I know the world loves stories before recipes, and by world I mean google (haha). However, I sit here and I have a three year old begging to “type” on the iPad. So today’s story (as usual) is going to be pretty short. Which, to be fair, is a benefit for you because that means you get to hit the recipe fast without scrolling through a giant wall of text. Scroll down for the full Instant Pot Mock Chicken recipe.
When I was a kid my dad used to make us mock chicken legs (also known as City Chicken). Oh boy! To top it off, the best side to go with Mock Chicken legs is “daddy’s famous fried potatoes”. I kept on the tradition and have made mock chicken legs in a frying pan for years for Kim and the kids. It’s always been a hit!
New life & a new way to cook Instant Pot Mock Chicken
Now that we living that good old trailer life, I am only cooking with the Instant Pot and Air Fryer. (ohhh, and “cooking” with door dash as well, but shhhhhhh). I’ve been perfecting this recipe over the last year or so, and it’s finally ready to be formally written down (and video’ed). I did have to use lamb vs. veal, and to be honest I really did think that it was going to be a bust and I did all this work for nothing. HOW WRONG I WAS. They turned out AMAZING and honestly lamb might be my new go-to for Mock Chicken Legs forever.
I sure you hope you enjoy it as much as we did! PS – my video is up on YouTube, don’t forget to take a look and give it a “like” if you get a chance!
Instant Pot Mock Chicken Legs (City Chicken)
Back in the early 1900's, chickens were sold alive and whoever was cooking had to butcher that chicken. There was a cheaper and easier way for the family cook to provide meat for their family by buying ground pork and veal. A lot of the time, butchers would have the mock chicken legs already made and ready to buy.
1lbGround Veal or Lamb (we used lamb which worked great)
1tspSalt
1/2tsp Black Pepper
2tspBrown or Yellow Mustard
1tspWorcestershire Sauce
1/2An OnionDiced
1tspItalian Seasoning
1Egg
2tbspOlive Oil
Instructions
Mix and Make the Mock Chicken Legs
Dice one yellow onion
Mix in a medium to large mixing bowl the following: salt, pepper, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, onion, Italian seasoning, 1 egg, ground pork, and ground lamb (or veal)
Form chicken leg shaped patties
Push one end of the skewer about halfway into the patty
Use your hands to form a chicken leg shape around the skewer (repeat to use all of your meat mixture)
Beat 4 eggs with light salt and pepper on a plate
Dump (and spread out) 1.5 cups of bread crumbs on a different plate
Wash your Mock Chicken Legs in the egg wash and then carefully press the legs into the bread crumbs using your fingers to get the crumbs in the bends of the "chicken leg" (complete this step with all meat skewers)
Pressure Cook
Use a paper towel to rub the inside of your instant pot with ~2 Tbsp of olive oil
Add 1 cup of water to the instant pot
Stand all of the formed mock chicken legs up inside the instant pot
Lid, seal, and pressure cook for 8 minutes
Allow the Instant Pot to Natural Pressure Release for 10 minutes
After 10 minutes, release the remaining pressure manually
Plate all Mock Chicken Legs (cover with a piece of aluminum foil while following the next steps to create the gravy)
Mock Chicken Leg Gravy
Mix 2 Tbsp of cornstarch with 4 Tbsp of cooking fluid from the instant pot to create a slurry
Press Sauté and mix in your cornstarch slurry
Taste the gravy and add a little salt and pepper if needed, stir, and taste to make sure your gravy is perfect
Stir and simmer until the gravy is velvety, 4 minutes, then cancel your sauté mode on your instant pot
Pour as much gravy as you want on your plated Mock Chicken Legs and dig in!
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 1Leg | Calories: 234kcal
If you are ever interested in our start read this (PREPARING TO LIVE TINY) post! It will give you a little insight into our life… and you can sorta see our old house.
PS – We were not able to make daddy’s famous fried potatoes. However, we did make some air fried potato chips that were a pretty darn good substitute.
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