No, city chicken did not originate in the 1970’s. As I mentioned in an earlier post, these are recipes that were introduced and made in my house growing up in the 1970’s.
If you are not familiar, city chicken is not chicken at all. It is actually pork and veal or just pork cubes on wood skewers. Sometimes it is referred to as mock drumsticks or mock chicken legs.
If you have never heard of it before, it may be that you never lived in a part of the country where it was popular. It apparently was/is a regional dish that covered a fairly large region including parts of WV, OH, western PA, western NY and MI.
In the 1970’s, it was sold ready to cook on wooden skewers in most grocery stores and butcher shops in our little city.
I remember helping my mom make it in her cast iron skillet, just like she made fried chicken. She never used a recipe, but I found one (two, actually) in my Taste of Toronto , Ohio that is cookbook.
Here is my adaption:
Recipe: City Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb. pork
- 1 1/2 lb. veal
- 3/4 c. flour
- salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
- 1/3 c. vegetable oil (I use Canola oil)
- 1/2 to 3/4 c. beef or vegetable stock
Instructions
- Cut pork and veal into fairly uniform size cubes.
- Place pork and veal cubes on shorter wood skewers by alternating them and pushing them together until the skewer is filled.
- Season each skewer with salt and pepper.
- Roll each city chicken in flour.
- Heat oil until hot in a heavy pan.
- Add city chicken skewers and fry until golden brown.
- Drain off excess oil.
- Add stock to hot skillet.
- Add back city chicken and cover.
- Turn burner to low-medium and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes.
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Variations
If you do not have “wooden skewers” you can shorten bamboo skewers with kitchen scissors to size after putting on meat.
You can dredge city chicken in flour, dip in beaten eggs/water or eggs/milk, and then roll in cracker or bread crumbs before frying instead of just flour.
You can use just pork.
Water may be used instead of broth.
You can place city chicken in a baking dish after browning and bake at 325 for an hour in broth, water, or milk.
I know that city chicken may bring the recent trend of raising chickens in your back yard to mind. This is the city chicken before it was a trend to raise your own chickens.
WOW! My grandmother used to make this all the time when I was a child. I haven’t heard it mentioned in years. I think I’ll try it soon! Thank you for the reminder!
I am glad to hear someone else remembers these!
I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and my Mom used to make these back in the 70’s. My other favorite is stuffed cabbage.
I love stuffed cabbage also. Although, I loved my next door neighbor’s stuffed cabbage in the 70’s. I only remember my mom making it once back then…that was enough of hers for everyone 🙂
Have not had this in years and my mom always made it. Im trying it tonight its not done yet but already smells awesome!! Thanks!
I hope you enjoyed it!
I always loved City Chicken when my mom made it in the ’70’s as well! I never knew it was regional until i moved to California last year and couldn’t find those pre-cut little packages with the skewers already in them. I asked at the meat counter and they looked at me like i had two heads lol… kind of the same look I got at the deli counter when asking for chipped ham :/
I am very familiar with that look! I most recently encountered it last year when I asked for chipped ham at a deli counter in Tennessee. I ended up transporting my ham via a cooler with ice from Ohio to my home in Georgia. I just started making my own city chicken and ham loaf mix. It is strange how I never gave much thought to those things until I no longer had access to them.
I’ve been turning my wife on to “meals my mom used to make” from my youth (born 1961). I’ve made stuffed cabbage ‘,pigs in a blanket PA style’, stuffed peppers, both using ground chicken or turkey to cut fat, meat loaf the same way, and I make a few loads for my Great Dane with some pestled glucosamine supplements as she is 11, and halushki variations. I had a brain flash while walking Abbey and remembered “city chicken” that I believe she made in a pressure cooker. In the later 80’s mom got more into health conscious meals and away from beef, liver and onions, and pork. My wife is very picky and will only ‘do’ chicken if she trims it herself, and buys only one brand. We eat salmon a few times a week, grilled chicken breast on other days and shrimp pastas or seafood pizzas smattered in between. I will lobby for some of mom’s home cooking and if it can be done healthy, I’ll make it. I’ll have to use a sharp pencil to get city chicken on the menu, unless of course I use real chicken for her and pork/veal for me, if only to see If I can make it like I remember it. I wonder if monkfish would be a sufficient skewered replacement, maybe alternating with chicky chunks?