I heard of a nostalgic recipe called city chicken. I had never heard
of such a thing Does anyone know the origins of this dish? I googled
it and got recipes and a little bit of background on the dish but
would love to hear how people made or still make this comfort food. I
think it would make a fun dinner party theme. Thanks in advance.

pamjd wrote:
> I heard of a nostalgic recipe called city chicken. I had never heard
> of such a thing Does anyone know the origins of this dish? I googled
> it and got recipes and a little bit of background on the dish but
> would love to hear how people made or still make this comfort food. I
> think it would make a fun dinner party theme. Thanks in advance.

Wasn't City Chicken originally really veal? Back of course when veal was
cheap!!!

On Nov 24, 8:14�pm, Goomba > wrote:
> pamjd wrote:
> > I heard of a nostalgic recipe called city chicken. I had never heard
> > of such a thing Does anyone know the origins of this dish? �I googled
> > it and got recipes and a little bit of background on the dish but
> > would love to hear how people made or still make this comfort food. �I
> > think it would make a fun dinner party theme. �Thanks in advance.
>
> Wasn't City Chicken originally really veal? Back of course when veal was
> cheap!!!

Yes I think it was originally veal but I can not imagine when veal was
cheaper than chicken! Most the recipes I have found are a combination
of pork and beef cubes.

I do not remember anyone talking about it when I was growing up.

pamjd wrote:
> On Nov 24, 8:14�pm, Goomba > wrote:

>> Wasn't City Chicken originally really veal? Back of course when veal was
>> cheap!!!
>
> Yes I think it was originally veal but I can not imagine when veal was
> cheaper than chicken! Most the recipes I have found are a combination
> of pork and beef cubes.
>
> I do not remember anyone talking about it when I was growing up.

Depends. How old are ya? I recall reading it mentioned in older
cookbooks I think?
I also recall that Lobster was considered garbage food too...so ordinary
and best left for the peasants. LOL Wonder when that changed?

Goomba wrote:
>
> pamjd wrote:
> > I heard of a nostalgic recipe called city chicken. I had never heard
> > of such a thing Does anyone know the origins of this dish? I googled
> > it and got recipes and a little bit of background on the dish but
> > would love to hear how people made or still make this comfort food. I
> > think it would make a fun dinner party theme. Thanks in advance.
>
> Wasn't City Chicken originally really veal? Back of course when veal was
> cheap!!!

I was thinking it might be another name for pigeon.

"pamjd" ha scritto nel messaggio

>I heard of a nostalgic recipe called city chicken. I had never heard> of
>such a thing Does anyone know the origins of this dish? I googled> it and
>got recipes and a little bit of background on the dish but> would love to
>hear how people made or still make this comfort food. I
> think it would make a fun dinner party theme. Thanks in advance.

I don't know about comfort food. Chicken was pricey and available only very
very fresh in the old days. "A chicken in every pot" dates from when there
wasn't one. Nowadays with refrigeration and battery farming that's changed.
This dish is formed into drumettes and is made of veal that would be at your
butcher's almost all the time. It only sort of looks like chicken. It's
not really company food except as a curiosity.

On Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:41:24 +0100, "Giusi" >
wrote:

>
>"pamjd" ha scritto nel messaggio
>
>>I heard of a nostalgic recipe called city chicken. I had never heard> of
>>such a thing Does anyone know the origins of this dish? I googled> it and
>>got recipes and a little bit of background on the dish but> would love to
>>hear how people made or still make this comfort food. I
>> think it would make a fun dinner party theme. Thanks in advance.
>
>I don't know about comfort food. Chicken was pricey and available only very
>very fresh in the old days. "A chicken in every pot" dates from when there
>wasn't one. Nowadays with refrigeration and battery farming that's changed.
>This dish is formed into drumettes and is made of veal that would be at your
>butcher's almost all the time. It only sort of looks like chicken. It's
>not really company food except as a curiosity.
>

I imagine milk fed veal would be blonde enough to pass for chicken...
I didn't know (from reading past threads) that it's shaped into
drumettes. How? Is it on a skewer?

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

On Nov 24, 7:16*pm, pamjd > wrote:
> I heard of a nostalgic recipe called city chicken. I had never heard
> of such a thing Does anyone know the origins of this dish? *I googled
> it and got recipes and a little bit of background on the dish but
> would love to hear how people made or still make this comfort food. *I
> think it would make a fun dinner party theme. *Thanks in advance.


My dad used to buy city chicken at this old A&P store that existed not
far from our house when I was a kid back in the 70s. It used to be
common back when grocery stores would order sides and quarters of
animals and had to employ actual meat cutters to cut them into steaks,
roasts and whatnot. There would be extra bits and pieces afterward and
sometimes they would put them on wooden skewers and sell it as "city
chicken." There was no actual chicken in city chicken, BTW. It would
be little chunks of beef, veal, pork and lamb that they basically
didn't want to throw away. We had it regularly, largely because it was
cheap. My parents would brown it in a skillet with salt and pepper and
then bake it. Overbake it if you ask me, but it still wasn't bad
stuff. They may have made gravy with the drippings but I can't
remember anymore. City Chicken is one of those charming things that
have "gone by the wayside" in the name of efficiency and higher
profits.

Christopher Helms > wrote in news:78931e94-3362-
:

> On Nov 24, 7:16*pm, pamjd > wrote:
>> I heard of a nostalgic recipe called city chicken. I had never heard
>> of such a thing Does anyone know the origins of this dish? *I googled
>> it and got recipes and a little bit of background on the dish but
>> would love to hear how people made or still make this comfort food. *I
>> think it would make a fun dinner party theme. *Thanks in advance.
>
>
> My dad used to buy city chicken at this old A&P store that existed not
> far from our house when I was a kid back in the 70s. It used to be
> common back when grocery stores would order sides and quarters of
> animals and had to employ actual meat cutters to cut them into steaks,
> roasts and whatnot. There would be extra bits and pieces afterward and
> sometimes they would put them on wooden skewers and sell it as "city
> chicken." There was no actual chicken in city chicken, BTW. It would
> be little chunks of beef, veal, pork and lamb that they basically
> didn't want to throw away. We had it regularly, largely because it was
> cheap. My parents would brown it in a skillet with salt and pepper and
> then bake it. Overbake it if you ask me, but it still wasn't bad
> stuff. They may have made gravy with the drippings but I can't
> remember anymore. City Chicken is one of those charming things that
> have "gone by the wayside" in the name of efficiency and higher
> profits.


Never heard of "city chicken" in my entire life.

A dreamed up hoax!

Andy

On Nov 25, 6:38*am, Andy > wrote:
> Christopher Helms > wrote in news:78931e94-3362-
> :
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Nov 24, 7:16*pm, pamjd > wrote:
> >> I heard of a nostalgic recipe called city chicken. I had never heard
> >> of such a thing Does anyone know the origins of this dish? *I googled
> >> it and got recipes and a little bit of background on the dish but
> >> would love to hear how people made or still make this comfort food. *I
> >> think it would make a fun dinner party theme. *Thanks in advance.
>
> > My dad used to buy city chicken at this old A&P store that existed not
> > far from our house when I was a kid back in the 70s. It used to be
> > common back when grocery stores would order sides and quarters of
> > animals and had to employ actual meat cutters to cut them into steaks,
> > roasts and whatnot. There would be extra bits and pieces afterward and
> > sometimes they would put them on wooden skewers and sell it as "city
> > chicken." There was no actual chicken in city chicken, BTW. It would
> > be little chunks of beef, veal, pork and lamb that they basically
> > didn't want to throw away. We had it regularly, largely because it was
> > cheap. My parents would brown it in a skillet with salt and pepper and
> > then bake it. Overbake it if you ask me, but it still wasn't bad
> > stuff. They may have made gravy with the drippings but I can't
> > remember anymore. City Chicken is one of those charming things that
> > have "gone by the wayside" in the name of efficiency and higher
> > profits.
>
> Never heard of "city chicken" in my entire life.
>
> A dreamed up hoax!
>
> Andy


Yeah, you're right. I made all that up. I was never a kid either. I
thought you killfiled me, but I digress...

Christopher Helms > wrote in news:1b017748-350e-
:

> On Nov 25, 6:38*am, Andy > wrote:
>> Christopher Helms > wrote in news:78931e94-
3362-
>> :
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> > On Nov 24, 7:16*pm, pamjd > wrote:
>> >> I heard of a nostalgic recipe called city chicken. I had never
heard
>> >> of such a thing Does anyone know the origins of this dish? *I
google
> d
>> >> it and got recipes and a little bit of background on the dish but
>> >> would love to hear how people made or still make this comfort food.
> *I
>> >> think it would make a fun dinner party theme. *Thanks in advance.
>>
>> > My dad used to buy city chicken at this old A&P store that existed
not
>> > far from our house when I was a kid back in the 70s. It used to be
>> > common back when grocery stores would order sides and quarters of
>> > animals and had to employ actual meat cutters to cut them into
steaks,
>> > roasts and whatnot. There would be extra bits and pieces afterward
and
>> > sometimes they would put them on wooden skewers and sell it as "city
>> > chicken." There was no actual chicken in city chicken, BTW. It would
>> > be little chunks of beef, veal, pork and lamb that they basically
>> > didn't want to throw away. We had it regularly, largely because it
was
>> > cheap. My parents would brown it in a skillet with salt and pepper
and
>> > then bake it. Overbake it if you ask me, but it still wasn't bad
>> > stuff. They may have made gravy with the drippings but I can't
>> > remember anymore. City Chicken is one of those charming things that
>> > have "gone by the wayside" in the name of efficiency and higher
>> > profits.
>>
>> Never heard of "city chicken" in my entire life.
>>
>> A dreamed up hoax!
>>
>> Andy
>
>
> Yeah, you're right. I made all that up. I was never a kid either. I
> thought you killfiled me, but I digress...


I'm always the first to turn the other cheek.

Andy

"Gregory Morrow" > wrote in
m:

> Andy also I guess is not aware that another moniker for "city chicken"
is
> "fag chicken"...
>
> <chuckle>


Greg,

Good one.

I began to wonder if a "city chicken" was pidgeon! LOLOL!!!

Best,

Andy

Christopher Helms wrote:

> On Nov 25, 6:38 am, Andy > wrote:
>> Christopher Helms > wrote in
>> news:78931e94-3362-
>> :
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>> On Nov 24, 7:16 pm, pamjd > wrote:
>>>> I heard of a nostalgic recipe called city chicken. I had never
>>>> heard of such a thing Does anyone know the origins of this dish? I
>>>> googled it and got recipes and a little bit of background on the
>>>> dish but would love to hear how people made or still make this
>>>> comfort food. I think it would make a fun dinner party theme.
>>>> Thanks in advance.
>>
>>> My dad used to buy city chicken at this old A&P store that existed
>>> not far from our house when I was a kid back in the 70s. It used to
>>> be common back when grocery stores would order sides and quarters of
>>> animals and had to employ actual meat cutters to cut them into
>>> steaks, roasts and whatnot. There would be extra bits and pieces
>>> afterward and sometimes they would put them on wooden skewers and
>>> sell it as "city chicken." There was no actual chicken in city
>>> chicken, BTW. It would be little chunks of beef, veal, pork and
>>> lamb that they basically didn't want to throw away. We had it
>>> regularly, largely because it was cheap. My parents would brown it
>>> in a skillet with salt and pepper and then bake it. Overbake it if
>>> you ask me, but it still wasn't bad stuff. They may have made gravy
>>> with the drippings but I can't remember anymore. City Chicken is
>>> one of those charming things that have "gone by the wayside" in the
>>> name of efficiency and higher profits.
>>
>> Never heard of "city chicken" in my entire life.
>>
>> A dreamed up hoax!
>>
>> Andy
>
>
> Yeah, you're right. I made all that up. I was never a kid either. I
> thought you killfiled me, but I digress...


Andy also I guess is not aware that another moniker for "city chicken" is
"fag chicken"...

<chuckle>


--
Best
Greg

Andy wrote:

> "Gregory Morrow" > wrote innews:IrGdnWP9jd3BtZDWnZ2dnUVZ_sCdnZ2d@earthlink. com:
>
>
>
> > Andy also I guess is not aware that another moniker for "city chicken"
> is
> > "fag chicken"...
>
> > <chuckle>
>
> Greg,
>
> Good one.
>
> I began to wonder if a "city chicken" was pidgeon! LOLOL!!!


Naw, Andy, pidgeon is commonly referred to - in "urban" areas at least
- as "ghetto chicken"...or even "sqwertz chicken"...!!!

;-p


--
Best
Greg

"Goomba" > wrote in message
...
> pamjd wrote:
>> I heard of a nostalgic recipe called city chicken. I had never heard
>> of such a thing Does anyone know the origins of this dish? I googled
>> it and got recipes and a little bit of background on the dish but
>> would love to hear how people made or still make this comfort food. I
>> think it would make a fun dinner party theme. Thanks in advance.
>
> Wasn't City Chicken originally really veal? Back of course when veal was
> cheap!!!

Friends of ours make it in a small commercial kitchen on their property.
They make it with skewered pork cubes, breaded and pressure fried, sort of
like making broasted chicken. They only sell it locally as they enjoy doing
it and don't want to expand. His original recipe is polish....Sharon in
Canada

Gregory Morrow > wrote in
:

> Andy wrote:
>
>> "Gregory Morrow" > wrote
>> innews:IrGdnWP9jd3BtZDWnZ2dnUVZ_sCdnZ2d@earthlink. com:
>>
>>
>>
>> > Andy also I guess is not aware that another moniker for "city
>> > chicken"
>> is
>> > "fag chicken"...
>>
>> > <chuckle>
>>
>> Greg,
>>
>> Good one.
>>
>> I began to wonder if a "city chicken" was pidgeon! LOLOL!!!
>
>
> Naw, Andy, pidgeon is commonly referred to - in "urban" areas at least
> - as "ghetto chicken"...or even "sqwertz chicken"...!!!
>
> ;-p
>
>
> --
> Best
> Greg


LOLOLOL!!!

LOL!!!

Andy

pamjd wrote:
> I heard of a nostalgic recipe called city chicken. I had never heard
> of such a thing Does anyone know the origins of this dish? I googled
> it and got recipes and a little bit of background on the dish but
> would love to hear how people made or still make this comfort food. I
> think it would make a fun dinner party theme. Thanks in advance.

I'm from Pittsburgh and I always heard it originated
in Pittsburgh. Don't know for sure though. When I
was a kid we often had it. It's chunks of veal and pork
alternated on a wooden skewer about 6" long. You bread
them and fry them. I think the name comes from their
resemblance to a chicken drumstick. In olden times, when
I was young, you could buy them already skewered at local
buther shops and maybe the supermarket. Nowadays it's
all pork and you don't see them already made up but they
still sell pork chunks, with skewers available, and call it
city chicken.
Kate

--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?

On Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:27:48 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
> wrote:

>Yes, wooden skewers about 6 inches long. More traditionally, it was
>alternating pieces of veal and pork. Typically, it was breaded and browned
>in fat in a skillet, then baked covered with a small amount of broth added
>until tender.

Pieces of veal and pork? It's not much a drumette in that case. I
envisioned ground veal and pork shaped into a meatball on a stick!

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

On Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:38:48 -0600, Andy > wrote:

>Never heard of "city chicken" in my entire life.

That makes two of us. I've only heard of it here in rfc.

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

On Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:56:30 -0600, Andy > wrote:

>I began to wonder if a "city chicken" was pidgeon! LOLOL!!!


It is!

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

Kate Connally wrote:

> I'm from Pittsburgh and I always heard it originated
> in Pittsburgh. Don't know for sure though. When I
> was a kid we often had it. It's chunks of veal and pork
> alternated on a wooden skewer about 6" long. You bread
> them and fry them. I think the name comes from their
> resemblance to a chicken drumstick. In olden times, when
> I was young, you could buy them already skewered at local
> buther shops and maybe the supermarket. Nowadays it's
> all pork and you don't see them already made up but they
> still sell pork chunks, with skewers available, and call it
> city chicken.


That sounds like something our neighbour often serves at big parties.
She has Polish and Ukrainian roots and she calls it "meat on a stick".

On Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:59:45 -0500, Dave Smith
> wrote:

>That sounds like something our neighbour often serves at big parties.
>She has Polish and Ukrainian roots and she calls it "meat on a stick".

Sounds like a better description!

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

On Nov 24, 7:16*pm, pamjd > wrote:
> I heard of a nostalgic recipe called city chicken. I had never heard
> of such a thing Does anyone know the origins of this dish? *I googled
> it and got recipes and a little bit of background on the dish but
> would love to hear how people made or still make this comfort food. *I
> think it would make a fun dinner party theme. *Thanks in advance.

City Chicken was originally chunks of veal and pork, on a skewer,
dipped in crumbs and either baked or fried. I understand that the
idea was that at the time, chicken was more expensive than either veal
or pork, so "City Chicken" was allegedly an upscale entree. My mom
made it when I was young (in the 1940s and 50s) and I loved it.

I've only made it once. Veal is practically non-existent around here.

N.

On Nov 24, 10:39*pm, Mark Thorson > wrote:
> Goomba wrote:
>
> > pamjd wrote:
> > > I heard of a nostalgic recipe called city chicken. I had never heard
> > > of such a thing Does anyone know the origins of this dish? *I googled
> > > it and got recipes and a little bit of background on the dish but
> > > would love to hear how people made or still make this comfort food. *I
> > > think it would make a fun dinner party theme. *Thanks in advance.
>
> > Wasn't City Chicken originally really veal? Back of course when veal was
> > cheap!!!
>
> I was thinking it might be another name for pigeon.

Nope, you'd be wrong. Read my other response.

N.

On Nov 25, 1:41*am, "Giusi" > wrote:
> "pamjd" *ha scritto nel messaggio
>
> >I heard of a nostalgic recipe called city chicken. I had never heard> of
> >such a thing Does anyone know the origins of this dish? *I googled> it and
> >got recipes and a little bit of background on the dish but> would love to
> >hear how people made or still make this comfort food. *I
> > think it would make a fun dinner party theme. *Thanks in advance.
>
> I don't know about comfort food. *Chicken was pricey and available only very
> very fresh in the old days. *"A chicken in every pot" dates from when there
> wasn't one. *Nowadays with refrigeration and battery farming that's changed.
> This dish is formed into drumettes and is made of veal that would be at your
> butcher's almost all the time. *It only sort of looks like chicken. *It's
> not really company food except as a curiosity.

The times I had it, there was no attempt to "form it into drumettes."
It was cubed and put onto a skewer. If we made it with all veal
today, it certainly would be company food. ;-)

N.

> Never heard of "city chicken" in my entire life.
>
> A dreamed up hoax!
>
> Andy- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Just because you've never heard of it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

We had a little neighborhood grocery that sold it ready to cook
through the 70s.

N.

On Nov 25, 11:37*am, sf > wrote:
> On Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:56:30 -0600, Andy > wrote:
> >I began to wonder if a "city chicken" was pidgeon! LOLOL!!!
>
> It is!
>
> --
> I love cooking with wine.
> Sometimes I even put it in the food.

Not around here, sorry. Pigeon is pigeon.

N.

pamjd wrote:
>
> I heard of a nostalgic recipe called city chicken. I had never heard
> of such a thing Does anyone know the origins of this dish? I googled
> it and got recipes and a little bit of background on the dish but
> would love to hear how people made or still make this comfort food. I
> think it would make a fun dinner party theme. Thanks in advance.

Any idea how to submit this as an idea for a Good Eats episode? It
sounds like it should be a sequel to his episode on city ham versus
country ham, but it isn't.

Dave Smith wrote:

> That sounds like something our neighbour often serves at big parties.
> She has Polish and Ukrainian roots and she calls it "meat on a stick".

LOL, the Chinese delivery food place that we order from at work sends
"chicken on a stick" or "beef sticks" that both remind me of the movie
"Shrek" where they eat the barbequed rats off a stick. So "Rat on a
Stick" is what we call them when discussing our food order.

sf wrote:
> On Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:27:48 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
> > wrote:
>
>> Yes, wooden skewers about 6 inches long. More traditionally, it was
>> alternating pieces of veal and pork. Typically, it was breaded and browned
>> in fat in a skillet, then baked covered with a small amount of broth added
>> until tender.
>
> Pieces of veal and pork? It's not much a drumette in that case. I
> envisioned ground veal and pork shaped into a meatball on a stick!

You have to use your imagination! The stick is the bone.
So, it's sort of like a chicken leg. No one ever claimed
they were making an exact copy of the chicken let. It's
approximate. Also, you can pick it up by the skewer and
eat it like a drumstick. That's why it's "city chicken".
Kate

--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?

On Nov 25, 12:08*am, Wayne Boatwright
> wrote:
> On Tue 24 Nov 2009 09:39:21p, Mark Thorson told us...
>
> > Goomba wrote:
>
> >> pamjd wrote:
> >> > I heard of a nostalgic recipe called city chicken. I had never heard
> >> > of such a thing Does anyone know the origins of this dish? *I googled
> >> > it and got recipes and a little bit of background on the dish but
> >> > would love to hear how people made or still make this comfort food. *I
> >> > think it would make a fun dinner party theme. *Thanks in advance.
>
> >> Wasn't City Chicken originally really veal? Back of course when veal was
> >> cheap!!!
>
> > I was thinking it might be another name for pigeon.
>
> How droll...
>
> Years ago in Cleveland it was common to find "pre-constructed" city chicken
> in most supermarket meat departments. *They were made of alternating cubes
> of veal and pork threaded very close together onto wooden picks. *Of course
> you could make up your own. *Generally, one would make some sort of
> breading to coat them, usually dipping in an egg wash, sometimes making two
> passes of each. *Then browned in a skillet followed by adding enough broth
> to cover the bottom of the pan and simmered until tender. *Pan drippings
> were used to make gravy.
>

When I lived in Detroit in the mid 90's I saw City Chicken for sale in
the meat markets of the grocery stores, but never bought it, and they
were sold on wooden skewers as you described..

"Michael O'Connor" > wrote in message
...
On Nov 25, 12:08 am, Wayne Boatwright
> wrote:
> On Tue 24 Nov 2009 09:39:21p, Mark Thorson told us...
>
> > Goomba wrote:
>
> >> pamjd wrote:
> >> > I heard of a nostalgic recipe called city chicken. I had never heard
> >> > of such a thing Does anyone know the origins of this dish? I googled
> >> > it and got recipes and a little bit of background on the dish but
> >> > would love to hear how people made or still make this comfort food. I
> >> > think it would make a fun dinner party theme. Thanks in advance.
>
> >> Wasn't City Chicken originally really veal? Back of course when veal
> >> was
> >> cheap!!!
>
> > I was thinking it might be another name for pigeon.
>
> How droll...
>
> Years ago in Cleveland it was common to find "pre-constructed" city
> chicken
> in most supermarket meat departments. They were made of alternating cubes
> of veal and pork threaded very close together onto wooden picks. Of course
> you could make up your own. Generally, one would make some sort of
> breading to coat them, usually dipping in an egg wash, sometimes making
> two
> passes of each. Then browned in a skillet followed by adding enough broth
> to cover the bottom of the pan and simmered until tender. Pan drippings
> were used to make gravy.
>

When I lived in Detroit in the mid 90's I saw City Chicken for sale in
the meat markets of the grocery stores, but never bought it, and they
were sold on wooden skewers as you described..

In the 1940's and 50's, frequently had city chicken, bought in the local
groceries, in Erie PA. A favorite of my parents.

JonquilJan'