A Misnomer

     

     If your itinerary includes Cleveland for the RNC be sure to order up some City Chicken when you go out to eat.  But don't expect to be eating poultry.  The meal is a remnant of the Great Depression when prosperity was defined by having a "chicken in every pot." But for those living in urban areas like Cleveland, Detroit, and Erie who couldn't afford the then high priced birds, cheaper cuts of pork or beef were substituted, skewered and cooked by either baking or frying.  It can still be found on the menus of blue collar diners in cities that surround the Great Lakes.  Sometimes the meat is ground and then fashioned in the shape of a drumstick around a skewer using a special mold.

     Recipes vary regionally for this dish.  In places like Pittsburgh City Chicken is almost always breaded and then baked, while in Binghamton the meat is usually marinated, battered and then deep fried.  The Cleveland version is generally baked without breading, but the meat is dredged in flour, browned in a pan, then finished in the oven, and served with gravy.  Some super markets in the Cleveland metro area even include wooden skewers with pork cubes  in packages specifically labeled as City Chicken.