Cornell Barbecue Sauce for Chicken

From the New York State Fair to firehouse fundraisers, this tangy sauce has been iconic to Finger Lakes area chicken barbecues for nearly 70 years! It was developed by Dr. Robert Baker, a food science professor at Cornell University. Try it at your next big BBQ!

Prep Time: 10 minutes    Cook Time: varies

WHAT YOU NEED:

½ cup vegetable oil (eg, canola)

1 cup vinegar (apple cider vinegar or wine vinegar)

2 tsp. salt (vary amount according to taste)

1-1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning

¼ tsp. ground black pepper

1 egg

4-5 lbs. chicken pieces** (eg, legs, breasts, quarters, halves), skin on and bone in 

MAKING IT:

In a bowl, beat the egg well; add the oil and beat until very well blended.  Add remaining ingredients, beating well.

Preheat gas grill or charcoal grill and then adjust for cooking with indirect heat.  For gas grills, turn off the middle burners. For charcoal grills, move the hot coals to one side. 

Place the chicken on the grill away from the flame. Turn chicken every 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the heat from the fire. Use tongs or a long handled fork. The chicken should be basted at each turning. The basting should be light at first and heavy near the end of the cooking period. (See additional Tips for basting below)

Grill chicken for about 40 minutes total or until a food thermometer reads 165◦F when inserted into to thickest part of the breast or thigh. For crispy skin, finish grilling the chicken skin side down, directly over the flame for the last 3 to 5 minutes.  Have a water spray bottle handy to tame any flare ups.

Makes about 1-3/4 cups sauce, enough to baste 4-5 lbs. chicken pieces.

**The original recipe was intended for broiler halves, which can be obtained at many grocery stores or from a butcher. This recipe yields enough sauce for up to 5 broiler halves. Recipe may be scaled up for large barbecue events.  Each cooked broiler half serves about one adult or two children, according to Dr. Baker’s booklet. The following grilling tips are from the Cornell Cooperative Extension.

TIPS:

• DO AHEAD: Prepare the barbecue sauce ahead of time and store in the refrigerator. Take to the grill only the amount of sauce you will use to baste the chicken at the time.

• Untouched sauce can be refrigerated in a glass container for up to 2 weeks.  Never use this sauce on fully cooked chicken, as it contains raw egg.

• If you are preparing large quantities of sauce for a community organization's barbecue, you can use pasteurized eggs for an extra margin of safety. Pasteurization kills any harmful bacteria that might be in the eggs.

• Discard the portion of sauce used for basting the raw chicken. Dipping the basting brush into the sauce after brushing the raw chicken may dilute the acid (vinegar) in the sauce and contaminate it with harmful bacteria.

• Keep bacteria on raw poultry or meat from spreading to other raw or cooked food, including cooked chicken or meat. Wash your hands again after working with raw poultry or meat and before handling other kinds of foods.

• Do not partially cook chicken in the kitchen ahead of time unless you are going to put it on the grill immediately. Dangerous bacteria can sometimes grow when food is partially cooked, held for a time, then later re-cooked.

• Keep the chicken on the grill for several minutes after the last baste to be sure the sauce is well cooked. Test the doneness of the chicken using a thermometer: It should reach 165°F in the breast and thigh. If you are cooking large numbers of chicken halves, check the temperature of representative pieces in different locations on the grill.

• Transfer the chicken to a clean plate, tray, or container using clean utensils. Do not use the plate used to carry the raw chicken to the grill or the utensils used to turn raw chicken.

• Refrigerate leftover barbecued chicken, barbecue sauce, and other foods as soon as possible after the meal. Use a cooler with ice or freezer packs if you are away from home. Keep the cooler in the shade. If you cannot refrigerate or properly cool leftovers, throw them out.

  [Source for photo/recipe/tips: Cornell Information Bulletin 862, Barbecued Chicken and Other Meats by R.C. Baker, 1950; Cornell Cooperative Extension]