Cornell Chicken

Robert Baker was a food scientist at Cornell University.  He is most famous for inventing the chicken nugget, and his second best-known invention is Cornell Chicken, a grilled chicken with a simple but somewhat unusual marinade.  There are many variations of Cornell Chicken.  I started with one in Saveur: The New Classics Cookbook, which was not specific about how much salt include in the marinade.  I used 1 tsp., but I think I will use more the next time.

3 lbs. skin on bone in chicken legs, thighs, or drumsticks

2 cups apple cider vinegar

1 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp. poultry seasoning

1 egg

1 tsp. salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Put the vinegar, oil, poultry seasoning, egg, salt and pepper in a blender and blend until smooth.  (The egg helps emulsify the marinade so the oil and vinegar will not separate.)

Pour half of the marinade into a gallon Ziplock baggie with the chicken.  Flip and massage the bag so that all the surfaces of the chicken are coated in the marinade.  Put in the refrigerator to marinate for 2 hours.  Reserve the other half of the marinade, which will be used to baste the chicken.

Start a barbeque grill.  Remove the chicken from the baggie and pat it dry with paper towels.  Grill the chicken, basting it frequently with the reserved marinade.  Cook until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees, about 30 minutes. 

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