Cornell Chicken

Ingredients

• 3 broiler chickens, 2 1/2 pounds each, split in half
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup neutral oil
• 2 cups cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Before you cook

• Split each chicken in half through the breastbone and backbone and trim the wing tips.
• Beat the egg hard in a large bowl until it is pale and completely uniform.
• Pour in the oil in a thin stream while beating so the mixture thickens like a loose mayonnaise.
• Beat in the cider vinegar a little at a time; adding it before the oil will break the emulsion.
• Whisk in the salt, poultry seasoning, pepper and garlic powder until dissolved.
• Set aside one cup of the baste in a clean jar for the final coats and keep the rest in a bowl with a brush.
• Marinate the chicken halves in the larger portion of baste in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Steps

1. Build a bed of charcoal across the whole grill and let it burn down until covered in gray ash.
2. Take the chicken out of the marinade and let it drain for a minute.
3. Lay the halves bone side down on the grate, about 8 inches above the coals.
4. Brush the exposed skin with the baste and close the lid or leave it open if you are watching closely.
5. Turn the halves every 8 minutes, basting the side that faces up each time you turn.
6. Keep the fire moderate; if flames lick the chicken, spread the coals apart.
7. Continue this turn-and-baste rhythm for about 1 hour, using the marinade bowl only while the chicken still has cooking left.
8. Switch to the clean reserved baste for the final two coats.
9. Check the thigh with a thermometer and pull the chicken at 175 degrees Fahrenheit.
10. Rest the halves on a platter for 10 minutes and serve with salt potatoes.