# Fireman's Chicken



## pops6927 (Apr 24, 2010)

When my dad had his store in our little town, our Volunteer Fire Department would have their annual Fireman's Field Days in August.  There were rides and games and beer of course; plus they'd have a big pit Chicken BBQ every year.  Dad would get in the chickens and split them for the department and we'd separate the left halves in one 55 gal. drum and the right halves in another.  They'd come in and make up their 'secret Fireman's Field Days brining formula' by the gallon full and dump it into the brining barrels and let soak for 3 days.  I broke it down to it's smallest components one year and it goes something like this:

1 cup vegetable oil
¼ cup white vinegar
4 eggs
1 tsp poultry seasoning
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper

That's the basic recipe.  You can jazz it up with other things too; sometimes I add some Italian seasoning or just oregano, plus always toss in some parsley for color.

You can marinade for an hour or overnight, take out and put on a hot grill.  You'll get flaming, have some water nearby.  Turn then baste, letting the egg congeal before turning again.  You'll build up a crust on the chicken with the basting.  Cook until 160° in the thickest part (or higher, whatever your preference).  

The firemen would build a pit with interlocking sides about 3' high and a bed of charcoal about 4' wide and 12' long.  They'd use large 4'x4' wire mesh hinged double grates with long bars on each end so they could open the grate, lay down the chicken halves, close up and lay across the pit, then one fireman on each side could flip the entire thing to cook the other side.  The juices and marinade would drip down into the coals, emanating the most wonderful aroma you could smell throughout the entire town; you knew it was field days time!

Try it, you'll like it!


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## cajunsmoke13 (Apr 24, 2010)

Thanks Pops...that sounds good.  Need to try that.


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## Bearcarver (Apr 24, 2010)

C'mon Pops,
Some of us aren't smart enough to know why you put the lefties in one barrel, and the righties in another barrel. Are you gonna just leave us hanging here???
Is it because they fit on your racks better that way, or what ??????????

Did you leave the reason out, to set us up???
 Well you caught one, so spit it out !!!

Bearcarver


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## Bearcarver (Apr 24, 2010)

I'm bumping this to get an answer.
I know curiosity killed the cat, but hopefully I still have a few lives left.
	

	
	
		
		



		
			







Bearcarver


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## bmudd14474 (Apr 24, 2010)

I know some think that one side is more tender than the other because one side was use harder than the other. 

They could of done this so that they could maximize the grill surface. With the same side pieces they can get them in there in a tighter formation. 


I too am curious as to why they did this.


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## badfrog (Apr 24, 2010)

Chickens typically are "right handed". because of this, the right side of the chicken is often a bit larger, but also not quite as tender as the left side. by separating them, you can perfect the cooking time for each...

REALLY???!!!! just kidding! I have no idea! guessing it has to do with grill organization... did I have any one going on that???


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## mballi3011 (Apr 24, 2010)

OK you have really sparked my interest on this one for I'm going to the Internet and then the books and I'll find out if this is true/false or a good trick to get folks to eat allot of chicken parts. 
Does the right half taste better for 2.00 
Does the left side tasted better for 2.50


?????  GO FIGURE  ???????


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## pops6927 (Apr 25, 2010)

Yes, it's to maximize the usage of the grills to have as much chicken on each as possible; opposite sides use too much room.  You can reverse each like half to utilize maximum grilling space, fitting as many on each grill as possible.  Sorry about that!  Plus, it was easier cutting them in half, throwing one one way and the other the other way into two separate barrels.  We had to split 30 cases of 20 each or more, 2¾-3lb birds, removing all giblet packages first and tossing them into bone buckets to throw out (nobody wanted that much livers or gizzards!).


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## meateater (Apr 25, 2010)

The left and right thing doesn't interest me as much as eggs in a brine. Curious mind's need to know.


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## fritz (Apr 25, 2010)

Here is the low down on this recipe. I grew up eating this stuff and its out of this world....Cornell chicken.

http://www.roadsidefans.com/chicken.html


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## Bearcarver (Apr 25, 2010)

Thanks Pops,
I guessed right.
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Now I can finally sleep----Just kidding!


Bearcarver


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## pops6927 (Apr 25, 2010)

Wow, never knew of it's history, that's great! I just know come Field Days time our mouths would water for the chicken, the aroma would envelope the town (only 500 people) and I knew someday I'd move away and had to find out their recipe so I could recreate it. One house we moved into, the first thing we set up on the back porch was the gas grill as the stove wasn't hooked up yet. I'd done up a huge batch of fireman chicken at the old place and brought it with us, planning on several meals from it and proceeded to start cooking some of it up. Of course with all the oil and stuff great billows of smokey delight poured out of the gas grill.... our new neighbors thought the house was on fire and called the local fire department. They came running down the driveway to the back of the house, hose in hand, but were laughing, "We didn't think that smelled like a house fire!" and I had them and the neighbors all over for chicken that night, cooking up the entire batch!


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## crown225 (Apr 30, 2010)

do you brush this on during the cooking or just marinate it overnite


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## pops6927 (Apr 30, 2010)

Both - marinade, then after putting on grill you flip, brush, then wait and cook, flip, brush, wait, etc. allowing the egg to congeal. Don't brush then immediately flip.
This is also great on country style ribs, too.


*Spiedies*
Another variation on this is called 'spiedies'. You use an oil/vinegar base without the egg and add Italian spices, salt, pepper, garlic, etc. You cut up boneless pork butt into ½" chunks and marinade 3 days, then grill on a small-hole grill plate, turning and cooking, brushing with the marinade as it cooks, then serve into sub rolls, adding choice of condiments (chopped onions, mustard, garlic, parmesean, etc.). Real big in Binghampton, NY., they have 'spiedie shops' in the city.


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## walle (Apr 30, 2010)

Thanks Fritz... I was just going for my recipe book as the "egg/oil/vinegar" had me thinking Cornell...

Buddy of mine talked me into doing chicken thighs for the company bbq this way a couple of years ago.. people when crazy over it.

Great story, Pops - thanks for sharing.


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## crown225 (May 1, 2010)

So if I wanted to try this on 4 hind quarters how much marinade would you make 

can I just cut this recipe in half

1 cup vegetable oil
¼ cup white vinegar
4 eggs
1 tsp poultry seasoning
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper


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## pops6927 (May 1, 2010)

for 4 leg quarters I'd use what's there myself. Sure, you'll throw some out, but it's enough to cover it too. Cut into your leg quarters at the knee joint half-separating the drum from the thigh to let blood in the joint out before cooking too for better appearance, and you can break the hipbone joint too for the same reason, separating the hip from the socket.  Makes it easier to carve when hot.


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## crown225 (May 1, 2010)

Thanks for the info and help


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## pops6927 (Sep 23, 2011)

This is from a Facebook post of a friend of ours, Scott MacPherson, where he's at a chicken BBQ at a Fireman's Field Day; snagged the photo to show what these were like!


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## jrod62 (Sep 23, 2011)

Going to give this a try. Soon. Real soon :grilling_smilie:


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## michael ark (Sep 23, 2011)

Sounds great pops


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## slownlow (Sep 30, 2011)

Nice story thanks for sharing.  thanks for the recipe too.


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## billyj571 (Oct 1, 2011)

Adding that to list of tado's


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## roller (Dec 13, 2011)

This is very interesting...I will give this a try as soon as I get back from Ca. after the 1st...This is the kinda stuff I like...its not just cooking it has history and a nice black iron pot of beans to go with it....no fancy grill, open wood coals...


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## victorytea (May 30, 2012)

I have been grilling chicken with Cornell sauce for years- the sauce was developed by a professor at Cornell University. I have found that brining is counterproductive, rather I grill the chicken half until there is noticeable moisture coming out of it AND THEN start saucing them generously and often. I believe that by this process you are making room for the delectable sauce to penetrate the chicken. I test for doneness by picking up the half  with a pair of gloves and twisting the leg- the leg should turn very easily and it's done. Great chicken and very common here in New York. Paul


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## pops6927 (May 31, 2012)

Yes!  I know right where you're located, been through there many many times, mother-in-law lived in Wolcott for many years and used to drive down to see her from Watertown.  Also used to play in a country band in Red Creek too; this was back in the 70's, can't remember the place we played in, tho.


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## victorytea (May 31, 2012)

Was it Wells Fargo- I was drinking heavy in the 70's- maybe I know you. Paul


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## fpnmf (May 31, 2012)

Hahahahaha  I remember a bar in Baldwinsville called the Riverside..It was at the lock..from there we would ride out to Fulton and drink .25 beers at some hole in the wall.


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