I used half the salt shown in the recipe.
I would have tried soaking about 1 1/2 hrs first like you did. So I will use your new ideas with my next attempt with this recipe (while substituting the lemon juice): http://www.meatisnotasidedish.com/mozzarella-chicken-2
Cornell Chicken with a 5 hour marinade time, grilled on a Big Green Egg: FABULOUS! Thanks!
I have done this twice so far and it really brings back memories of very yummy church barbecues where hundreds of chickens met their end. While grilling this stuff smells as delicious as it tastes.
I have used boneless chicken breasts both times, once with about a 4 hour marinade and the other with about 8 hours. While I might cut the salt just a little the longer marinade times are essential to appreciate this dish. While I might not go the full 24 hours with boneless breasts the longer marinade times are superior. I found the 4 hour marinade to be just barely adequate and no where near as tasty as the 8 hour marinade.
Amazing dish and dead simple.
Hi Chef John,
I actually just graduated from Cornell and when I heard about this from your site, I asked around town to see if anyone knew anything about it. NO ONE has heard of this before! And I couldn't even find the Baker's Chicken Coop (Shack?) at Cornell! What gives?
Here you go... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ljLZD8l6vE
I've been brineing my grilled chicken for years in a simple brine of water, kosher salt and a little sugar. I like that this brine uses poultry seasoning. The chicken was marinated for about 9 hours and I grilled it mostly by the indirect heat method on my weber. It was tender and juicy, but, even though I only used 2 tablespoons of salt instead of 3, it was still just a bit too salty for me. I'll adjust accordingly next time. By the way, even though I live in Western New York, I've never heard of Cornell Chicken. Glad to meet it's acquaintance. Thanks Chef.
Tech Titan:
Baker's Chicken Coop is at the NY State Fair in Syracuse each September. While Dr. Baker worked in Ithaca, the chicken's venue has been the State Fair since he began it in the 1940's. As a recent alum, you would not have found him at Cornell; Baker retired in 1989 and died in 2006 .
I attended and then worked at a church camp northeast of Ithaca for several years in the 70s and 80s. We would actually marinate the chicken for more than a day sometimes, depending on how busy that week was in the kitchen. But it was always a hugely popular meal! We always planned on a few extra guests on Thursdays.
Chef, can I use a dry rub with the Cornell Recipe or would that be foolish??
Thank you
I usually soak my chicken in the Cornell sauce for several days, yes days. Then I slow cook it over charcoal. It's the best I ever had. I'm doing 50 pounds of chicken leg quarters next weekend. I will but the chicken on Wed. and get it soaking!
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