CITY CHICKEN

OH BOY !! Another trip back into my childhood. Before my family made the trek westward (all the way to Indiana) we lived in western Pennsylvania north west of Pittsburgh.

A favorite dinner dish in those days was called CITY CHICKEN. It is primarily a food native to Pittsburgh/Western Pennsylvania in which cubes of pork and/or veal are put on a short, wooden skewers, breaded, then baked and/or fried. 

The story goes that city chicken originated during the Great Depression, when folks didn't have enough money to buy full cuts of meat, so they assembled meat scraps on a wooden skewer, creating a make-shift drumstick. Hence the name. However not one of the variations contain chicken. Go figure.

Pittsburgh-area City Chicken is almost always breaded and usually baked, while in Binghamton NY, the meat is marinated, battered and then deep fried. The Cleveland version is generally baked without breading and instead the meat is dredged in flour, browned in a pan, then finished in the oven, and served with gravy. Grocery stores in both the greater Cleveland area as well as those in the Pittsburgh area include wooden skewers with pork cubes specifically packaged as city chicken. 

As usual, our friends up north in Canada have at least one variation involving skewers of three kinds of meat: pork, veal, and beef. Another Canadian variation, from Western Canada is composed entirely of veal.

I always loved it when mom would fry up a big batch of city chicken, so I went on a search for just the right recipe. I came up with many of the variations mentioned above, and had a hard time deciding what version to try.

I ended up trying the Cleveland version. Rolled in eggs, flour, fried, then baked. My reasoning was that I wanted some pan drippings to make gravy. I thought this dish needed some smashed up taters.

Here is what you need :

1 LB VEAL

1 LB  LEAN PORK

CUT THESE INTO CUBES

PUT ONE CUP OF FLOUR IN A PIE PAN

ADD 1 TSP PEPPER AND 1 TSP GRAND DIAMOND MILD SEASONING

STIR WELL

IN ANOTHER PIE PAN, PLACE 2 EGGS (BEATEN) ADD ½ CUP OF MILK AND STIR

USING A 5 OR 6 INCH SKEWER (DEPENDS ON YOUR PAN SIZE)

PLACE VEAL AND PORK ONTO THE SKEWER (ALTERNATE)

ROLL THE SKEWER IN THE EGG/MILK MIXTURE AND THEN IN THE FLOUR

PLACE IN PAN AND CHILL FOR AT LEAST AN HOUR. (MORE IS BETTER)

I forgot a picture of the floured version.

Here is a great hint courtesy  of the wife. CLEAN UP AD YOU GO.

Here is my hint: Go grab a beer while this chills in the cold box.

When you are ready.

IN A LARGE FRY PAN ADD ENOUGH OIL AND SOME BUTTER TO COAT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAN.

SAUTE THE SKEWERS UNTIL NICE AND GOLDEN BROWN (OVER MEDIUM HIGH)

(TURN THESE OFTEN)

WHEN THEY ARE BROWNED UP, PUT INTO A COOKING PAN AND PLACE IN A 350 DEGREE OVEN. MINE BAKED FOR ABOUT 30 MINUTES.

USE YOUR DIGITAL THERMOMETER. 160 DEGREES IS GOOD

Now you take the pan drippings, add some flour to make a roux, add some broth and make some gravy. You did make some mashed taters? I knew you would.

In my case, I hate trying to time out a meat course, taters, and veggies to come out at the proper time. I tend to make the smashed tater earlier in the day. Get them all ready and pitch them buggers in a crock pot on “KEEP WARM” Works well, and it is one more thing I don't have to fuss with while making the main course.

And it gives me time for another beer.

So, dinner came out fine. My Wednesday night dinner friend said he loved it. He's from South Florida and called them “Kabobs”. But that's OK.

SO here's the review.

They came out nice, but I didn't get as much gravy as I wanted. In fact, this was mentioned on one of the recipes I found. I thought they were a bit on the 'tough' side. But all in all, I was pleased with the results.

I got a total of five skewers, with a few pieces left over. My friend was pleased, and I got some leftovers for lunch the next day.

All in all, a good experience. But I think I need to make some modifications to my recipe.

I think in the future, I will try to marinate them in some buttermilk and perhaps add some breading. (the Pittsburgh version.)

I'll keep you posted.

Full disclosure :  My wife HATES City Chicken. But she came from West Virginia, so I forgave her. 

Live long and prosper.