It appears I must share the recipe and I do it gladly. It is indeed a famous Hollobaugh recipe. I remember making it in Sunday mornings when I was a teenager. I went to church with dad at 6:30 in the morning and then came home and helped to start dinner while mom went to church later. (She liked it that way since she could visit with people with no one telling her to hurry up.) After I skewered the city chicken, breaded it, browned it and put it in the oven I peeled potatoes and then I went back to bed and mom finished the meal. Those Sunday mornings are a great memory for me. (Oh, and Sue did the dishes! She always said I used every pan in the kitchen!) Over the years Dorothy and Jack became the expert City Chicken makers. They were such great cooks!! So the recipe that follows is a combination of Grandma Kate, Jack, Dorothy, and my contributions to the recipe. Another memory to share, Aunt Dorothy made one last trip north to visit her brother and sisters. She brought the City Chicken Dutch Oven and her mission was to make City chicken for all the men. And she did accomplish her mission. ( She also got to the casino, she loved hearing the money drop and pulling the arm. Back then you had to use money and she would leave and her hands would be black from handling the money. She never bet much, she just loved the adventure! She would not like todays casinos. No thrill in putting in a paper and not hearing the money drop.) City Chicken Heres the tough part - find good wood skewers not those bamboo ones. They are hard to find. Usually if you know a good butcher shop you can get them there. You should know that Grandma, Aunt Dorothy and I always bought our meat at a good butcher shop. Not sure what Uncle Jack did but it worked too. 1 1/2 lb pork (sirloin chops work well or a pork loin) cut up into cubes 1 1/2 lb beef (sirloin or (as Aunt Dorothy used, tenderloin) cut up into cubes The cubes should be about 1/2 by 1/2. We usually cut our own with scissors. Trim off all the fat and save those pieces to brown in the bottom of the dutch oven to make the broth better. Skewer the pork and beef alternately on the skewer. Usually about 6 on a skewer. Skewers should be about 4-41/2 long. Beat 3 eggs and add a little milk. Pour Italian seasoned bread crumbs into a dish, bowl or plastic bag. Add salt and pepper. Drench skewers in eggs bath then in bread crumbs. Make sure the bread crumbs are around the entire city chicken skewer. Usually you can cup your hand around it and make sure the bread crumbs are adhering. (Uncle Jack always said that after you bread something you should let it set for awhile to make sure the breading does not come off when browning.) Heat a skillet with about 1/2 oil. Brown City Chicken skewers. In a Dutch Oven brown the meat scraps, layer the bottom with onion and celery slices (use as many leaves from the celery as you can. Also Grandma said you can never use too much onion and celery so dont hold back!) It is helpful too if you put a rack in the bottom of the pan so that the City Chicken doesnt sit in the liquid. Layer with City Chicken skewers, more onion and celery, more skewers and end up with celery and onions. Salt and pepper slightly between layers. Dont get too carried away. Pour beef stock (not broth) over the entire pan of City Chicken. Probably start with 2 cups and then as you are basting them you can see if they need more moisture. Bake covered in a 350 degree oven basting every 30 minutes. I usually bake them for about 2 hours because the basting helps so much with the flavor. Remove the City Chicken and take the any celery and onion adhering to them off. Strain the broth and save the strained broth to either make gravy or just to use over the City Chicken. Either way it is good. I hope some of you carry on the tradition and teach your children also. \ Love, Aunt Rita
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 00:19:17 +0000
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