Chef John's City Chicken



 This fascinating pork-on-a-stick recipe is American cuisine in a nutshell. City cooks, who couldn't get chicken, would take scraps from much cheaper, at the time, pork and build something similar to what you see here. Why this represents the true spirit of American food is that long after chicken became cheap and plentiful, people kept making and eating this anyway. Serve with honey mustard.

Prep Time:30 mins

Cook Time:10 mins

Additional Time:20 mins

Total Time:1 hrs

Servings:6

Yield:6 servings


Ingredients

1 whole pork tenderloin

6 (6 inch) bamboo skewers

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

dried thyme to taste

1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste

2 eggs, beaten, or more as needed

½ cup all-purpose flour, or as needed

½ cup panko bread crumbs, or as needed

2 cups vegetable oil, or as needed


Directions

Cut tenderloin into three sections; the thick center section and two end sections. Cut the thinner end portion of the tenderloin into chunks. Slice the thick center section lengthwise into even halves. Cut the 2 center sections and thicker end portion into1/2-inch slices.

Thread pork pieces, starting with the smallest pieces and working up to wider pieces, onto each skewer to resemble chicken drumsticks.

Season skewered 'drumsticks' with salt, black pepper, thyme, and cayenne pepper on all sides.

Whisk eggs together in a bowl. Pour flour into another bowl. Put the bread crumbs into a third bowl.

Gently press the 'drumsticks' into flour to coat and shake to remove excess flour. Dip 'drumsticks' into egg and press into bread crumbs. Place finished drumsticks on a plate in a single layer and refrigerate, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

Heat oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until the surface of the oil is shimmering. Cook 'drumsticks' in the hot oil until golden brown on all sides and cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate; let rest 5 minutes. Season with salt.

Nutrition:

The nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of the breading ingredients. The actual amount of the breading consumed will vary. We have determined the nutritional value of oil for frying based on a retention value of 10% after cooking. The exact amount will vary depending on cooking time and temperature, ingredient density, and the specific type of oil used.

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