I’ve been told that this recipe originated in the Midwest in the ‘50s when pork and veal were easier to obtain and less expensive than chicken. Hard to believe. Because veal today is very expensive, this recipe can be made with just the pork and it is just as delicious. Serving size portions discussed below.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Ingredients: 3 pounds cubed meat (either 2 Pounds cubed pork tenderloin or 1 pound cubed veal or 3 pounds cubed pork only)
2 eggs (can add a tablespoon of water) to egg wash of prepared seasoning coating mix (such as Safeway Pork Seasoning Mix)
A few tablespoons of oil to brown the meat.
Salt to taste About 3⁄4 cup flour seasoned with
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 foil packets of beef boullion cubes
Wooden skewers -ideally 6 to 8 inches (can find at Sur La Table or specialty stores) often these are hard to find. Most of the wooden skewers available in the stores today are much longer. You can cut them in half but be careful that they don’t splinter. Shorter is better because they need to be browned and the longer ones often don’t fit lengthwise in a frying pan. Check with a butcher to see if they have the shorter wooden skewers.
Salt meat lightly and spear meat cubes onto skewers. If using both meats, alternate pork and veal. You will fit about 6 pieces of meat per stick. Three pounds of meat should make about 10 to 12 sticks or you can put 8 pieces of meat on the longer sticks and have fewer sticks.
Dip meat skewers in egg wash. Dip meat in seasoned flour. Put breaded skewers in refrigerator for about 30 minutes to secure coating.
Place skewers in frying pan of hot oil, but do not crowd the pan. Brown on all sides.
Remove to roasting pan. It’s nice to have a large enough pan to make just one layer but you can put them on top of each other. I prefer the blue speckled pan but any pan you can seal tightly will work.
Heat 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup and add 1 cup water to thin it out a bit. Pour soup mixture over the meat in the roasting pan.
Crumble and place the bullion cubes over the meat and soup. They will dissolve in the baking. Cover the roasting pan with aluminum foil to create a tight seal. Then cover with the pan lid over the foil. If using a pan with no lid, seal aluminum foil very tightly.
Bake at 300 degrees for 2 or 2.5 hours depending on how much gravy you want remaining. This dish is usually served with mashed potatoes and the extra gravy.