City Chicken- PLEASE HELP!

[vanwingen]

I found a recipe for City Chicken. This came from a 1940's betty crocker cookbook.

wooden skewers
2 lbs veal
2/3 cup cracker crumbs
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
3/4 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp MSG
1 beaten egg
2 tbl milk
3 tbl shortening
1 chicken bouillon cube

cut meat, skewer, dip in egg/milk wash, roll in cracker crumbs and spices, pan fry to brown, bake with bouillon cube at 350 for 30 minutes.

OKAY, I made it different. Does the way I made it make any sense?

2 lbs PORK LOIN
2/3 CRACKER MEAL
1 1/2 TSP KOSHER SALT
3/4 TSP POULTRY SEASONING
1 TSP PAPRIKA
1/2 TSP MSG
1 EGG
2 TBL WHOLE MILK
OLIVE OIL
1 LARGE CAN CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP

CUT MEAT, SKEWER, EGG WASH, FLOUR, EGG WASH, CRACKER MEAL/SPICE MIX, PAN FRY IN OLIVE OIL TO BROWN, PUT IN PAN, POUR OVER CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP.

Questions:
Does my recipe make any sense? Do I have clashing flavors?
IS POULTRY SEASONING GOOD WITH PORK?
Does the cream of mushroom soup clash? Should I use something else?

ANY ADVISE YOU EXPERT COOKS CAN GIVE ME WOULD BE MOST HELPFULL !!!!! I WANT TO MASTER THIS RECIPE !!!!!!

~THANKS!!!!

 

[JMediger]

To me, this looks good - I think all your flavors will go nicely together. Also, I think that poultry seasoning goes well with any white meat and some sausages (like with pork sausage in dressing at Thanksgiving).

The only question I have is why add the cream of mushroom soup? Are you looking for a sauce or ... ? I'm guessing you are baking it after you cover with the soup, right? Did you consider using cream of chicken soup? Does the original recipe say to add a cup of water to the pan with the bouillon cube? If so, you may want to just bake with a can of stock or broth then use it for gravy when you are done baking ...
I'm sure you'll get lots of ideas on this one ... Good Luck - Let us know how it turns out!

 

[vanwingen]

To me, this looks good - I think all your flavors will go nicely together. Also, I think that poultry seasoning goes well with any white meat and some sausages (like with pork sausage in dressing at Thanksgiving).

The only question I have is why add the cream of mushroom soup? Are you looking for a sauce or ... ? I'm guessing you are baking it after you cover with the soup, right? Did you consider using cream of chicken soup? Does the original recipe say to add a cup of water to the pan with the bouillon cube? If so, you may want to just bake with a can of stock or broth then use it for gravy when you are done baking ...
I'm sure you'll get lots of ideas on this one ... Good Luck - Let us know how it turns out

I'm finding it extremely hard to find sauces and spices that compliment pork that are not BBQ or sweet in nature.
I really think this recipe has some great possibilities. Maybe I am just beating a dead horse? Pork has been around since the begining of time, I would think this wouldn't be so difficult, but it has turned into the hardest recipe I have ever tackeled.
Is Pork just ment to be BBQ'd?
I used cream of mushroom soup because thats what my grandma used. She just used salt and pepper also.
I have also tried cream of chicken. I have also combined the both.

Yes, you add water with the bouillon cube. I have made that exact recipe but with pork, and it turned out good. Just good tho. Not "WOW".
I want this recipe to be "WOW"

I was hoping more people would respond. There are so many talented cooks out there on this site. Somebody has to have knowledge with pork and it's possibilities.

 

[Michael in FtW]

City Chicken comes from the depression era (1930's) when chicken was expensive and hard to find in the city. Pork was available, and due to it's neutral flavor like veal, was seasoned like chicken and cooked to enhance the chicken flavor (the baking in the oven with the bullion cube and a little water - to steam and increase the chicken flavor in the pork). It was also known as Mock Chicken Legs - probably from the skewer through the meat.

I WANT TO MASTER THIS RECIPE!

Follow the original recipe and use pork in place of veal ... and you should be fine if you want to master this dish. Oh, I see you did ... yeah, depression era cooking was about survival, having the best flavor possible but more about filling your belly, and unless you were really rich it wasn't going to have much of a "wow" factor. Although, if you liked chicken and hadn't had it in a year or two - I'm sure that something that tasted something like it might have been a big WOW back then.

I'm finding it extremely hard to find sauces and spices that compliment pork that are not BBQ or sweet in nature.

There are many different ways to cook pork without BBQ or sweet sauces! What you did is one variation - smothered pork loin cubes on sticks (although it would have probably been better with some sauted sliced onions - and adding a "soup can" of milk to the can of soup).

Here is one idea ... from my German side of the family ... sear some pork chops or country style pork ribs ... add a can of sauerkraut or sweet red cabbage ... cover and reduce heat to low to med-low ... simmer for 30 minutes.

Take a pork roast ... insert slivers of garlic into it ... coat with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with rosemary ... and roast in the oven ....

My great-grandpa used to make something like chicken and dumplings - but with pork ... my kids and I call it "Pig and Pillows".

Sear some sliced pork (steaks, chops, country style ribs) ... remove to a platter and saute some onion and garlic ... add the piggy back to the pan and add 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 can of milk and enough water or chicken broth to cover ... simmer (covered) until done.

You can use pork for tacos, enchilladas, tamales, chile, stews ... you can flavor it with a varity of berries (like juniper), herbs (like bay leaf/rosemary/tarragon), spices (pepper/cinnamon/allspice/cloves), or fruits (apricot/peach/apple/fig) - and these are not in any way conclusive list.

I was hoping more people would respond. There are so many talented cooks out there on this site. Somebody has to have knowledge with pork and it's possibilities.

I bet you wish I hadn't.

 

[vanwingen]

There are many different ways to cook pork without BBQ or sweet sauces! What you did is one variation - smothered pork loin cubes on sticks (although it would have probably been better with some sauted sliced onions - and adding a "soup can" of milk to the can of soup).

Would the type of milk matter? What I mean is whole milk vs. 2%, vs. 1/2%, vs. skim fat free milk?

Okay one other question. Sauted sliced onins. Would you mean "spanish onions" with olive oil? Would you saute this with garlic as well. Couple cloves?

 

[JMediger]

... Here is one idea ... from my German side of the family ... sear some pork chops or country style pork ribs ... add a can of sauerkraut or sweet red cabbage ... cover and reduce heat to low to med-low ... simmer for 30 minutes ...

My family makes a similar recipe but we drop batter on on top to make soft dumplings the last 10 minutes or so ... wonderful with the sauerkraut.

Also, you can sear chops or cubed loin, top with sliced potatoes (any that you have on hand), onion (yellow, white or sweet) and cream, dot with butter ... simmer for about 30 minutes or until potatoes are soft, season with salt and pepper and serve.

I'll try to answer your questions as they relate to general cooking (and feel free to correct me Michael if you meant something specific) ...

As far as the milk you should use with canned soup to make a sauce - what do you have in your fridge? If you want heavy - go with cream or whole milk. If you want healthy - go with skim or 1%. Unless you are adding milk to something hot (at which point it would curdle), it really shouldn't matter. If your soup / sauce is already hot, go with cream.

Same thing with the onion - what is in your pantry? What do you add to your other recipes? Do you prefer sweet Vidalia's or the nice bite of whites? Just don't burn them and really any onion should work ...

Good Luck!

 

[jpmcgrew]

One of my favorite Pork Dinners I make is a 1 1/2 inch center cut boneless pork loin chop marinaded in a light white wine marinade wrap side with bacon I dredge it in a seasoned flour and corn meal mix pan fry till brown and crusty, finish in oven until just pink in center.
Serve with mashed potatoes,lots of Lyonaise Sauce a Onion Sauce not much more different than a thickened French Onion Soup,
and braised Red Cabbage.
HEAVEN! At least to me.

 

[Michael in FtW]

JMediger pretty much covered most of my answers.

Would the type of milk matter? What I mean is whole milk vs. 2%, vs. 1/2%, vs. skim fat free milk?

Well, you've already used whole milk (according to your recipe) - why change cows in the middle of the stream? Like JM said - just use what you've got on hand in the fridge. I wouldn't use cream since you are using canned condensed soup ... I would just use whole milk. If I was using a reduced fat milk (something like 2%/skim milk) I would add some butter to make up for the richness of the butterfat that has been removed. Personally, I never buy anything but whole milk - just the way nature intended - the way it comes out of the cow. But, I have a couple of uncles that owned a dairy so that is what I grew up with - so nothing else taste right to me.

Okay one other question. Sauted sliced onins. Would you mean "spanish onions" with olive oil? Would you saute this with garlic as well. Couple cloves?

I generally use yellow/spanish onions for cooking for two reasons - they are milder and they are cheaper. If I want a stronger onion flavor I might go with a white. I generally reserve the reds (Bermuda) for raw use where I really want a kick of flavor - like on hamburgers or in a raw spinach salad.

... remove to a platter and saute some onion and garlic ... add the piggy back to the pan and add 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 can of milk and enough water or chicken broth to cover ... simmer (covered) until done.

Actually - that's not the way I do it ... sorry. Brown the piggy, remove from the pan, add a little more oil (usually 1/2 oil and 1/2 butter - I'm going for flavor not low cal), sauté the onions and then add the garlic for a minute or two, then add the cream of mushroom soup, add the milk, stir to combine well - when it is hot and starting to bubble then add the piggy back, slap on the lid, and finish cooking.

You have three options with the onions:

SWEAT: Low to med-low heat - sprinkle with a little salt when you add them to the pan so they will give up their moisture - cook until just getting tender and translucent and add the minced garlic for the last couple of minutes.

SAUTÉ: Use a little higher heat (med-low to med) and cook until they just begin to brown ... then add the garlic for a couple of minutes.

CARAMELIZE: Cook for a little longer (may take 20-30 minutes to do right) until they are tender and a rich brown ... then add the garlic for a couple of minutes.

If you are going to use olive oil for this dish I would use a neutral flavored one (one without any olive taste) like something labeled just "Pure" or "100%" olive oil. Extra Virgin or Virgin will add olive flavors that would, in my way of thinking, mess up this dish.

Here is my view on cookery: If you want to recreate a dish - follow the recipe without any deviations or alterations. If you want to take a dish and make it your own - think about the intent of the original dish and then make any additions you want to make it your own. But, if you wander off the path of the original recipe far enough that it doesn't taste the same - give it a new name!