city chicken


 
City chicken is (or was) pork and veal (back in the day when both were cheaper than chicken), cut in cubes and skewered, egg-washed and floured or breaded, then browned, then simmered.

Cory, I have several recipes. Are you looking for a particular style? Floured, breaded, corn flaked? Milk or stock gravy?
 
It was originally cubes of pork and veal put on a skewer and fried in a pan. I'm using just cubes of pork. I've made it before but I'm looking for a consistent recipe I can make over and over. You dredge the skewers of meat in egg and a flour, spice mixture like chicken. Then use the leftover flour mix for gravy. It's very good. Nice hearty meal with mashed potatoes.
 
Hey Kevin looks like you beat me to the punch by one minute on the explaination! I'm looking for a floured recipe with milk gravy. Like I said I've made it a couple times and the results have been inconsitent. I knew I could count on you for something. You seem to have a recipe for everything.
 
Yeah, I gotta bunch, the vast majority of which are in my head including the city chicken recipes. I rarely measure but am usually pretty close when I write something down for someone. i am going to combine a couple different approaches on this one. If you make it and something or another doesn't work for you let me know and I'll figure out what needs to be changed (if you haven't already). I've not made city chicken in a long time but if I can swing it in the next day or two I'll make this version myself so I can see what's what.

2 lbs boneless pork, cut into 1.5-inch cubes

short skewers

.5 c flour on a plate

************

.5 c flour on another plate mixed with:

1 t salt

2 t poultry seasoning

1 t onion powder

2 t paprika

several turns of the peppermill

**************

2 eggs beaten with 2 T water, in a wide bowl

.5 c unsalted butter (or oil--I like butter better here)

1 c milk

1 c low-salt chicken stock

couple dashes Worcestershire

1 or 2 onions, peeled and sliced (optional)

3 celery stalks

paprika

minced fresh parsley


Skewer the meat. Dredge the skewers in the plain flour, one at a time, shaking off the excess well. (Alternatively, put the flour in a bag, add one skewer, shake, remove the skewer shaking off the excess well; reserve the skewer on a plate; repeat. Discard the remaining flour.)

Dip the floured skewers, one at a time, in the egg wash allowing the excess to drain off and, one at a time, dredge in the seasoned flour and gently shake off the excess. Reserve 4 T of the extra seasoned flour. (Alternatively, put the seasoned flour in a bag, as above.) Put the skewers on a cake cooling rack set on a plate or pan as each is coated. When all are done put the rack/pan arrangement in the fridge, uncovered, to dry while you clean up the mess you made, 30-60 min. preheat your oven to 350, meanwhile.

In a pan (that you have a cover for) large enough to hold all the skewers in one layer melt the butter over med-high heat. While the butter is melting mix the milk, the stock, and the Worcestershire in a cup measure; reserve. Brown all sides of the meat in the butter, turning as needed, till very nicely browned. (If the pan is just large enough then brown them in 2 batches so as not to crowd the pan; they'll brown better.) Remove the browned skewers to a plate and pour out some of the fat, if needed, so that you have about 2 T left in the pan. Return the pan to the burner over low heat.

Put the cup measure with the milk-stock mix in the microwave and nuke a couple min to get it hot. Meanwhile, using a flat whisk or fork, whisk the reserved seasoned flour into the fat in the pan. Pour the nuked milk-stock mix into the pan in a steady stream, whisking all the while, till fairly smooth. (You do not need to let it simmer now--best not to, in fact.)

Break the celery stalks in half and lay them and one of the sliced onions ( if using) in the pan (after you've removed the browned skewers) in such a way that they form a 'rack' on which to place the skewers.

Return the skewers to the pan, in one layer, setting them atop the celery. If using, scatter the additional sliced onion on top. Sprinkle with paprika and fresh parsley, cover, and bake 45 min in your preheated oven. Remove the cover and bake 20 min more.

Remove the pan from the oven, remove the skewers to a warm platter; tent with foil to keep warm. Remove the celery stalks from the gravy and whisk the gravy well to smooth it. Taste for seasoning and texture. Whisk in .25-.5 c of hot water to achieve a pourable consistency. Serve.

[If you wish, go with all milk instead of 50-50 milk-stock, or go with 75-25 or whatever seems good to you.]
 
Thanks Kevin. I'll have to try that one out, looks good. I didn't have yours by the time I was ready so I found one somewhere on the net and tried that. Yours looks to have more flavors than the one I did. It was just flour, salt and pepper. I'm gonna have to keep this one for next time. I really appreciate you opening your memorized recipe box for me.

Cory
 
How did yours turn out?

I've been playing with ratios in my head since I wrote the above. How much meat did you use and what cut of pork? How much liquid did you add (all milk?) and did you mix it with the remaining flour? Did you bake covered and was the gravy good? I'm wondering if my numbers are right. They feel like they are. Gotta see if I can swing it tomorrow.
 
Well, I'm not sure of the cut of meat or the poundage. We bought it in a package from the butcher. It was labled "6 city chicken". The package we bought is a multi-meat bundle. Pretty good deal. Anyway, the recipe called to roll in flour and then fry. I went the flour-egg-flour route so I probably used more flour mix than intended. The recipe said to use 2 cups milk and 2 cups water with remaining flour mix. I added some extra flour mix because I used more on the meat. Still after about 2 hours simmering covered on the range the gravy was very thin and a lot of my breading was washed off. It came out ok but the gravy was just too thin although the flavor was good. I'm going to cut the water next time. Let me know how yours turns out so I can try that next time. Thanks again Kevin.
 
Jane, you've hit the nail on the head! For months I've been wondering how he does that!

Rita
 
Craig, I'm sure of the exact cut. I buy it at the supermarket or butcher already cubed and on skewers. And yes I serve mashed potatoes with it.
 
Okay. Made this for lunch today and edited the recipe above to reflect what I did.

This turned out really good. If you make it let me know what you think.

Based on your comments and my own hazy recollections I decided to reserve 4 T of the seasoned flour (a specific amount rather than just whatever was left--there was plenty) and to whisk it into the reserved fat after the skewers had been browned and removed from the pan. Meanwhile, I heated the stock-milk mix in the nuker then whisked that into the flour-fat mix till it was fairly smooth. I did this over low heat and did not want it to heat up to a simmer at all (I want that to happen in the oven) so I just whisked till fairly smooth.

Btw, I lowered the butter to 6 T.

I decided the celery was too important to make it optional. I wanted the skewers to sit above the gravy and, in the large pan I used, that worked well. With the gravy already in the pan it was easy to see whether or not the celery would give enough height to the skewers for this to work. It did, but I decided to throw on some sliced onions anyway.

I baked, covered, 30 min then uncovered for 20 and the skewers were perfectly done; dense but not dry. You might want to quickly pull one piece of meat off the end of a skewer to test doneness; it could vary depending on cut and size of the chunks. The bottom of the skewer (the underside of the meat that is closest to the gravy) gets soft but the rest was crisp. Neither I nor the other taster found the small soft area displeasing. THe gravy was thick an full-flavored. The celery and onion added nice notes as did the drippings from the meat. To make it smooth (it coagulates a bit during the baking) and pourable, I whisked almost a half cup of water into it. It was still full-flavored even with the water addition.

The air-drying stage in the fridge is important, imo. I have always found it better to give some time for the egg wash to set when breading or flouring for sauteeing or frying, or when egg is used as a binder, as it's used in crab cakes, e.g.

For best crispness and flavor, make sure the skewers brown well on all sides in the pan at the outset. Be sure that the butter is hot before adding the skewers and let the first side cook, without moving them, for a few minutes. Most food (breaded, floured, or not) that is browning will stick to the pan first then, after that side undergoes browning, it will release. I find it best to wait a few minutes to pass then to shake the pan gently rather than try to lift the food. Most often, when adequate browing has occurred, the food will release on its own. If it doesn't, go a min or two more and shake again. Turn the food with tongs; repeat. With the skewers shoot for a nice rich golden color and a firm feel to the breading when you touch it. It all will soften in the covered baking stage but should not fall off (the dried egg helps here as does being nicely browned prior); it will re-firm, crisp, and the color will deepen in the uncovered baking stage.

Though my recipe is a little involved I still found it fairly simple. I don't think there is a way to make it simpler without negatively impacting the finish but I have another thought on the breading/gravy front: You could brown the skewers well then remove them to a rack on a sheetpan and bake them, covered then uncovered, for the times listed above. Meanwhile, in the pan you used to brown them you could make the gravy, whisking in the reserved seasoned flour and then the milk-stock mix to make the gravy. I liked the whole-thing-in-the-oven way though.


Kevin


P.S. I've gotten good at one handed touch typing. That's how I do it.
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Kevin, this sounds delicious and different. Did you use butt, tenderloin, or loin for this?

Somehow, I don't think we're getting the whole story on the typing explanation.
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Rita
 
Originally posted by Jane Cherry:
And to think Kevin posts these recipes while driving! Absolutely amazing.

Kevin

Could you give us a regular update on your itinerary and a description of your 18-wheeler so we can get off the road when we see you coming !
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Paul
 
I've seen it, but it's always parked - never on the road. Guess I could thank my lucky stars for that, eh Paul?
 

 

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