From 1776 to 1956

Revolutionary War Re Enactment. Photo by Lee Wright

While looking for American Revolution pictures, I found this one of re-enactment soldier frying chicken over a campfire.  It reminded me that one of my family’s all-time favorite recipes–for marinated grilled chicken– has become a vintage recipe, even though I did not inherit it from a long-ago ancestor.

Big Boy Barbeque Book 1956 cookbook

Big Boy Barbecue Book (1956)

My recipe for Marinated Grilled Chicken comes straight from a spiral-bound cookbook that I got when we purchased our first charcoal grill in the 1960s.  The book, published in 1956, Big Boy Barbecue Book, touts the Big Boy brand of barbecues and Kingsford Charcoal.

Don’t you love the back cover picture of a typical American family? And of course DAD is the one grilling, because as the blurbs touting the advantages of backyard barbecues says:

“Husbands become the experts and do the barbecuing.  Wives take it easy.  All they have to do is make the salad and dessert.  The kitchen stays clean.  The house remains neat. There is almost no washup afterwards.”

In fact a cartoon shows the history of cooking from caveman to modern man grilling.

History of Cooking, a Collier magazine cartoon printed in the Big Boy Barbecue Book

Grilled chicken marinade ingredients

I like this recipe for grilled chicken so much that I still make it according to the directions in the Big Boy Barbecue Book (original price tag $1.00).  I may sometimes use cider vinegar instead of wine vinegar, and fresh parsley instead of dried, and I definitely don’t follow their suggestion to reuse the marinade (see note.)

You can tell by the condition of the recipe’s page in the cookbook, that I have used it (and dripped soy sauce on it) frequently.

Big Boy Barbecue Book, Marinade Recipe

Marinated Grilled Chicken

Print recipe

• Print with main photo
• Print text only

Prep time	10 minutes
Cook time	30 minutes
Total time	40 minutes
Dietary	Diabetic, Gluten Free
Meal type	Main Dish
Misc	Freezable, Pre-preparable, Serve Hot
From book	Big Boy Barbecue Book, spiral bound (1956)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup salad oil
• 3/4 cups soy sauce (I use low sodium)
• 1/4 cup Worchestershire Sauce
• 2 tablespoons dry mustard
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon pepper (freshly ground)
• 1/2 cup wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed ((Optional))
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

Directions

Making Marinade
1.	In 9 x 13 pyrex pan, mix all marinade ingredients, [being sure to break up clumps of dry mustard].
Marinating chicken
2.	Place chicken breasts in marinade. Place pan in refrigerator.
Marinating chicken
3.	After an hour, turn breasts over. [Can leave to soak, turning occasionally for 2-6 hours.]
Grilling chicken
4.	Drain each breast, place on hot grill fire for 10-15 minutes per side, depending on size of breast.

Note

The Big Boy book says "Marinade can be drained from steaks or chops for a second use", however I would not recommend doing that. Our knowledge of cross-contamination of meats is more developed than it was when this recipe booklet was printed. Especially DO NOT use marinade that has been used for one kind of meat for a different kind.
You can, however store the marinade before use in the refrigerator for a week, or freeze it for several months.

This vintage cookbook, like so many of my sources for recipes when I was a young bride, came from an industrial test kitchen.  Here’s the credit page.

Title page of Big Boy Barbecue Book (1956)

Do you have a favorite recipe from a vintage product-oriented cookbook?