Recipe: Cornell Chicken Barbecue pairs with Dry Rose or Dry Riesling

A staple in the Finger Lakes area of New York, this chicken is a vinegar-based creation of a professor at Cornell University in the late 1940s. The basting sauce, mixed with eggs and cooking oil, creates a creamy texture and tangy flavor that mates beautifully with yard birds.

Cornell Chicken Barbecue—pairs with Dry Riesling or Dry Riesling

Adapted from Dr. Baker’s Original Recipe

Serves 4-6

For the Marinade:

1 egg

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cup apple cider vinegar

3 Tablespoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons dried parsley

1 teaspoon rubbed sage

½ teaspoon dried rosemary

½ teaspoon marjoram

¼ teaspoon onion powder

2.5-3 lb. bone-in chicken pieces

 

  1. To make the marinade, whisk egg in a medium size bowl. Whisk in oil, then whisk in remaining ingredients.
  2. Put the marinade in a 1 gallon zipper bag, add chicken pieces and seal tightly. Marinate for at least 2 hours, and up to overnight.
  3. Preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Cook the chicken pieces over indirect heat* until cooked through (165 degrees F).  Turn chicken pieces every 10 minutes during cooking, basting with marinade before and after turning each time.  Have an instant-read thermometer on hand to check doneness.  Different size pieces will be finished at different times.  Cook time also depends on the temperature of your grill.

* To set up a gas grill for indirect grilling, turn the outside two burners to the “medium” or “medium-low” position, and turn the inside burner (or burners, if there are more than one) off.