Convenient Crock Pot City Chicken

For the past few weeks, I've been craving city chicken but don't have the time to make it the traditional way. So I turned to the Internet and found a recipe for Crock Pot city chicken.

If you've ever had city chicken you'll know it's not actually chicken, it's cubed pork and veal stuck onto skewers. You can find pre-cut and skewered city chicken at your local butcher's shop, or you can make your own using wooden skewers and cubed veal and pork.

While this recipe doesn't taste like the traditional city chicken, I found it to be incredibly easy to make and very, very good. The best part? I threw it together in the morning and let it cook all day in the slow cooker, filling my house with its delicious aroma. When it was done, I served the dish with steamed potatoes. If you want, you can double the recipe, which serves 2-4 people, and save the leftovers — this meal is just as good the second day.

To make this recipe, you'll need the following:

• 4 sticks city chicken, unbreaded (I bought mine at Market Place Meats on Cooley Lake Road)
• 1/2 large white onion, thinly sliced and separated
• 2 ribs celery, strings removed and medium sliced
• Pinch of kosher salt and pepper, to taste
• 8-oz. box pork broth
• 4 Tbsp. flour
• Olive oil
• Enough flour or cornstarch to make slurry

Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a nonstick skillet. Bring the oil to a simmer over medium-low heat, then lightly brown the city chicken on all sides. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons flour over all sides of the meat and allow to cook a few minutes. While the city chicken browns, cover the bottom of the slow cooker insert with onions and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of flour over the onions. Stir the onions to evenly coat with flour. Next, place the browned city chicken sticks in a single layer over the onions. Cover the chicken with sliced celery. Next, add any pan drippings over the celery, along with salt and pepper to taste. Finally, add the pork broth. Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours. At 7 hours, check the meat. When the meat is tender, the gravy in the pot may need further thickening. To do this, remove the meat and place it on a platter, cover with foil. Turn the slow cooker heat to high and whisk in a flour or cornstarch slurry (cornstarch or flour mixed with water) to desired thickness. To make a slurry mix together, for each cup of liquid you want to thicken, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in a small bowl and an equal amount of cold liquid. Stir until a smooth paste forms, then whisk into your sauce.