City Chicken isn’t actually chicken; it’s also been known as mock chicken. It’s sometimes thought of as a Polish recipe, although it’s not actually from Poland. What’s up with this dish?
Dating back to the turn of the previous century, City Chicken, a Polish-American recipe, has roots in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Cleveland, Ohio and spread to Great Lakes cities such as Detroit, Michigan and Buffalo, New York. Nostalgic comfort food from the Rust Belt.
Made of small bits of meat, usually pork and veal because during the Great Depression, they were less expensive than chicken. The meat used was often scraps, placed on a wooden skewer and formed to resemble a chicken leg. It was breaded and fried and/or baked.
I made City Chicken over the weekend, it was the first time I’d sampled the mock chicken, and I have to say the experience is very similar to eating fried chicken. My husband, Ed, grew up near Pittsburgh, and is a more experienced connoisseur of City Chicken than I. When I said I was going to make it, he knew what I meant. 🙂
He told he that the last time he’d had City Chicken was probably in a restaurant in the Strip District, at the foot of Polish Hill (home to the Immaculate Heart of Mary church), on a visit to Pittsburgh. If you’re ever in the area, it’s worth a stop in the Strip District. Wonderful food markets and restaurants. There’s a Polish Deli, Wholey’s (an amazing fish monger). This is where I first visited a Penzey’s Spice store (long before they had a location in Tucson), first sampled the Pittsburgh classic of steak strips and french fries garnishing a green salad, but that’s another story.
Ed remembered seeing City Chicken the grocery stores when he was growing up, packs of stew-like meat with skewers included, but his family usually ate chicken. I think by that time, the price pendulum had swung the other way because even though money was tight, his mother fried a huge platter of chicken every Sunday as they hosted extended family.
Like most recipes, there are many variations. You have many cooking options: deep fry, pan fry, fry and then bake to finish, or just bake. Some like to serve City Chicken with some kind of gravy, we had it with my mushroom sauce. If you’d like to make this a low carb recipe, try any of these substitutions for the bread crumbs; all are tasty and satisfying ways to get the desire texture in the coating:
- ground almonds
- ground almonds & Parmesan Cheese
- ground pork rinds
City chicken is a tasty nostalgic dish that I think you’ll enjoy. Can you think of other recipes with such misleading names? I’m sure this isn’t the only one.
Smacznego!
Lois
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A nostalgic comfort food
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pound pork, cut into 1 – 1 1/2 inch cubes
- Seasoning salt (another indicator that this Polish-American rather than Polish)
- flour, for dredging
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoon water
- 2 cups seasoned breadcrumbs
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350
- Season pork with seasoning salt, and thread onto 4 inch skewers
- Set up three bowls or plates with rims in a row (fill one with flour, one with the eggs, and the last with breadcrumbs)
- Roll the pork skewers in flour, dip in the eggs coating all side, roll in the bread crumbs
- Heat oil to 350, even brown the pork skewers in the hot oil
- Place the skewers in a baking dish and cover with foil, bake for about 20 minutes, then remove foil and bake uncovered for 5 minutes to crisp breading
Keywords: City Chicken
we make this alternating pork and veal cubes. use plain breadcrumbs. no seasoning salt! do not dredge in flour. dip in egg wash, roll in breadcrumbs. repeat at least once, more if you like breading. fry in oil til brown, turn over, brown the other side, layer in roasting pan. mix leftover breadcrumbs in egg wash, shape into a patty, and fry that too. add this patty to the meat that’s been browned.(there’s always someone at table who like breading!) add a lil water to bottom of pan, cover tightly, bake at 350 degrees F. until tender. tip- it’s easier to skewer meat cubes if they’re frozen! but these need to bake longer because they don’t thaw all the way through when browned. the ones on bottom of pan will be softer, bertter for older people. the top layers will be crispier. but all are great! serve with mashed potatoes, a veggie, and a salad.
I grew up in Chicago. My Polish-American mother called it “mock” chicken legs.
My Polish grandmother lived in Racine. wI and made this all the time while my mom was growing up. Recently my mom compiled a list of all our family heritage recipes for me and low and behold, City Chicken was in there! Thanks for sharing the history!
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My pleasure, Erin! How wonderful that your mom put together the family recipes. I hear from people weekly who are trying to find an old family recipes because no one ever wrote them down.
We call it City. Chicken too! I use pork and veal cubed and alternate pieces on a skewer. I then dip the stKewers in egg wash then roll in bread crumbs and place them ina fry pan with a little oil to brown the.m. Remove and place in 9×12 square pan and pour 2 cans of cream of chicken soup over skewers and add one can of water and one can of chicken broth overskewers. Bake for 1. 1/2 hours longer if not cooked….delicious!
Sounds really good, Fran!
I remember when my MOM these and we loved them in Toledo Ohio. Yep a Polish neighborhood.
We called them “Mock City Chicken Legs”. I had looked for the How Too’s many times.
Thank you for giving me the recipe.
PS We also ate a lot of chicken then. So these stood out for me.
Enjoy, Kathryn!
I had to chuckle when I saw this post. I made city chicken as did my mother. She was raised in Charleroi PA while I was raised in Cleveland, OH. I liked city chicken. There is a post on Facebook asking what is the one thing your mother made when you were a child that you hated and won’t eat today. I said liver while my daughter said city chicken. Oh well, can’t please everyone. haha! Had to read this to my husband who is Polish. Thanks for the memory.
LOL, what a great story, Mary. BTW, my husband was born in Charleroi!
I also live in the Mon Valley area. My bubba was polish and my mom made this all the time. Funny my daughter’s birthday is on Valentine’s day and requested this for her dinner. Love our heritage.
Happy birthday to your daughter; sto lat!
I grew up in the Pittsburgh area. You can still buy it at local grocery stores. Thanks for the memory.
I’m glad to hear it’ still around! Thanks, Michelle! 🙂
Really interesting how this came to be. Thanks for a cool food history lesson!
My pleasure, David!
I grew up on city chicken as we are american poles but have been away from it for a ling time. I live in Michigan and getting ready right now to head out on a snowy January afternoon to Sabina’ Polish Restaurant in Melvindale just outside Detroit. It might have been an economy meal in its day but I plan on making it for Easter dinner. After all, I am on a budget but I know itvwill be well received!
Love City Chicken. Realized it was not truly an ethnic Polish recipe when I asked a recent Polish immigrant to share her recipe and she did not know what I was talking about. Never heard of it.
That’s funny Joan, the same could be said of Polkas. So popular with Polish-American, but not so much in Poland. 🙂
Lois,
I grew up in Southeastern Ohio, the son of a second generation butcher. I discovered your site and this recipe while searching for another recipe for “Mock Chicken”. My mother, God love her, was German (as was 75% of the county) and though I’m older than dirt I still smell those wonderful aromas every time I think of her.
Everything I’ve read here sounds familiar. That generation was so demonstrably shaped by the Great Depression and WWII that wasting anything was a sin. I had forgotten City Chicken. I saw this recipe and the memories came rushing back. She used lard. In fact, my mother could have gotten us to the moon with just two items: Lard and her Cast Iron Skillets. As I recall, the chicken was browned perfectly, never heavy or greasy. I seem to remember that she added white cornmeal to the breading which gave it a crispness; the texture was amazing. In the summer time green pepper, finely diced was a welcome addition to the recipe.
At that time, small town butchers were also unofficial “culinary consultants” and I realize now that many family dishes gained a wider audience in this way. Many, many times I remember my Grandfather, Uncle or Dad waiting on a young bride new to the kitchen or a middle-aged mother of six whose reputation as a Supreme Commander in the kitchen was well established. As I swept the floor or cleaned the display case glass, I listened as they walked the bride through choosing a cut then offering simple instructions on preparation; always simple, basic and delicious. Her confidence grew and they gained another loyal customer. The seasoned kitchen veteran called for a different strategy. She knew her way around and could spot a phony from a mile away. I’d listen, her choice made and wrapped, as the familiar, “Say, Mrs. Fleighman have you ever tried doing this with that roast?” Her confidence in the boys with the aprons and perhaps familiarity with my mother or her family, made her want to know more. In all cases, these were family recipes passed on, genuinely in the name of customer service, and soon could be found on the tables of any and all. I’d wager City Chicken could be found on someone’s supper table, in some form or another, every night of every week in that little hamlet. I’m sorry for the nostalgic detour.
Briefly, mother would hand grind beef or pork or both (therein lies the problem, I don’t know) together with garlic, onion, black pepper, and some celery I believe. To that coursly ground mixture she added Miracle Whip and salted to taste. She made all of our bread and rolls. All of it. I can’t put into words how yeasty and glorious it was, I would come in from playing and she would toast two wonderful slices of that bread and spread it with homemade butter she bought from dairy farmer friends of theirs. She would take that meat concoction out of the “Fridge” and spread a generous portion on a slice of toast and top it with lettuce, onion and a slice of tomato from the summertime garden. I know I sincerely appreciated it then, but now? Oh what I would give. My sister is 13 years older and married right out of high school. They moved to Detroit. When they were planning a visit home, she would always ask Mom if she could make some MOCK CHICKEN. My sis always had some waiting for her when she arrived and went back to Detroit with a Tupperware tub as well.
That’s the Mock Chicken search that brought me to your site. I’m so glad that it did. Forgive my diatribe, please. Thoughts of food distract me.
Love your site. Happy New Year!
Warm regards,
JB Hayes
Greensboro, North Carolina
Thanks for sharing such lovely and thoughtful memories!
Thank you for sharing your stories. I make almost all of our food from scratch (and work full time). I often wonder if my sons will remember any of it. It’s great to hear that you remember your mom’s cooking so fondly.
I think they’ll remember, Chaley! ❤️
What type of work do you recommend? Tenderloin? Loin? Thanks!
I used a pork roast. It wasn’t a tenderloin.
Thanks!
My Mom made this with cubed pork and beef.
I grew up in the Pittsburgh area and now live in Tucson also. My mom always made City Chicken, thank you for sharing your recipe!
I would make these all the time , my mother made them when we were kids. My father was from Austria/Hungry when it was one country. He remembers his mother making them when they were kids. My family just loved it .
My mom used pork and beef but I do not know what cut of beef to use. Any suggestions?
Veal and pork would be traditional.
Grew up in Chicago, mom was German dad was Polish, enjoyed mock chickens legs often……haven’t thought of these in a long time, thank you for wonderful memories
My pleasure, Linda!
I have made this dish many times on a regular basis since i couldn’t wait for Christmas and Easter to enjoy it at both my Polish and Ukrainian families. This City Chicken version with flour…may be a spin off from the original recipes from Eastern Poland and Western Ukraine. People in the north and west of Poland have other influences and of course would not hear of this. They are originally named PATYCHKI (sticks), marinated cubes of pork and/or veal with garlic(lots), onions, paprika, olive oil…..(I use Italian Dressing to speed things up) then dredged in egg wash and rolled in breadcrumbs. Flash fried then either laid length wise on celery stocks or stand on end in a roasting pan for the oven. If you search “Patychki” you will notice another side of this delicious entry.
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Thanks so much for this info, Mark. I’ll check it out!
Do you happen have a recipe for a mushroom gravy? Can’t wait to make this 🙂
This would be delicious, Pam:
https://polishhousewife.com/creamed-mushrooms-grzyby-w-sosie/
I am 1st generation Italian American and my mother made this. She used Pork & Veal. The recipe is similiar but we would put grated parmesean cheese in the egg mixture with Italian seasonings and fresh parsley. After frying and browning, she would layer celery stalks in bottom of roaster so chicken pieces didn’t stick to the bottom of pan. Delicious. My two grown sons, her grandsons still ask me to make it for them.
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That sounds delicious, Phyllis; thanks for sharing!
I grew-up in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood. Wagner’s Meat Market at the near corner of Penn and Winebiddle Avenues was a landmark, originally Moebler’s Meat Market. Harry and Earl Wagner continued the tradition of H. Moebler. The saw-dust covered floors, Monarch Bally Blocks, and oak-doored, beveled glass doored McCray ice-boxes, meats in full view. Oh, yes and city/mock chicken on a stick, in the case. Wagner’s used a ground recipe then molded the mixture in a hand-held metal press shaped like a large pair of scissors with a hole for the wooden skewer—when finished they looked like chicken legs. Those were the times! Like the steam locomotive – I lived and witnessed the end of many eras.
Thanks for sharing, Karl.
It’s “K” …like kraut.
Sorry, Karl, my mistake. I’ve corrected.