GoKawiilAn Ivy League professor in upstate New York developed what many believe is the oldest recorded BBQ chicken recipe. CNET/Getty Images
The lineage of American barbecue is difficult to track, but it’s thought by many to include techniques and recipes pulled from Caribbean, Taino and Southern cooking traditions. The American North isn’t closely associated with BBQ, but a notable recipe developed in the early 1950s by Ivy League food science professor Robert Blake is thought to be among the first on record.
Cornell Chicken leans on a marinade of apple cider vinegar, beaten egg, vegetable oil, salt and poultry seasoning, and it was initially dreamed up to get people excited about chicken at New York state fairs. It didn’t stay confined to fairgrounds for long. The recipe traveled through handwritten notecards, church cookbooks and neighbor-to-neighbor recommendations, the same slow, word-of-mouth path that all the truly great recipes seem to take.
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It’s deceptively simple — just a handful of ingredients you may already have — but that tangy, vinegar-forward marinade is what gives you shatteringly crisp skin wrapped around chicken that stays remarkably juicy, practically every time you make it.
And here’s the best part: no grill required. This recipe works just as well in a cast-iron skillet or an air fryer, making it a genuine year-round fix for chicken dinners that have grown stale and predictable. Turns out the old, unfussy recipes still have some fight left in them.
What’s special about Cornell chicken?
Baker is a Northeast barbecue legend. Cornell.edu
Baker wrote the proverbial book on barbecue chicken, according to many, after extensive recipe testing in the 1950s. He was unhappy with the bland state of American cuisine and created this recipe to help serve tasty food en masse at large cookouts.
“Cornell chicken,” as it’s known, is beautifully simple and remains one of the most lauded chicken marinades and summer cookout recipes. You’ll find Cornell chicken served at restaurants — particularly in upstate New York, where the university is located — at family picnics, food fairs and festivals across the country.
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