City chicken is the Ohio classic that contains no chicken at all — cubes of pork (sometimes veal) threaded onto skewers, breaded, and fried until golden and crisp, shaped like little drumsticks. It looks like fried chicken, eats like a very good fried cutlet, and has been fooling dinner tables for about a hundred years.
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds boneless pork loin or pork shoulder, cut into 1.5-inch cubes
- 1/2 pound veal stew meat, cut into cubes (optional, traditional)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1.5 cups fine breadcrumbs or cracker crumbs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- Oil, for frying
- Wooden skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes
Instructions
- Thread 3–4 cubes of pork (and veal, if using) onto each soaked skewer, packing them snugly and shaping each skewer roughly like a drumstick.
- Set up a breading station: seasoned flour in one dish, beaten eggs in another, breadcrumbs mixed with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika in a third.
- Roll each skewer in flour, dip in egg, then coat firmly in breadcrumbs, pressing so the crust sticks. Rest for 10 minutes so the coating sets.
- Heat about 1 inch of oil in a deep skillet to 350°F (175°C). Fry the skewers in batches for 3–4 minutes per side until deep golden and crisp.
- Transfer to a wire rack and finish in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 10–12 minutes until cooked through and juicy inside.
- Serve hot with mashed potatoes, gravy, or your favorite dipping sauce — and enjoy the joke: no chicken was involved.
Pro Tips
- Packing the cubes tightly on the skewer is what gives city chicken its drumstick shape.
- Resting the breaded skewers before frying keeps the crust from falling off in the oil.
- A short oven finish after frying guarantees juicy meat without burning the crust.