Retro Mock Chicken Legs

Mise en place

This is a meal we had often growing up in the 50’s and 60’s. Chicken was expensive, so we had to settle for "mock chicken." This is what I call real comfort food and was something that we always looked forward to.

The recipe is pretty straight forward and she made them often from scratch in the beginning. Later on she would have them made up for her by our local butcher. She just had to bring them home and fry them up in a pan, finish them in the oven and serve them with mashed potatoes and pan gravy.

Ingredients (meat)
3/4 lbs. Veal, ground
3/4 lbs. Pork, ground
1/2 cup onions, finely chopped
2 tsp. yellow mustard
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
3/4 cup bread crumbs, fine
1 whole egg, beaten, for breading
8 wooden skewers
6 Tbsp. Butter or margarine, clarified for frying

Use ice cream scoop to portion legs

DIRECTIONS

Place the meat into a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients  except the eggs, butter, and bread crumbs. Mix meat until the ingredients are well blended, but not over mixed. Using an ice cream scoop divide the meat into nine equal portions. Shape each portion evenly around each stick, or insert them later. Try to form raw meat into the shape that resembles a chicken leg.

Wrap each leg in waxed paper and refrigerate for about one hour. Preheat oven to 350°F. Dip each leg in the beaten egg and then roll in bread crumbs until evenly coated. Press crumbs into the meat with your hands so that it sticks well.

Soak sticks in water

Add some of the clarified butter or margarine to a medium hot skillet. Add the formed legs and fry on medium heat, turning frequently, until brown on all sides. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels.

Add more butter as needed until all of the drumsticks are fried. Remove drumsticks to an oven proof platter and place into the oven for 20-30 minutes.

I used two sticks per mock chicken leg

Make the gravy using the pan drippings while the drumsticks are baking in the oven.

Pour slurry into pan drippings

Ingredients (gravy)
1/2 cup beef stock
3 tbsp. flour
3 tbsp. water
to taste salt & pepper

Directions (gravy)

To the pan dripping add beef stock. In a separate container mix together water and flour to make a liquid thickener (slurry). Mix this into the pan a little at a time and stir until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer until gravy thickens to the desired consistency. Discard the unused slurry. Season with salt and fresh cracked pepper as necessary to your taste. Spoon gravy over the drumsticks when serving. 

Can you smell that?

Serves: 8-9
ENJOY!

© TMelle 2014