A Depression-era Rust Belt (Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit) skewer of cubed pork and veal molded on a wooden stick, breaded, and fried or braised to imitate a chicken drumstick when chicken cost more than pork. Polish and Eastern European mill-town cooks turned the kebab format into edible trompe-l'oeil.
Also known as: mock chicken legs, mock drumsticks, kokoshki
Watch it made
Ingredients
- 500 g pork shoulder and 250 g veal (or all pork), in 3 cm cubes
- 100 g plain flour
- 2 eggs, beaten with 2 tbsp milk
- 120 g dry breadcrumbs or cracker meal
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 3 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp oil
- 150 ml chicken stock
- 8 short wooden skewers
How to make it
- 1
Thread the pork and veal snugly onto the short skewers so each mimics a little drumstick.
- 2
Season the flour with paprika, salt and pepper, then coat each skewer flour, egg wash, crumbs, pressing so the breading knits.
- 3
Brown on all sides in the butter and oil, 6-8 minutes, to a deep gold.
- 4
Nestle the skewers in a baking dish, pour the stock around (not over) them, cover with foil and bake at 180°C for 45-50 minutes until fork-tender.
- 5
Uncover for a final 10 minutes to re-crisp and serve with the pan juices and mashed potatoes.
Pro tip: There is no chicken in it — the Depression-era magic is the covered braise-bake, which turns cheap pork as tender as the bird it imitated.
