cornell chicken

char buddy

fter reading a Michael and Jane Stern (Road Food) article on how great the Cornell chickens of mid-state New York are, I've decided to try one this weekend. [p]What's a Cornell chicken? Apparently, it's the precursor to the modern rotisserie chicken you get at Boston Market or any local supermaket. The original was the creation of Prof.Robert Baker in the late 1940's. "He originally devised this sauce as a way to help poultry producers sell more product. He was more or less the pioneer of the concept of a younger, lighter weight 1/2 chicken cooked over a charcoal fire on wire racks placed 26" (important distance) above the base of the fire.The sauce enhanced the flavor of the chicken and the oil aided in the cooking. Prior to this most chickens produced were larger (and thus older) with the methods of cooking either roasting whole or cutting in to various parts (i.e. breast, drumstuck, thigh, etc) for frying. The concept of the lighter bird for bbq meant a younger bird which, in turn, allowed the poultry producer to raise more flocks of birds each year, thus increasing his business."[p]"The sauce is actually very simple consisting of cider vinegar, cooking oil, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning (Bells being the preferred brand) with eggs as a binder (eggs being optional). The 1/2's are marinated prior to being placed on the racks and then are basted frequently during cooking. Each rack is tunred 5 or more times during the aprox. 60 minute cooking period. If you've never had chicken done this way, you are really missing something great!"[p]The recipe goes something like this:[p]     
1 egg
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups cider vinegar
3 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
 Directions
1 Crack the egg into a medium bowl and whsk until beaten. Slowly whisk in the oil until fully blended. Then whisk in the vinegar, salt, poultry seasoning and ground black pepper. Marinate chicken in this for 24 hours. (Note: Either set some marinade aside for basting while grilling OR boil marinade before using on the grill.)[p]
Other than the frequent basting, this looks pretty much like a butterflied chicken a la the Naked Whiz, or a beer butt chicken. [p]So here is my questions. Should I baste it every 5 times in one hour like the recipe says or just leave it alone and treat it like a regular BGE cook?[p]CB

mad max beyond eggdome

char buddy,
i love driving out to the eastern shore on a saturday during the summer and at almost every major intersection, the local fire house/elks club/etc. is grilling chicken. . .and as we drive by, w/ windows rolled up and AC on, i quickly hit the buttons to lower the windows so that wonderful aroma can come through the car. . .i think they all use a pretty similar formula to the one you describe (certainly and oil and vinager base (some may have some lemon juice, whatever). . .and they are all excellent. . .[p]for you attempt, why not do at least 2 chickens, one that you continually baste and one that you leave alone, then you'll not only know which one you prefer (and you can report your results back to us), but you will have plenty of leftovers as well. . .[p]best[p]max

Marvin

mad max beyond eggdome,
I'm all for comparisons, but in this case, I think he'll need two eggs to do it. Opening and closing the dome every 5 minutes is going to play havoc with maintaining moisture in the unbasted bird.

mad max beyond eggdome

Marvin,
you know, after writing what i wrote, i had the same thought. . .i agree with you . . ..either two eggs, or two separate cooks. . .oh well, give my buddy, charbuddy an excuse to cook a couple of nights in row, not that he needed one.. .