This Depression-era Rust Belt specialty of breaded and skewered pork or veal was created when those meats were cheaper than chicken—now it’s a prized local specialty that’s worth making even if it’s not cheaper.
This dish of crispy breaded pork skewers smothered in an oniony gravy—a Depression-Era Rust Belt specialty—takes me back to my childhood in Pittsburgh.Seasoned bread crumbs give these faux drumsticks a classic, homespun “chicken cutlet” flavor.Frying onion slices in cooking oil after browning the pork skewers adds extra flavor to a quick pan gravy that adds a finishing touch to the dish.My husband’s confusion as he was served a platter of city chicken was understandable.
Those who grew up in the Rust Belt encircling the Great Lakes—anywhere from Indiana to Ohio to western New York—are likely familiar with this somewhat unusual but utterly delicious comfort food. I’m from western Pennsylvania and feel like city chicken is a distinctively Pittsburgh dish, though we really can’t lay full claim to it.newspaper ad spells it all out: “Tender, choice pieces of fresh veal and pork are cut into neat squares and alternated on skewers… four or five to the skewer.
Breaded, browned, and baked, these skewers of veal and/or pork were meant to be a filling meal that cleverly used excess meat scraps. But city chicken has endured, despite the fact that you can now get a package of chicken drumsticks for far less than you’d find veal and even pork at most grocery stores. You’ll still find prepackaged city chicken skewers and DIY city chicken “kits” in meat departments throughout the Pittsburgh area that use pork and veal cubes.
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