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Mom’s City Chicken #SundaySupper

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My mom’s city chicken was a family favorite growing up. It’s an easy to make weeknight meal. 

My mom's city chicken was a family favorite growing up. It's an easy to make weeknight meal. #SundaySupper

I grew up eating city chicken a lot as a child and never once did I wonder why it was called that seeing as there’s no chicken involved. Recently my father in law, who used to be a butcher, explained that back in the day chicken was more expensive than pork and veal so people made city chicken, which is essentially cubes of pork and veal on a stick that is breaded to act as chicken. He’s a big fan so when I had to come up with a regional food to make for this weeks Sunday Supper, my mom’s city chicken was my first choice. Ok it was my third but I wanted to make it for my father in law and I think you are really going to love it.

As I’ve mentioned, you should use use pork and veal for true city chicken but sometimes I just use pork because it’s cheaper and easier to find. However today I stopped by a great local butcher, Lampert’s, that my friend had told me about. They had great cuts of meat and lots of delicious looking prepared food. And there in the case was my city chicken already cut and placed on wooden skewers as you can see below. Many grocers in the area carry city chicken packs with skewers and chunks of pork and veal ready for you to assemble. 

My mom's city chicken was a family favorite growing up. It's an easy to make weeknight meal. #SundaySupper

City chicken is made many different ways but the way my mom makes it is to dip it in egg and then seasoned bread crumbs. Brown them in a skillet like this and finally bake them until they are cooked. 

My mom's city chicken was a family favorite growing up. It's an easy to make weeknight meal. #SundaySupper

The final result is a tasty breaded pork and veal chop on a stick. I did make a bit of gravy at the end with the pan drippings but my mother never really did and my father in law doesn’t like it that way so normally I would not bother to do that.

Mom’s City Chicken

My mom's city chicken was a family favorite growing up. It's an easy to make weeknight meal. #SundaySupper

As they say, pork is the other white meat. You can see above how it does look like breaded chicken. And there you have my mom’s city chicken. It is a nice and easy weekday meal that I’m sure your family will love. At least that’s how we do it in the ‘burgh. Enjoy!

PS Please read through the comments below. I guess city chicken is a beloved recipe of people in this are and many people have variations on the recipe that you  may remember or enjoy. And if you have any questions, please just ask.

My mom's city chicken was a family favorite growing up. It's an easy to make weeknight meal. #SundaySupper
4.91 from 11 votes
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Mom's City Chicken #SundaySupper

My mom's city chicken was a family favorite growing up. It's an easy to make weeknight meal. #SundaySupper
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 5
Author Denise Wright (MyLifeCookbook.com)

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lbs of city chicken pork and veal cut in cubes
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • 1 cup of seasoned bread crumbs
  • 1/2 teaspoon of paprika
  • 2 Tablespoons of Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil
  • For gravy
  • 1/2 cup broth chicken or beef
  • 1-2 Tablespoons of flour

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Add your eggs to a shallow bowl and beat
  3. In a separate bowl add your breadcrumbs, paprika and Parmesan cheese.
  4. If your pork and veal are not already placed on skewers, do so by alternating pork and veal pieces.
  5. Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper.
  6. Dip the skewered meat in the egg and then the bread crumbs. Set aside and finish the rest of the meat.
  7. Heat your skillet to medium high and once hot, add your oil.
  8. Once the oil is hot, place your meat in the pan and turn the skillet down to medium. Brown skewered meat on all sides. About 2-3 minutes on each side.
  9. Once the meat is browned, place in a baking dish and cover with aluminum.
  10. Bake for 20 minutes or until the pork is no longer pink inside.
  11. To make the gravy turn the skillet on to medium heat.
  12. Add the broth to the skillet and break up all the browned bits.
  13. Add the flour a little at a time and whisk well so there are no lumps.
  14. Pour over cooked meat. (this did not make much gravy for me but it was tasty.)
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My mom's city chicken was a family favorite growing up. It's an easy to make weeknight meal. #SundaySupper

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Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. You should always do your own calculations if you are concerned about the accuracy of this or any recipe. I use the Lose It app for all of my nutritional information because I have for years.

Comments

  4. There’s no way I’d find that out here in South Dakota, but my dad would make it all the time when I was growing up. Makes me miss it! I might just have to figure out what cuts of pork are used in it, get some skewers, and make it myself!

    Reply

  6. We do City Chicken up here in NE Ohio too! In fact, it’s one of my specialties! My recipe is very similar to yours, but I love it with gravy. I usually only do pork and assemble it myself, like you said, most grocers carry packs with the meat cubes and sticks or you can buy pork sirloin roast when it’s on sale and cube it yourself. Just ask the butcher for the sticks! This is one of my all time favorite comfort foods ever. YUM!

    Reply

    • Thanks Renee, I will try that next time with the pork roast. I probably have a million wooden skewers in my kitchen as I tend to collect things like that. The gravy was good to me, though I never grew up with it.

      Reply

    • my husband grew up in Warren, Ohio.. I wish I could find the stick here in Plano, TX. The bamboo skewers tend to splinter. I would make city chicken in a heartbeat, if I could find the sticks. Any suggestions?

      Reply

      • Hi Ginger,
        I just use the bamboo sticks you can buy in the grocery store. They seem to work for me. Maybe someone else will chime in with some help? Thanks for stopping by and good luck!

        Reply

      • You need to soak your bamboo stick in hot water before using them. It makes them sort and pliable and they don’t break or splinter.

        Reply

      • My husband also grew up in Warren, Ohio. We now live in California. Mom always floured each city chicken before egg wash and bread crumbs. You can get the sticks at any hobby store, like Michaels or Joann’s. I love our City Chicken! I thought it was called that because you don’t see chickens running around in the city!

        Reply

    • It’s not chicken though…it’s pork and veal…they started calling it city chicken because back in the day chicken was more expensive than pork…so they used pork and veal instead and called it city chicken.

      Reply

  8. You forgot to say what city, what time period, etc. This could be a good story. Were these leftover scraps of pork and veal that were skewered so they looked like a chop or a breast?

    Reply

  9. I went to college near Pittsburgh and remember this fondly. I’ve never attempted to make it at m=home. Your recipe looks wonderful – it’s time to try it!

    Reply

  16. my husband grew up in Ohio and on City Chicken. Living in Texas, it’s difficult to find the sticks. Bamboo skewers tend to splinter. Do you know where I could order the sticks from. I know my mother-in-law could get them from her butcher in Ohio.

    Reply

  18. I was looking for something to serve with Haluski. I think this will be perfect. My son had Haluski at a street fair and loved it. We decided to try it at home. For the City Chicken I only bought pork, and have trimmed, cubes and skewered them for tomorrow night dinner.

    Reply

  19. This was one of my favorites that my grandmother used to make. She used pork and beef as a lot of us didn’t like veal. We also use cornflake crumbs seasoned , mixed with flour. The drippings make a great gravy. We are from Michigan.

    Reply

    • Hi Audrey, thanks for taking the time to comment! We also didn’t like veal that much so my mom did the same. I’ll have to try the cornflake crumbs next time!

      Reply

  20. I too grew up with City Chicken with veal and pork. I don’t eat veal but pork and chicken is just as good. Thanks for the great recipe. I kind of forgot out this tasty dish.

    Reply

  21. My dad used to make this but we called it mock chicken legs he would also smother it in mushroom gravy made with Campbell’s chicken soup. Mmmm I loved this meal served with mashed potatoes and pickled beets. Funny how it can about because it was cheaper than chicken and now it’s more expensive than chicken. Dad would first fry them up for colour and then pressure cook them. They were so tender!

    Reply

  22. Thank you so much, I was telling my husband about it. I grew up in NE PA and the butcher prepared them. On occasion, since the family was large, mom would use. Ground pork, veal & beef and prepare it the same way. Didn’t know why it was called city chicken

    Reply

    • Hi Mary Ann, I never realized this was such a lesser known recipe. I just posted it years ago because I remembered my mom making it and my in laws used to eat it too. It’s an oldie but goodie! Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply

  23. My grandmother used to make this fairly often when I was a kid. I know that she used to buy city chicken at the A&P ( which closed when I was in middle school). This was in Louisville, KY. She cooked it much like this recipe, but used seasoned flour instead of breadcrumbs.

    Reply

    • Hi Laurie,
      It’s amazing how many people have had this recipe yet so many do not know about it. That’s interesting that your
      Grandma used seasoned flour. I’ll have to try that next time. Thanks for commenting!

      Reply

  24. I grew up in Conneaut, Ohio and we often had city chicken. Reading the comments it appears as though this is a regional dish, something I didn’t realize!

    Reply

    • Kay, I am still amazed that I get so many people coming to this recipe. It was just one my mother made and I didn’t think much of it. Apparently it’s a regional favorite. Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply

    • Hi Kay – I grew up in Dorset and currently live in Ashtabula. What a small world!
      Spotted a package of city chicken at Giant Eagle the other day and wanted to make it for dinner tonight.
      Couldn’t remember how long to cook it so ended up here.
      Have a great night, neighbor. LOL

      Reply

  25. This is a favourite of our family as well. My Greek grandmother has made it her own and we marinade the skewers in lemon, oregano, and salt and pepper before dipping in flour, egg wash and flour again. So delicious!

    Reply

  27. I shop at Marc’s here in Cleveland and this week I was surprised to see City Chicken in the meat case. (So of course it’s now in my oven) Always been a favorite of this Uniontown Pa. girl. One of the oldest recipes in our slovak family. Grandma never put parmesan cheese in it tho.

    Reply

    • Hi Susan,
      I’m seeing that many people make this recipe and in so many different ways. I need to make it again myself! Thanks for stopping by.

      Reply

  28. Im going to try this tomorrow, for anything I make breading for I always use half bread crums, half Ritz Crakers, BUT make sure you cut way back on any salt you put in the recipe……I dont add any at all!

    Reply

  29. I loved city chicken growing up! My grandma and mom would use crushed saltine crackers instead of breadcrumbs. Now living in California i must find a butcher that carries veal!

    Reply

  30. I also grew up in Warren Ohio and this dish was a staple in our house but with a twist. My mom would add sections of carrots into the covered baking dish to cook with the city chicken along with a little chick n stock to keep things moist.

    Reply

  31. Thank you for the recipe and explanation. I remember my mom making a huge pan of city chicken. I thought it was pork and veal but I questioned my memory because of the cost of veal.now… we were not wealthy and she often stretched her grocery dollar to feed 7 of us. I still have her “sticks” so I’m going to make these for our next family gathering.

    Reply

    • It’s really a simple dish but I’m always surprised how many people grew up with it! Hope you like it….check out other peoples comments about their versions as they are very interesting.

      Reply

  33. City chicken, mashed potatoes and corn were a regular Sunday dinner growing up in Detroit. Nowadays, city chicken is something of a special treat, especially as the older generation is dying and small, family-owned restaurants are losing out to the fast-food chains. You can still get Polish treats in one of Detroit’s suburbs, Hamtramck, but then again, it is becoming a thing of the past as urban blight takes over and it becomes too dangerous to make a trip “just for” Polish food. Thanks for sharing this recipe.

    Reply

  34. I’ve got my meat coated and ready in the refrigerator to brown up. I didn’t grow up eating City Chicken, but my husband did (near Buffalo, NY). It was always his choice when he got to pick what was for dinner on his birthday. He says his mom used saltine crumbs for the breading and used a little poultry seasoning.

    Reply

    • Oh that sounds like a good idea. I’ll have to redo this recipe and take new pictures. I’m always surprised at how many people have fond memories of this dish!

      Reply

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