Best Oven-Baked City Chicken (with Pork Sirloin)

This is the very best recipe for city chicken! It's easy to prepare and produces fork tender meat every single time! You might be surprised that city chicken, (also known as mock chicken legs), is not actually a chicken dish at all. It's a regional dish that is made from pork sirloin cubes (or sometimes a combination of pork and veal) that have been threaded onto wooden skewers to resemble a chicken drumbstick. It's one of my very favorite Cleveland comfort foods of all time!

This City Chicken recipe with gravy will quickly become your new favorite and have your family asking for THAT chicken recipe that isn't chicken.

 

Today, I'm sharing with you my own family city chicken recipe. It has been a menu staple for generations. Despite it's long history, it's still a family favorite. 
When you make city chicken with my tried and true cooking method, you'll end up with extremely tender pork that will practially fall off the wooden skewer. It won't be particularyly crunchy, but it will be extremely tender. This preparation allows you to use the cheaper cuts of pork and never have to worry about the meat being tough. 

We like to smother city chicken in gravy to make it extra special. I've made this recipe for city chicken in my kitchen for years and I'm here to say, this is hands down the absolute best way to make city chicken. 

What is City Chicken?

City chicken is a regional recipe to the area around Lake Erie (Cleveland, Detroit), and into parts of western Pennsivania. City chicken is also known in some locations as mock drumsticks or mock chicken, is an entrée consisting of cubes of meat (usually pork), which have been threaded onto a wooden skewer (about 4-5 inches long), breaded, and then fried and/or baked. Some people call it "fake chicken."

The city chicken recipe origins date back to the 1700's when raising chickens in the populated cities became impossible. Inexpensive cuts of pork skewered on sticks to resemble chicken drumsticks became a substitute for chicken as a meal. City chicken became even more popular as the great depression hit and resources were scarce. Chicken was expensive and they opted for cheaper meats like pork. 

Over the years, city chicken recipes have included other cuts of meat as well, such as veal or beef...but living here in Cleveland, I've always made my city chicken recipe with only pork, because that's how my mom made it. 

Growing up in Cleveland Ohio, in the area of the Midwest known as the rust belt, I had many opportunities to eat the different variations on City Chicken. You could not only find home cooks making the dish but it was also almost always offered on local diner menus in and around the Cleveland area.

There's a restaurant, not far from my present home, that still has it on the menu today. While I enjoy their version of city chicken, I still like my own version better.

The best way to cook city chicken is low and slow in the oven until it is fork tender. It really is the secret to great city chicken and it's what makes this recipe for city chicken the best recipe for city chicken.

What's the best way to cook city chicken?

You might find several different ways to prepare city chicken. Some versions of this recipe deep fry or pan fry the city chicken and call it a day. I don't recommend preparing city chicken like this unless you use a more tender cut of pork, like tenderloin, or you risk ending up with a very tough and hard to eat stick of meat. But this is a depression era recipe after all and pork tenderloin can be expensive so I always opt for pork sirloin cubes.

I love to bake the sirloin pork skewers once they are breaded and golden brown in a low, slow oven. This really gets the pork tender and it will literally fall off of the stick. To me, that's the comfort food I'm after!

With that said, the best way to cook city chicken made with pork sirloin or loin cubes is low and slow in the oven until it is fork tender. I'll say it again, low and slow is best here. It really is the secret to great city chicken and it's what makes this recipe the best city chicken recipe.

Where can I find pork sirloin for City Chicken? 

Assuming you live in areas known as the rust belt of the Midwest, you can buy pork sirloin already cut into cubes and packaged with skewers specifically for city chicken right in your  local grocery stores or in your meat market. 

You may have difficulty finding pork (or a mixture of pork and veal) pre-cut and packaged with skewers for your city chicken recipe if you live outside that area. 

Don't let that stop you from making this delicious regional dish! You can buy a pork sirloin or pork loin roast and cut it into 1" cubes yourself. (Or have a butcher do it for you) Pork Sirloin Roasts (a.k.a. loin pork roast, pork hipbone roast, pork loin end roast) are lean but much less expensive than pork tenderloin. 

Use shortened bamboo skewers to thread the cubes of pork on to. I have done this when pre-packaged sirloin pork cubes aren't available in my grocer's meat case, then I just ask my butcher for wooden skewers.  You can also purchase short wooden skewers from Amazon. 

Ingredients and Equipment

(Scroll down for full printable recipe card with ingredient measurements and detailed instructions for making this classic city chicken recipe)

• 1 pound pork sirloin cubes (or a mixture of pork and veal cubes)
• 4" - 5" wooden skewers (wooden sticks with a pointed end) 
• All purpose flour
• salt and pepper
• eggs
• Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs
• smoked paprika
• oil for browning
• prepared gravy (or homemade gravy)
• skillet
• 9" x 13" baking dish
• aluminum foil

How to cook city chicken in the oven

To make this city chicken recipe, the first thing you'll need to do is thread pork cubes onto the skewers. Get the pork cubes as tight as you can get them on the skewers for best results!  The next step is to bread them with a three step breading process.

That means dredging the pork in seasoned flour, followed by egg beaters or egg wash, and lastly Italian seasoned bread crumbs.

I like to add smoked paprika and a little extra salt and pepper to the dry seasoned bread crumbs to help elevate the flavor.

The city chicken is then browned in olive oil on medium high heat in a frying pan...(taking care not to overcrowd the pan). You aren't actually cooking the pork all the way here, just simply making it golden brown on all sides. This whole process goes fairly quickly. 

The pork cubes will be brown on the outside, but still raw on the inside.

Once the city chicken pieces have all been browned and placed into the baking dish,  a little chicken stock is added to the bottom of the pan and its covered tightly with aluminum foil.

It's then baked in a 325 degree F oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until it is is fork tender. (Checking at the 1 1/2 hour mark).

Storage and Leftovers

Store any leftover city chicken in airtight containers in your refrigerator for 3-4 days. I have never froze completely cooked city chicken, but my gut tells me it isn't something that would work well. Let me know if you give it a try and it works out for you in the comment section below and I'll amend this statement. 

Frequently Asked Questions:

What can I serve with City Chicken?

I like to serve my city chicken with gravy and mashed potatoes, but rice pilaf and mixed vegetables go well with it too!  My gravy is simply a mixture of canned pork and mushroom flavored brown gravy...because that's what we like! But you could make yourself homemade gravy if you like. 

To make a simple gravy from scratch, in the same pan you browned the pork skewers:

1. Turn heat to medium high. Add 1/4 cup of chicken stock and bring to boiling, scraping up any brown bits that might be in the bottom of the pan. 
2. Continue to cook until the stock has been reduced by half. 
3. Turn heat down to a simmer, and add 2 tablespoons of butter. Once it's melted, sprinkle 2 tablespoons of flour into the pan and cook, constantly stirring for one minute. 
4. Slowly add one more cup of chicken stock to the mixture and whisk, on low heat until thickened. 
5. Taste for seasonings and add salt and black pepper to taste. (To give the gravy a richer flavor, add 1/2 teaspoon Gravy Master before you add the salt and pepper) 

If you want to elevate this simple comfort food classic to a new level, try serving it with Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes and these Country Style Green Beans. Or how about serving these easy-to-make Brussels sprouts with bacon along side the city chicken skewers. And, store-bought or homemade applesauce is always a great compliment to pork. 

Does City Chicken taste like chicken?

My family swears that this city chicken recipe really does taste like chicken drumsticks (hence the nickname, mock drumsticks!). Me, I'm not so sure.

One thing I do know for sure is that this city chicken recipe is a delicious meal, a definite keeper and one of my favorite comfort foods! When I eat it, it always envokes great memories of my childhood and Sunday dinner with family. 

Make it, taste it, and you be the judge!

Want to learn more about pork and where it comes from? 

Check out this article about my visit to an Ohio Hog Farm!

Hungry for more of Cleveland's favorite recipes?

Try my recipe for the iconic Polish Boy Sandwich or the copycat recipe for famous Lawson's Chip Dip!

Pork recipes you will enjoy!

Juicy Breaded Oven Baked Pork Chops

Air Fryer Boneless Pork Chops

Oven Braised Country-Style Pork Ribs with Sauerkraut

Even more pork recipes

City Chicken, Mock chicken drumsticks, City Chicken Recipe

Main Course, pork

American - Cleveland

Yield: 4 servings

Author: Renee Paj

City Chicken

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 2 HourTotal time: 2 H & 15 M

City Chicken is not chicken at all! It's a regional pork dish consisting of pork sirloin cubes threaded on a skewer, breaded and baked until for tender. Some say they resemble chicken drumsticks.

Ingredients

• 1 pound cubed pork sirloin (plus skewers)
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup egg beaters, or one egg beaten with 1 TBSP water
• 1/2 cup Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 tsp. smoked paprika ( optional )
• 2-3 TBSP olive oil or vegetable oil (divided)
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 can or jar of gravy ( pork or mushroom or one of each mixed together ), heated

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a glass baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside. ( I always make double the recipe, so I use a 9 x 13" baking dish..but you could go smaller if you are only making 4 skewers)
2. Set up a breading station. Seasoned flour, eggbeaters, and then the seasoned breadcrumbs. Add the smoked paprika to the breadcrumbs if using. Thread 4 cubes of pork onto each skewer. Dust first with flour, shaking off excess, then dip each skewer into the eggbeaters, followed by the breadcrumbs. Heat a nonstick pan over med high heat with 1 TBS oil of your choice. Brown the breaded pork on all sides. You aren't looking to cook the pork, just get a nice brown. (If you need to brown the city chicken in batches, use the remaining oil called for in the recipe to add to pan between batches.)
3. Once the pork is browned, transfer to the prepared baking dish. Leave a little space between each skewer. Pour chicken stock into the bottom of the pan and cover tightly with foil. Bake in 325 degree oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until pork is fork tender. Serve with heated gravy.

Notes

This recipe will produce ultra tender pork on a stick, but it will not have a crunchy outside.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

323.13

Fat (grams)

13.42 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

2.47 g

Carbs (grams)

17.62 g

Fiber (grams)

0.98 g

Net carbs

16.63 g

Sugar (grams)

1.48 g

Protein (grams)

31.2 g

Sodium (milligrams)

329.02 mg

Cholesterol (grams)

71.38 mg

Nutritional Information is an estimate it is provided as a courtesy.

https://www.reneeskitchenadventures.com/2012/04/city-chicken.html

Copyright © 2012 Renee's Kitchen Adventures

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Pinterest Reviews:

Donna said, "Very good!! Just like my Mom’s!"

Loretta said, "basically same recipe handed down to me from my grandmother and great grandmother- now passed to my daughter!!!! one of the best meals when I was young."

Marilyn said, "was very good, followed recipe, except I added a little bit of red pepper for a little kick."

Carol said, "Used half veal chunks and half pork!  Delicious!  Just like the “olden days”!"

This post was originally posted on Renee's Kitchen Adventures April 2012. It has been updated with a new printable recipe card with more information on the recipe and updated instructions. It's a great recipe that has been made in my kitchen for many years. I hope that you will give it a try!