Best Oven-Baked City Chicken (with Pork Sirloin) (2024)

What is City Chicken?

City chicken is a regional recipe to the area around Lake Erie (Cleveland, Detroit), and into parts of western Pennsivania. City chicken is also known in some locations as mock drumsticks or mock chicken, is an entrée consisting of cubes of meat (usually pork), which have been threaded onto a wooden skewer (about 4-5 inches long), breaded, and then fried and/or baked. Some people call it "fake chicken."

The city chicken recipe origins date back to the 1700's when raising chickens in the populated cities became impossible. Inexpensive cuts of pork skewered on sticks to resemble chicken drumsticks became a substitute for chicken as a meal. City chicken became even more popular as the great depression hit and resources were scarce. Chicken was expensive and they opted for cheaper meats like pork.

Over the years, city chicken recipes have included other cuts of meat as well, such as veal or beef...but living here in Cleveland, I've always made my city chicken recipe with only pork, because that's how my mom made it.

Growing up in Cleveland Ohio, in the area of the Midwest known as the rust belt, I had many opportunities to eat the different variations on City Chicken. You could not only find home cooks making the dish but it was also almost always offered on local diner menus in and around the Cleveland area.

There's a restaurant, not far from my present home, that still has it on the menu today. While I enjoy their version of city chicken, I still like my own version better.

The best way to cook city chicken is low and slow in the oven until it is fork tender. It really is the secret to great city chicken and it's what makes this recipe for city chicken the best recipe for city chicken.

What's the best way to cook city chicken?

You might find several different ways to prepare city chicken. Some versions of this recipe deep fry or pan fry the city chicken and call it a day. I don't recommend preparing city chicken like this unless you use a more tender cut of pork, like tenderloin, or you risk ending up with a very tough and hard to eat stick of meat. But this is a depression era recipe after all and pork tenderloin can be expensive so I always opt for pork sirloin cubes.

I love to bake the sirloin pork skewers once they are breaded and golden brown in a low, slow oven. This really gets the pork tender and it will literally fall off of the stick. To me, that's the comfort food I'm after!

With that said, the best way to cook city chicken made with pork sirloin or loin cubes is low and slow in the oven until it is fork tender.I'll say it again, low and slow is best here. It really is the secret to great city chicken and it's what makes this recipe the best city chicken recipe.

Where can I find pork sirloin for City Chicken?

Assuming you live in areas known as the rust belt of the Midwest, you can buy pork sirloin already cut into cubes and packaged with skewers specifically for city chicken right in your local grocery stores or in your meat market.

You may have difficulty finding pork (or a mixture of pork and veal) pre-cut and packaged with skewers for your city chicken recipe if you live outside that area.

Don't let that stop you from making this delicious regional dish! You can buy a pork sirloin or pork loin roast and cut it into 1" cubes yourself. (Or have a butcher do it for you) Pork Sirloin Roasts (a.k.a. loin pork roast, pork hipbone roast, pork loin end roast) are lean but much less expensive than pork tenderloin.

Use shortened bamboo skewers to thread the cubes of pork on to. I have done this when pre-packaged sirloin pork cubes aren't available in my grocer's meat case, then I just ask my butcher for wooden skewers. You can also purchase short wooden skewers from Amazon.

Ingredients and Equipment

(Scroll down for full printable recipe card with ingredient measurements and detailed instructions for making this classic city chicken recipe)

How to cook city chicken in the oven

That means dredging the pork in seasoned flour, followed by egg beaters or egg wash, and lastly Italian seasoned bread crumbs.

I like to add smoked paprika and a little extra salt and pepper to the dry seasoned bread crumbs to help elevate the flavor.

The city chicken is then browned in olive oil on medium high heat in a frying pan...(taking care not to overcrowd the pan). You aren't actually cooking the pork all the way here, just simply making it golden brown on all sides. This whole process goes fairly quickly.

The pork cubes will be brown on the outside, but still raw on the inside.

Once the city chicken pieces have all been browned and placed into the baking dish, a little chicken stock is added to the bottom of the pan and its covered tightly with aluminum foil.

It's then baked in a 325 degree F oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until it is is fork tender. (Checking at the 1 1/2 hour mark).

Storage and Leftovers

Store any leftover city chicken in airtight containers in your refrigerator for 3-4 days. I have never froze completely cooked city chicken, but my gut tells me it isn't something that would work well. Let me know if you give it a try and it works out for you in the comment section below and I'll amend this statement.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What can I serve with City Chicken?

I like to serve my city chicken with gravy and mashed potatoes, but rice pilaf and mixed vegetables go well with it too! My gravy is simply a mixture of canned pork and mushroom flavored brown gravy...because that's what we like! But you could make yourself homemade gravy if you like.

To make a simple gravy from scratch, in the same pan you browned the pork skewers:

Does City Chicken taste like chicken?

My family swears that this city chicken recipe really does taste like chicken drumsticks (hence the nickname, mock drumsticks!). Me, I'm not so sure.

One thing I do know for sure is that this city chicken recipe is a delicious meal, a definite keeper and one of my favorite comfort foods! When I eat it, it always envokes great memories of my childhood and Sunday dinner with family.

Make it, taste it, and you be the judge!

Want to learn more about pork and where it comes from?

Check out this article about my visit to an Ohio Hog Farm!

Hungry for more of Cleveland's favorite recipes?

Pork recipes you will enjoy!

Donna said, "Very good!! Just like my Mom’s!"

Loretta said, "basically same recipe handed dow to me from my grandmother and great grandmother- now passed to my daughter!!!! one of the best meals when I was young."

Marilyn said, "was very good,followed recipe,except I added a little bit of red pepper for a little kick."

Carol said, "Used half veal chunks and half pork! Delicious! Just like the “olden days”!"

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