/**/2020 UPDATE/**/
I rediscovered my own blog and was filled with wonderful memories until I came upon this post. It was marked as “private”. Why on Earth would I have privated my most popular post!?! I can only assume it’s because I had so much additional info that I had learned about the history and origins of City Chicken that I wanted to share and apparently got side-tracked with life for the next …. oh decade-ish.
So here is the post once again and always subject to updates in another 10-15 years!
All about city chicken – the origin, the name, and the recipes.
What about the name “city chicken”?
There is no real consensus as to how the name originated but the most likely explanation to me is this one; urban dwellers have never been likely to keep live chickens and chicken was not a popular commercial food years ago. Beef, veal, and pork, (the typical city chicken “lineup”) were much more popular proteins and would have been available at any nearby butcher. For those people who had grown up where chicken was readily available (ie, a non-urban setting), creating a “drumstick” from scraps of meat would have been both economical and perhaps satisfy a craving for the real thing.
What you’ll need:
4in wooden skewers (ask your butcher if you can’t find them in the grocery!)
- 2 pounds of pork shoulder cut into 1in cubes
- 2 pounds of beef also cut into 1in cubes
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 C of milk
- Italian flavored breadcrumbs – enough to coat the prepared skewers
- (if you decide to use plain breadcrumbs, I highly suggest adding Parmesan cheese, garlic, and your favorite seasonings (Italian seasoning works well)).
- a couple tablespoons of margarine OR Crisco (I’ve tried both – no noticeable difference in taste.)
Instructions
Heat your oven to 325 F.
Alternate the pork and the beef on the skewers – approximately 5 – 6 cubes of meat per skewer. Cubes should be touching but NOT crammed together! Mix the eggs and milk together very well in a wide, shallow bowl or pan. Dip the skewers into the mixture and then roll them in the breadcrumbs getting everything covered really well!
Heat a frying pan, add margarine or Crisco and brown the meat on all sides. In a thick baking pan, stagger-layer the skewers and add a little bit of water to the bottom of the pan so your bottom skewers do not burn.
Bake for 30 minutes.
After the first thirty minutes, turn down the oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake for another 45 – 60 minutes. When done, the meat should be super tender when stuck with a fork.
Optional Ideas:
I enjoy a mushroom soup gravy with my city chicken. I use a can of Campbell’s Mushroom Soup mixed with 1/2 C of milk, a Tbsp of drippings from the pan the city chicken was browned in, a tsp of flour, and a tsp of black pepper. You can also just pour a can of mushroom soup over-top the city chicken in its’ last 1/2 hour of cooking!
Like my dad said – you can make it as easy or as complicated as you want. 🙂 Enjoy.
Where are you from? Take the poll!
38 Comments so far
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the city chicken 
Thanks for your recipe I have been trying to find this wouldn’t happen to be from Michigan would you?
Comment by Robert Henry 04 16 2007 @ 6:10 pmYou’re very welcome, and yes, I am originally from Michigan. The recipe is my grandmother’s and she lived in the Detroit area.
Comment by city chick 04 16 2007 @ 6:14 pmyes! thank you … I thought I was crazy until I googled it today to see if I was making it correctly …
Comment by remnant 04 26 2007 @ 1:44 pmmy mom used to make it when I was growing up … she varied it with pork, veal, beef, and chicken … whatever was on sale at the local butcher shop in Pittsburgh, Pa. …somehow it always seemed special …probably because we were not ‘depression era kids’ .. 🙂
I’m from Michigan and I am making city chicken today. My recipe is almost identicle to this one. I just turned my sister onto it and she is making it today too.
Comment by Donna 04 29 2007 @ 8:11 amThanks! My husband has been asking for this his mom is from the Detroit area and had made this for the family when he was a child
Comment by Cheryl 05 1 2007 @ 11:06 amMy recipe differs from yours. We use veal and pork..but we bread the city chicken (twice) with cracker meal & eggs, salt & pepper to taste. Brown the city chicken in Crisco… bake it in the oven with chicken broth and onions on top.. I am also from Michigan of Polish heritage…I always thought this was a Polish meal because it seemed like it was always served in the Polish restaurant in Michigan or at the old time weddings…am I wrong? My husband grew up in Utica Michigan and he did not know anything about city chicken until he started dating me…but anyway…thanks…betty
Comment by Betty Calabrese 05 14 2007 @ 10:37 amI am polish also and I originally thought this was a polish meal as well. From what I can gather however, city chicken likely originated during the depression here in the US. It is possible that the meal stayed popular in the Detroit area amongst the Polish because of the influx of immigrants during WWII.
Comment by city chick 05 14 2007 @ 3:42 pmAs you are correct in saying it was’nt just the polish but also the Italians as well made city chicken. My relatives immigrated to Endicott, N.Y. outside of the Binghamton area. My Grandmother made city chicken all
Comment by Greg Soleto 06 24 2007 @ 9:09 amthe time even well after the depression only because we loved it. There is a market in Vestal Center about seven miles south of Endicott close to the PA border, and they make city chicken every day. These people can’t make it fast enough it sells so fast. Well I’m going to try your recipe with Italian bread crumbs and pan fry them in oil, just like grandma.
This is an on-going argument here – some say pork, some say duck, some say whatever was left over from last Sunday’s dinner! – WOW thanks, Greg S. – I might check that out when I’m in the Southern Tier!!
Comment by Eddie Ramsey 08 1 2007 @ 11:08 amMy hubby is Polish and from Detroit (Hamtramck actually). Now we live in either Dallas Texas or Bangkok Thailand.
He loved his grandmother’s city chicken but sadly, the recipe died with her.
I’m going to give it a try but it will be a far cry from kaeng khiao wan or homok thalay.
Thanks for the recipe. I appreciate your help.
Anyone know where I can get some Kowalski kielbasa and perogi’s?
La gorn ka!
.
Comment by Maylei 08 21 2007 @ 12:46 pmI have made City Chicken for years for my husband who requested the recipe. I looked at him strange but was glad to find a recipe. Your’s differs from mine slightly, so I may try. By the way, my husband is from right outside of Akron, Ohio. He grew up with his Grandma making it for him. We now live in North Carolina and everyone that eats it here LOVES it.
Comment by Kim 08 22 2007 @ 7:53 pmI am from Ohio and my mom used to make this. Can’t find it a lot of places. Making it today for my hubby and kids..
Comment by Nancy 08 26 2007 @ 2:04 pmI made City Chicken for dinner last night and my kids asked why it was called City Chicken, so I Googled to find the answer. I am originally from Pittsburgh and my mother used to prepare it. I used to work in the meat department of a grocery store, and we would sell veal and pork City Chicken. Making it made me feel very nostalgiac for the “old days”.
Comment by Connie 10 10 2007 @ 3:31 pmIn reply to “Anyone know where I can get some Kowalski kielbasa and perogi’s?” Kowalksi is on line and you can order all the kielbasa you want and they will ship it to you. I live out of state and I make sure I have enough for the holidays….as for the perogis…i make my own and if you want the recipe just hollar..more than happy to share it…
Comment by Betty Calabrese 10 16 2007 @ 11:29 amI’m originally from Binghamton, NY. Since 2000 I call Pensacola, FL home. My husband Bob was in the Air Force for 20+ years, and has asked for city chicken for visiting friends for the 2007 Christmas holidays. Both my brothers still live in Binghamton and so does Mom who is 82. I was comparing recipes here with those in the “Binghamton Polka Paraders” cookbook Mom sent several years ago. Up to the gravy part your directions are pretty much spot on; however, Mom never made gravy – just served ’em in a pile on a platter – used to make them a hundred at a time!
Comment by Nancy N 11 2 2007 @ 5:29 pmI live up here in Hamilton Ontario and my family has been making City Chicken for years. I now make it for my grandchildren – baked in the oven with chicken broth and onions. However, our family originated in the British Isles, so how we came upon the recipe who knows? Love it anyway.
Comment by Diane 11 12 2007 @ 11:15 pmThanks for the recipe. I grew up in Endicott, NY and my mom and dad made city chicken alot in the summer for picnic food – travels well. I now live in the Washington DC area and am going to the Gold Cup horse races in Virginia tomorrow and need to pack a picnic lunch. Thought I was going crazy because everyone has been telling me that city chicken is made from chicken — my mother always used pork, so I was glad to find your recipe. Will be trying it out for the gang for tomorrow. Thanks!
Comment by Brad 05 2 2008 @ 11:09 am“Back home” is Binghamton’s First Ward and I can’t remember the last time I had city chicken. Thanks for posting the recipe – and I agree with Nancy N. (post 15)…no mushroom soup gravy or any gravy for that matter (at least not in experience). I remember being able to buy city chicken at several bars around the area even thru my college years. City chicken and spiedies…the tastes of home. Does the market in Vestal Center (Rte 26?) still sell city chicken ?
Comment by Tom 05 9 2008 @ 4:54 pmI’m originally form Erie, PA, and my mother made City Chicken when I was a kid. I live in NC now, and nobody, other than folks from western PA, OH, and Southwest NY know about City Chicken. All the recipes sound just like the ones my Mom used, including the Crisco.
Comment by Bob 05 15 2008 @ 6:23 pmI am from eastern Ohio and always have been. I am Polish (and Proud). Growing up we had city chicken quite a lot, I’m not sure whether it was a Polish dish or a depression era dish, but my grandmothers and my mother used to make it all the time. We lived on a farm and I know that my mother used veal and pork. I never got a recipe from anyone in the family. My husbands family never heard of it, so I never made it. My daughters ate it with some friends at a Polka weekend at 7 Springs and asked if I ever had it. I had been looking for a recipe for a while. The one that I thought I was my mothers was not what my daughters had eaten. I bought all the stuff and am making them tomorrow with your recipe. Hope this is what they had. The city chicken was not covered in gravy. Hope all goes well. Thanks for the help.
Comment by Sue 05 31 2008 @ 8:15 pmOK lets get this right! Here is the ultimate city chicken. Straight from the First ward,Binghamton,NY. 2 lb pork shoulder or butt,(not loin) it needs a little fat. 2tsp salt 2 cloves garlic, minced, half tsp basil 2tbsp. olive oil, 2tbsp AC vingar, 1 onion,minced, 1Tbsp parsley. Marnate the above for 24 hours,place on wooden skewers,coat with flour,then egg,milk mixture,coat with bread crumbs. Lighty brown in olive oil. Finish baking in oven at 325 for 1 and one halve hours. Cover pan loosely with foil. NO water or soup in pan,place single layer too prevent breab crumbs being mushy. Great with twice baked potatos. Enjoy!!!!!
Comment by Mark Pratt 06 13 2008 @ 12:39 pmSo many ways to make it…I’m originally from Cleveland, slovak background, and grew up with city chicken cooked in the oven. It was always dry. After I married, I found a recipe in a cookbook where it was browned in butter/oil combo, and then you add chicken broth, turn the heat down, cover, and cook on the stove for about 30 minutes, turning occasionally. It’s very moist and my family loves it that way. Even my sisters, who never had it anyway but my mom’s. I’m making it tonight and I too make it with twice baked potatoes!
Comment by Teri 07 10 2008 @ 5:24 pmI just made city chicken last night and it was wonderful. I use only buttermilk to marinate the pork cubes. Then dip in flour and garlic pepper.
Comment by Mary Christ 07 12 2008 @ 11:01 amFry in 1/2 butter, 1/2 olive oil until browned on all sides. Place in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. In the meantime, saute’ mushrooms in pan. Then deglaze the pan with brandy and reduce to 1/2. Add chicken broth and thicken to sever. I seve it with rosemary and parsley mashed potatoes.
I am from Pittsburgh and had city chicken growing up from the “meat man” Mr Kuhns. His chicken had a reddish sauce. Am I remembering wrong? Would love the recipe from Mr Kuhns.
Comment by connie 07 14 2008 @ 9:09 pmMy Poland born Grandmother always made this for our family. My dad is craving the dish, but since we moved to Texas from Michigan (Rochester and Sterling Heights) it’s hard to find anyone who know what I am talking about when I say City chicken! They usually respond: Chicken Fried Chicken?!? Grandma always served city chicken with a gravy and I wish I knew what it was because she also made the best polish meatballs with the same gravy. Polish Village came closet to her recipe if anyone has anything similar please let me know since my 9-year-old CRAVES them! Making city chicken this weekend and hoping it comes out well after reading all your posts!
Comment by Rae Ann 09 5 2008 @ 8:40 pmJust playing around I put together some city chicken today. Some pork loin, sirloin tip, 1 Tsb per# oil of choice, Apple cider vinger 1 Tsb per #
Comment by Mark Pratt 10 2 2008 @ 1:05 pmor 1 Tsb less .I minced up 4 large cloves fresh garlic, 1 medium onion, minced. 2 tsp basil, 3 tsb parsley. 3 tsp salt. Fresh ground pepper to taste. Mix this all up and pour this over your 3-4-5#s of cubed meat. Let this sit in the fridge while you prepare for the next step. I use a large Ziploc bag and mix this really well. Next…place on 4.5 inch wooden scewers, roll in flour, egg/milk mixture, Italian bread crumbs. Fry this up in your choice of frying liquid. I placed these on a rack inside a turkey roster with 1 can chicken broth. I will roast this @325 degrees for 1 hour, check it out and probably uncover it for 1-2 hour. Let this rest 15 minutes uncoverd. Serve with pride, you have just created memories of great food. Change it,mix it to taste.
Just saw my last comment, uncover and continue baking 1/2 hour, not 1-2 hours.
Comment by Mark Pratt 10 2 2008 @ 1:18 pmI’m from Sterling Heights Michigan and grew up having city chicken, Mom just popped it in the oven and it was quite dry. When I married my husband, his Mom (originally from Royal Oak, transplanted to the U.P.), makes it from the pork/veal cubes, coats them in cracker crumbs, frys them in a little oil, until just browned, them puts them in the oven with some beef bouillion dissolved in water. I originally thought the beef bouillion was just not right, but it’s wonderful. I’m making them next week for my Aunt who’s a Detroit to California transplant. I usually serve them with a bacon salad and some boiled baby potatoes.
These have to have either something to do with the Midwest/East coast and the depression or from the European farms, I’m German and so is my Mother-In-Law. I don’t think my Father-In-Law had them until he married (he’s what I affectionately term a mutt) Yum, Yum, can’t wait until this Saturday.
Comment by Lara Trottier 10 20 2008 @ 1:19 pmOh wow,
Comment by Eddy Tate 10 26 2008 @ 5:48 pmI am pleased to find this.
I am 42 m live outside of Dallas.
MY grandmother used to also make this when I was very young.
(I was 6 and called in “town chicken” )
Also polish (Lepinski) and from u p Mich.
I was about to begin making mine and like you all,, googled it,hee hee
I only remember eating it a few times as we would vacation up there in the summers.
So I began making it several years ago and my picky 15 yr old requests it often..
I have always used chicken and pork though!
My Mom just informed me that theres no chicken in it ,,,, really …. Stunned, I researched here and all this time i’ve been doing it this way.
Sometimes a maranide, sometimes I dont but I always cut my own meat.
The other thing different about mine is that I’ll use the cream of mushroom soup and mix it w/ a sm can of evaporated milk, some tarragon, white wine,diced mushrooms,, LOTS of garlic + salt and pepper to taste.
OH and I also put mine over a layer of thinly sliced potatoes and onion /salt and pepper.
You get the city chicken, the gravy, and some scalloped type potatoes.
But now the City Chicken door has been opened to me. and I feel somehow enlightened ,, ready to cook but will now try a few of the ones that you all have posted here in the future.
Anyone remember pasties?? Mmmmm. Could always get them at the bakery in Wakefield. So tasty !
As a child in northern Michigan my mother served us city chicken, but it was never cubed but ground. We loved it, but never saw it is cubed form. Are there any recipes for a ground form of this food?
Comment by Art Hellert 10 26 2008 @ 8:40 pmI’m guessing that you could use ground meat, form it into a drumstick around a skewer and then treat the meat the exact same way as you would the cubed version without any problems. This sounds like something for my Ultimate City Chicken Showdown – I’ll be sure to let everyone know whether or not it worked!
Comment by city chick 10 26 2008 @ 9:43 pmI always flour then brown, then cover w/ milk & add potatoes…..never heard of the egg thing b4
Comment by katie 11 3 2008 @ 3:46 pmMy mom fixed city chicken quite a bit during my childhood (60’s & 70’s in Charleroi, PA) and I was just feeling nostalgic tonight and thought I’d fix it for dinner. Problem was, I couldn’t remember the specifics in regard to breading and baking times. Thank you!
Comment by Billie 11 5 2008 @ 6:58 pmwell I live in detroit right now and by far the best city chicken I have ever had is from a meat market the name of the place is Kopytko meat markey they have a website and they will ship it to you lol the addie is kopytkomeatmarket.com
Comment by jason 11 10 2008 @ 4:25 pmI grew up in Vestal, NY just outside of Binghamton. My grandmother was Polish and a phenomenal cook.
City Chicken in my family is made with saltine crackers and dipped in 2 or 3 rounds of a milk and egg mix, then cracker crumbs; they are then browned in a cast iron pan, placed in a single layer in a baking dish or large jelly roll pan (with sides); a layer of rich broth with chopped onions is poured over the top, and then they are baked. You can ‘cheat’ by using beef bouillon or even a packet of Lipton’s onion soup mix.
Wooden skewers were used and the city chicken was typically served with mashed potatoes and a side of peas.
I would never ever ever ever ever use bread crumbs nor Italian Seasonings (Sorry, Endicott! lol)
Comment by Sophie 11 26 2008 @ 3:49 pmCan you do any make ahead preparations on this? Like fry them and then let them sit overnight+ and then bake them on the day of? Thanks!
Comment by vikki 12 3 2008 @ 4:39 pmI am sure you could – there is always the possibility that the breading (whatever kind you choose to use) could end up getting mushy and never really recover from it. However, I find that the finished product makes great left-overs and re-heats quite well.
Comment by city chick 12 3 2008 @ 6:26 pmThanks so much!! BTW, I’m from Milford, Mi. and my Grandma made this for us, in the kitchen in the basement – where all the magic happened! Take care!
Comment by vikki 12 4 2008 @ 12:29 am