Cornell Chicken Question

[Hugh]

First let me say - this makes a great chicken. Question though. Meathead suggests basting the chicken in his Cornell Chicken recipe. When it came time to baste I realized I didn't want to baste with the marinade the chicken had been in since it had been with raw meat. For my next cook, am I supposed to set some aside before hand or do you baste with the used marinade?

Thanks, Hugh

[RonB]

You need to use fresh for safety. I have wondered how long it would take for the used marinade to be safe if applied as a baste later in the cook. At 350* the marinade should be safe - at some point. I will let someone else do the experiment out of the kindness of my heart.

[Huskee]

Yeah, always reserve just a little for basting later to be safe. If you're cooking hot at 325+ it wouldn't take long to pasteurize it, but how long exactly? I don't know. Meathead recommends 225 for this recipe, so it'll take longer, plus you stop basting at 150 or so, so it'll be in the heat a lot longer until it's done. You'd probably be ok using the used marinade considering these factors...but, it's cheap and easy to make I'd rather just mix up a little more to eliminate an "oops".

[Nuke em]

In meatheads article a couple of steps that he mentions that are very important
About the marinade. It is very close to a mayonnaise, so you can store the sauce in the fridge for a few days, even though there is raw egg, because the vinegar, salt, and cold will prevent salmonella from multiplying. Cooking it to 165°F, of course makes it perfectly safe. You can cut the recipe in half by discarding half the egg after whisking it.

also this step do not forget

Then move them over the hot direct heat side of the grill, skin side down, lift the lid, and crisp the skin without burning it for 10 to 15 minutes. Flip and heat for about 5 minutes more. This step is important to finish the cooking of the meat, crisp the skins, and make sure everything is sterile since raw egg can contain salmonella. When the skin is crisp and the temp is 165°F, take the meat off. Even if it is a bit red in there when you cut in, it is safe at 165°F.

so it’s a two step protection. The meat temp is 165 and then seared. That will kill those nasty buggers. I usually do my last mop at 145 then take it up. Haven’t had a problem yet. And I cook a lot of his Cornell Chicken. In fact I will only be doing 15 quarters along with pulled pork and 3in thick chuckles for a horse shoe tournament awards dinner on Saturday. I Will be feeding about 40 people. I have the upmost confidence in doing the Cornell Chicken meatheads way. It is a tried and true experience
also I did some at a neighbors house 2 weeks ago and one neighbor said that is was the best chicken that he ever tasted. So I amped it up another by giving him some of the white Alabama sauce. He tasted it then retracted that statement and said that the chicken with the white sauce was even better.

[Hugh]

Thanks guys. I've been cooking Meatheads Alabama recipe as well. It is finger lickin good for sure. I needed to expand my repetoire and will be doing the cornel chicken again. When reading the recipe, I thought they would be similar but they are quite different.