Mason-Dixon Recipes
#1016371 added September 2, 2021 at 12:04am
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Cornell Chicken Marinade
The American poultry industry had made it possible to grow a fine-looking fryer in record time and sell it at a reasonable price, but no one mentioned that the result usually tasted like the stuffing inside of a teddy bear.

         — Julia Child

With some of today's hormone-fed chicken, its almost impossible to get good tasting chicken without marinating it. A marinade usually consists of a cooking oil, an acid (vinegar, lemon juice, wine), and spices. It's the acid that causes poultry tissue to break down—tenderizing it—but it's the oil and spices that impart flavors to the chicken. Beyond tenderizing, though, breaking down meat tissue causes the poultry to hold more liquid, making it juicier. However, too much vinegar or hot sauce called for in some marinade recipes can have the opposite effect, causing the meat to be stringy and tough.

One of the best chicken marinades was developed by Dr. Robert C. Baker, a poultry science and food science professor, while he worked for Penn State University. However, it wasn't until he joined the faculty of Cornell University, with the goal of promoting New York State's poultry industry, that his recipe became such a success. It's the unofficial food of the New York State Fair that occurs every year in Syracuse, even drawing the attention of President Clinton when he visited in 1999. Baker's recipe has even been labelled "State Fair Chicken."

INGREDIENTS

1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tsp coarse salt
2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp plack pepper, freshly ground


DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, whisk the egg. Add the oil and whisk until the mixture gets thick, homogenous, and a bright yellow—approximately 2 minutes. Whisk in the vinegar, salt, poultry seasoning, and pepper.

Always refrigerate until ready to use because of bacteria in eggs. The sauce is high in acid which kills any bacterial that might be present in the eggs, but it's always wise to refrigerate it to reduce any worry about bacterial content.

In a large resealable plastic bag, place the chicken pieces of your choice. Pour the prepared sauce over the chicken and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours (the longer you marinate, the better).

To grill chicken, place prepared chicken onto a hot grill and cover with lid. Slow cook chicken over medium heat, basting every 5-10 minutes with barbecue sauce and turning several times during barbecuing—approximately 20 to 25 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers an internal temperature of 165ºF.

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