{"id":23266,"date":"2023-06-28T13:32:23","date_gmt":"2023-06-28T17:32:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=23266"},"modified":"2024-05-17T12:26:02","modified_gmt":"2024-05-17T16:26:02","slug":"baker-chicken","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/baker-chicken\/","title":{"rendered":"A Staple of Upstate BBQs, \u2018Cornell Chicken\u2019 is a Grilling Tradition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With summer in full swing, we offer an homage to the beloved recipe by Robert Baker \u201943\u2014plus a tofu version for vegetarians!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Joe Wilensky<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just outside Ithaca, the smoke and steam of a community barbecue wafts through the air on a late June weekend, as rows of chicken halves sizzle on a vast, coal-fired grill. After an hour of meticulous basting and turning, the crisply prepared halves\u2014a.k.a. \u201cbroilers\u201d\u2014are tucked into takeout boxes, accompanied by a dollop of baked beans and a scoop of buttery salt potatoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The barbecue is a fundraiser for the Savage Club of Ithaca, a musical group with longstanding Big Red ties. And like so many such events during an Upstate New York summer, it features a local delicacy that has fans nationwide: the famous Cornell Chicken, devised by the late Robert Baker \u201943<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Feeding hundreds of chicken lovers in 1952. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A professor of food and poultry science on the Hill for three decades, Baker\u2014who passed away in 2006 at the age of 84\u2014created and popularized the sauce and cooking method, which involves regular turning and basting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with family members, he ran one of the most legendary eateries at the annual New York State Fair\u2014Baker\u2019s Chicken Coop\u2014serving untold thousands of broilers to generations of hungry crowds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Among the many dignitaries that stopped by over the years: President Bill Clinton<\/a>, along with wife Hillary and daughter Chelsea.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With family members, Baker ran one of the most legendary eateries at the annual New York State Fair: Baker\u2019s Chicken Coop.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Baker, who held a master\u2019s from Penn State and a doctorate from Purdue, designed a bevy of products in his food lab in the basement of CALS\u2019 Bruckner Hall\u2014from \u201cturkey ham\u201d to a sliceable roll of hard-boiled eggs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But he was particularly devoted to chicken, as well as to supporting the livelihoods of New York State poultry farmers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the mid-1900s, though, that particular poultry badly needed a glow-up: after being deprived of other meats due to wartime rationing, Americans had tired of chicken and the few preparation methods for it then in popular use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The (Cornell) Chicken Dance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\"Baker\u2019s
The former Baker\u2019s Chicken Coop at the state fair. (Rick Moriarty \/ syracuse.com)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Baker
Baker (right) and a fellow grill master.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"President
Baker (far left) with the Clintons at the state fair. (Mike Okoniewski \/ Empire Expo Center)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Robert
\u201cBarbecue Bob.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Roasters
Turning the birds is key. (Joe Wilensky \/ Cornell University)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Bob
With students in his lab.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
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Baker\u2014who\u2019d go on to be enshrined in the American Poultry Hall of Fame\u2014developed chicken hot dogs and an early version of the chicken nugget. In a 1984 story about his role in transforming the industry, the New York Times<\/em> called him \u201csomething of a chicken Edison.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it was the sauce recipe that would become his greatest legacy\u2014as evinced by his nickname, \u201cBarbecue Bob.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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