Growing up, I remember my grandma Judy (aka the original Martha Stewart) making a dish she called City Chicken. I didn’t know what was in it, I only knew that I was always excited when she made it.
Last week, I was doing a little recipe research and after a few clicks, I found myself reading about classic Polish seasonings. On that page, it mentioned a few examples of ways in which you could use these herbs and spices and there it was… city chicken!
I was shocked. For my whole life, I thought city chicken was something grandma called her own magical chicken recipe, but the fact is that it is a Polish recipe developed in Cleveland during the depression era. Most of our family lives in the Cleveland area, so that explains that, but we are not Polish and city chicken isn’t even made with chicken!
City chicken is actually made with cubed pork or veal, which in the early 1900’s was cheaper and more available in urban areas than chicken was. Initially referred to as “mock chicken”, scraps of pork or veal are placed onto skewers and lightly breaded to mimic chicken drumsticks. It is homey and delicious; a family recipe that deserves to be shared with the world!
Let’s get it started…
Start by making your spice mixture by combining 1 teaspoon of paprika, 1 teaspoon of cumin, 1 teaspoon of garlic salt, 1 teaspoon of onion powder and 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper in a small bowl. This may seem like a lot of seasoning, but you will be using it on the pork and then again on the breading. Use clean hands when working with the seasoning mix, so if you have anything left over, you can use it on future recipes.
Pork tenderloin is the best option for this dish. If you prefer veal, you can definitely use that too. Before you get started, set up a station with everything that you will need. Gather the tenderloin and seasonings, a sharp knife, some skewers, two shallow wide dishes for the breading process and a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and place a large skillet with 4 tablespoons of butter on the stovetop, so it is ready when you are.
Add 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour into one of your shallow dishes and crack 3 eggs into the other. Season both with salt and pepper and set them aside for now.
Now that we are ready to go, begin cubing your tenderloin into equally sized cubes of about 1 to 1 1/2 inches. Place 5 or 6 cubes onto each skewer and then place them onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
Once all of the skewers are loaded, season the tenderloin with our seasoning mixture.
To bread the skewers, lightly coat them in flour and shake off any excess. Next, dip them into the whisked and seasoned eggs and then back into the flour one more time. Once they are seasoned, return them to the parchment lined baking sheet.
Place the skillet and butter over medium to medium high heat and let the butter melt and get warm.
While the pan is heating up, season the skewers again by sprinkling a bit more seasoning over the coated tenderloin.
Once the butter is melted and sizzling, place a few skewers into the skillet and brown them for 2-3 minutes per side. This is done to seal the breading before we bake the skewers.
Once all of the skewers are browned, place them into a deep baking dish, such as a 13″x9″ cake pan and cover them tightly with aluminum foil.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.
If you want to whip up a quick and delicious pan gravy, add 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock into the skillet that you browned the skewers in and return it to medium heat. Whisk until you work up all of the browned bits from the skillet. Combine 1 tablespoon of flour with the remaining 1/2 cup of chicken stock and once the gravy is simmering, whisk this stock and flour slurry into the gravy and simmer until it has thickened.
If the gravy gets a little thicker than you want, lower the heat and once you pull the city chicken out of the oven, add some of the drippings from the bottom of the baking dish (they are full of flavor!).
Look how beautiful it is! Golden brown and so juicy! The seasoning is just right and the tenderloin is so tender that it is super easy to push off of the skewers. It is fabulous on its own, but if you made the pan gravy, spoon some of that deliciousness over the city chicken and get ready to say pyszne (which is Polish for “delicious!”)…
I love serving city chicken with my spiced apple sauce or some indulgent mashed potatoes. This delicious meal brings back so many great memories. It fills my kitchen with the best aromas and feels like having a hug for dinner.
I hope you make this and love it as much as my family has for many years.
Pyszne!!
City Chicken
Ingredients
City Chicken Skewers
- 2 pound pork tenderloin, cubed
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 3 large eggs
- salt and black pepper
- 4 tablespoons butter
Pan Gravy
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken stock
- pan drippings (optional)
- fresh parsley, finely chopped (garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
- Place a large skillet with 4 tablespoons of butter onto the stovetop, but leave it turned off for now
- Add 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour into a shallow dish, season with salt and pepper and set aside
- Whisk 3 eggs into a separate shallow dish, season with salt and pepper and set aside
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside
- Cube the tenderloin into equal sized cubes of 1 to 1 1/2 inches
- Place 5 or 6 pieces onto each skewer and place the skewers onto a parchment lined baking sheet
- Season the skewers with the seasoning mixture
- Dip the skewers into the flour, the whisked and seasoned eggs and then the flour once more
- Return the coated skewers onto the parchment lined baking sheet
- Season the coating lightly with the remaining seasoning mixture (you may have some left over)
- Place the skillet with butter over medium/medium high heat and allow the pan to preheat and the butter to melt
- Once the butter is sizzling, brown each skewer for 2-3 minutes per side and place the browned skewers into a deep baking dish
- Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil
- Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees
- To make the pan gravy, while the skewers are baking, add 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock to the pan that you browned the skewers in and whisk to work up any brown bits from the pan
- Return the heat to medium and bring the gravy to a simmer
- Combine the remaining 1/2 cup of chicken stock with 1 tablespoon of flour and whisk until smooth
- Once the gravy is simmering, add the stock and flour mixture and whisk until fully incorporated
- Allow the gravy to simmer, lowering the heat if it begins boil rapidly, until it thickens
- If you want to thin the gravy, add some of the drippings from the baking dish once you remove the city chicken from the oven and whisk to combine
- Place the cooked city chicken onto plates and top with some pan gravy
- Garnish with finely chopped parsley
