City Chicken a Polish-American Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is Polish city chicken made of? ›

Traditionally, city chicken consists of cubes of pork, veal, or both, which are threaded onto skewers, battered with flour and breadcrumbs, and baked or deep-fried to tender perfection. Cooks often shape the skewered meat to mimic chicken drumsticks, and the dish indeed tastes like chicken.

The reason city chicken came to be goes back to the early 1900s when cuts of pork and veal were far more affordable to city workers in meat-packing hubs like Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Louisville than chickens, which were largely found in the country.

History. A similar dish once known as "mock chicken" was described as early as 1908. The first references to city chicken appeared in newspapers and cookbooks just prior to and during the Depression Era in a few cities such as Pittsburgh.

Mock chicken can be made from a variety of plant-based ingredients such as soy, wheat, or pea protein, and is typically seasoned and processed to resemble the texture and flavor of real chicken.

Pork accounts for the largest share of meat consumption in Poland and is also the most commonly used for meat products. Thanks to its universality, pork is used in a variety of dishes, and the culinary tradition of Poles further favours its consumption.

“It was called 'chicken' because chicken was once more expensive and more desirable; families would have a chicken for Sunday dinner,” says Barbara Johnstone, a professor of rhetoric and linguistics at Carnegie Mellon University and author of the book Speaking Pittsburghese.

City dwellers longed for chicken, that fancy delicious bird that only farmers got to eat, the lucky devils. But the elusive fowl were raised in the country, and were hard to obtain in the city and expensive when found. So city mice fashioned a pork-veal dish as a sort of mock chicken.

Europeans arriving in North America found a continent teeming with native turkeys and ducks for the plucking and eating. Some archaeologists believe that chickens were first introduced to the New World by Polynesians who reached the Pacific coast of South America a century or so before the voyages of Columbus.

The state that produces the most chickens is Iowa, followed closely by Ohio and Indiana. Not only does Iowa produce loads of broiler chickens, but it also contributes significantly to the egg production of the US. Here are a few interesting facts.

A nutritional comparison

As mentioned above, traditional mock meats tend to be highly processed, offering minimal nutritional value and using considerable amounts of unhealthful additives and salt. Some have even been found to contain animal-derived ingredients.

Does mock chicken taste like chicken? ›

It tastes like chicken, although the exact flavour varies between brands and what type of product it is. Generally, like animal-based chicken, vegan chicken doesn't have a strong flavour on its own, and will often be seasoned.

First mentioned in 1908, mock chicken is a mixture of coarsely chopped pork and veal shaped to resemble chicken legs or cubes of pork and veal arranged on skewers, seasoned and cooked like chicken.

Beggar's Chicken used to be a dish for the poor. Legend has it that the dish was invented when a beggar stole a chicken. Because he had no pot to cook it in, the beggar supposedly wrapped the chicken in lotus leaves and packed it in mud before lighting a fire in the ground and burying it.

Our original crispy fried chicken sandwich covered in our Ghost Pepper Sauce with spicy mayo, pickles and ghost slaw on a toasted Martin's roll.

City dwellers longed for chicken, that fancy delicious bird that only farmers got to eat, the lucky devils. But the elusive fowl were raised in the country, and were hard to obtain in the city and expensive when found. So city mice fashioned a pork-veal dish as a sort of mock chicken.

Because Polish male chickens tend to be bigger, they're also heavier. Polish roosters usually weigh in at around 6 pounds (2.7 kg). Hens are a little bit smaller, and typically weigh around 4.5 pounds (2 kg).

Polish chickens are calm, gentle, friendly, and active birds. But they are easily surprised or frightened and may have a nervous disposition. It is because they can't see properly because of their large crests. Poultry handlers always talk to them when they're closer, so they don't get scared and fly off.

Basic Description. The Polish chicken is classed as a soft feather lighter breed and this description does mean exactly what it says, they are no use as a meat bird and although they do lay a decent white egg they are not a prolific layer.