How to Make Mock Chicken Legs

How to make mock chicken legs is here! with a crispy cornflake outside and tender inside on a popsicle stick, it’s a snack kids just love. You can bake them in the oven or make fried chicken legs in oil for a really crispy version.

Mock Chicken Leg Recipe

Ok so maybe you heard this term and wondered what it was all about. Where did mock chicken leg originate? Well it is said to have started in Pittsburgh when butchers combined cubes veal and pork or sausage together. Mixed together in a sort of meatloaf style mixture with egg and milk it was formed to look like drumsticks.

I suppose they could have formed it into balls and done the same thing but with a stick baked inside it is more fun to eat for sure this way. You could easily swap out ground turkey or chicken out for one of the two described here and the seasonings would be up to your preferences too. Ours are listed below that work well for us.

First you’re going to make your base, that would be with the meat and some binder. Cornflakes were used this time but you could easily swap out for some seasoned breadcrumbs if you wanted to. For a dairy free alternative almond milk, plain, would be just fine instead of “regular”.

Mock Chicken Drumsticks

Now you won’t be able to boil chicken legs made this way because they were kinda’ fall apart. Instead the best way to get them crunchy but cooked all the way thru is to fry and then bake in the oven. You want both steps to get the right texture overall. The ingredients are;

What is mock chicken legs made of?

• Some ground sausage
• Ground veal or ground chicken
• Salt
• Eggs
• Milk
• 2 tbsp bell peppers diced
• Cornflakes crushed

If you don’t have cornflakes there are several alternatives such as crushed crackers like Ritz, Panko, or even crushed Kix cereal would work. It’s just a binder to soak up some of the moisture and stiffen it up sorta speak.

How to Cook Breaded Mock Chicken Legs

You are going to want a skillet, I love cast iron, or pan and a baking sheet as well for these. Use parchment paper for an easier cleanup and a splatter screen when you’re using the oil. You wouldn’t need to add the stick but if you do it can be picked up easily. With kids it makes it more fun this way.

• Combine 1/2 cup cornflake crumbs, salt, green pepper, egg and milk in a bowl.
• In a large bowl break up ground pork and veal on top of mixture.
• Begin mixing with a spoon and continue to mix with your hands, until mixed well. Set aside.
• In a separate shallow bowl, combine eggs and milk and whisk well. In another shallow bowl, add cornflake crumbs.
• Heat 1/4″ of vegetable oil in a skillet over medium high heat.
• Shape 1/4 cup of the meat mixture into a 3″ log and wrap the meat around the popsicle stick. Coat each leg in crushed cornflakes or bread crumbs.
• Then coat in the whisked milk and egg mixture and return to the cornbread crumbs for a second coat. Let legs stand for 5 minutes.
• Fry legs, a few at a time, for one minute on each side or until browned on all sides and golden brown
• Place onto baking sheet. Preheat oven to 350 and bake for 15-20 minutes.

This will take you about 45 minutes start to finish…… And then you can use our dipping sauce for chicken wings for extra pizazz at the end. If all you have is ketchup and Ranch dressing you can just go with those, and a 3rd with the 2 mixed together. 😉

Mock Chicken Legs with Gravy

And then there is a 4th a lot of people like, chicken gravy!! So you aren’t going to have drippings necessarily to make this from scratch but you could use broth instead. In a pinch I keep a can or container of the store bought version in my pantry for times like this too. With kids you can’t have too many dip dip dippers……

Does Mock Chicken Taste Like Chicken?

Kind of, more like chicken nuggets with ground chicken would. I mean it is made from ground meat so the texture is different. If you have leftovers you can save them but you will want to wrap each one in foil, then into the fridge for up to 3 days. It is best if you air fry them when reheating. A few minutes on each side at 380 F or so will do it.

Can you use mock meat?

If you wanted a vegetarian option you could use impossible sausage or ground beef with these directions to make them that way too. A great variation with the same fun meal idea.

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