Savory Spiced City Chicken
If you never had City Chicken, you don’t know what you are missing. Meat on a stick- always a good thing. But not just meat on a stick- breaded meat on a stick! If you like breaded pork chops, you should love City Chicken. This is a dish I grew up with. When my Mom made City Chicken, I knew dinner was going to be special.
There is no chicken in the dish at all. Odd, but well, I didn’t name the dish, I just like eating it.
City Chicken is normally made with chunks of pork- or chunks of pork and veal- skewered on wooden sticks. I used pork. After skewering, the meat is dipped in seasoned flour, egg wash and then bread crumbs- or cracker crumbs. You can just bake them, or brown in a little oil first, before baking- for a crispier coating. They also can be cooked in an air fryer or convection oven.
My friend Joe and I were talking about how to make it more seasonal. He suggested using different spices. I ended up creating a seasoning blend of some of the warm spices I think of when I think about fall. Here is my latest version of City Chicken, with the new spice blend recipe included.
Savory Spiced City Chicken
2 lbs. boneless pork – I used Western style ribs
½ c. sherry – not cooking sherry
2 T. soy sauce
¾ c. flour
Salt and pepper
3 eggs
½ c. milk or half and half
1-2 T. Savory Autumn Spice Blend, recipe follows
1-2 c. bread crumbs
Oil
6 –inch Wooden sticks or skewers
Cube pork into 1-inch cubes. Place in a bowl and add the sherry and soy sauce. Stir to combine, cover bowl and place in fridge. You can do this a couple of hours ahead or even a day ahead. You might not really need to do this step, but I like the flavor of the sherry, so I chose to marinade my pork in it before breading. Your choice, completely.
Take pork and skewer it onto wooden sticks. I ended up with 9.
Place flour in a bag with salt and pepper to taste. Add one pork skewer at a time to the flour, shaking to coat evenly. Place floured pork skewers on a tray. Once finished, combine eggs with the milk, savory herb blend and a little more salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture into a shallow dish, long enough to hold the skewers. Place bread crumbs in a bag and set aside. Dip each floured skewer into the egg mixture, remove from egg mix and allow excess to drip off a little. Then place in the bag of bread crumbs, shaking to coat evenly. Repeat until all the city chicken is breaded.
Now I know I already asked you to wait to marinade the pork in the beginning. I am going to ask you to wait again. If you fry up the city chicken right away, the breading is likely to fall off. If you bread the city chicken early in the day- then leave it in the fridge at least a couple of hours before cooking it, the breading will stay on much better. I actually marinade a day ahead, in the morning. Then I bread them in the evening the night before. But even breading them a couple of hours before makes a big difference. Just keep in the fridge until you are ready to cook.
When ready to cook them- I know you were giving up hope we would ever get to this step- heat oil in a large skillet. You don’t need much oil- a few tablespoons, at most. Brown the city chicken on all sides in the hot oil. Transfer them to a baking dish, as you finish browning them. Place in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 30 minutes. Don’t bake them too long- you don’t want them to dry out. Pork has to reach a minimum internal temp of 145 F. Serves 6.
Savory Autumn Spice Blend
1 T. paprika
2 t. ground coriander
2 t. mace
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. ground cumin
1 t. ginger
1 t. black pepper
Combine all ingredients and store in an airtight container in a cool place. Use on meats, in dips, soups, stews and marinades. Toss with veggies before roasting or add to butter and spread on bread or add to hot vegetables.
Note: For a larger batch of the spice blend combine:
3 T. paprika
2 T. ground coriander
2 T. mace
1 T. cinnamon
1 T. ground cumin
1 T. ginger
1 T. black pepper
