Recipe - George's Pork Drummies

Some of you may remember a post last year telling about my sister, Stacey, who owns a little grocery store in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin. (See HERE).  Soon after moving to this small town so far from us, she started regaling me with entertaining tales of colorful local characters who frequent her charming country store.  One of my favorite stories is how the former owner of the store, Harry, long since retired, used to have trouble remembering the names of the many children who came in to buy treats after school, so he started calling all the girls Judy and all the boys Mikey.  The rest of their lives, even after they grew up and moved away, he still called them all Judy and Mikey when they came home to visit!  Another memorable person Stacey came to appreciate after starting her new life in Wisconsin was George, a retired butcher who shopped at her store. Whenever he heard that Stacey was having company, as when we would make our summer visit, he showed up at the store with a container full of Pork Drummies he had prepared for her to cook for us, knowing how stressed she would be entertaining guests during the busy summer tourist season.  I soon learned that these Drummies, as he had named them, were actually skewers of pork chunks that were to be breaded and fried like chicken, then slowly simmered in a broth until they were tender and flavorful, ending up with the distinct flavor of Chicken Drumsticks without any bones! They were delicious when she made them for us, and I've fixed them for my family several times since.  When I do, I always think of George coming into the store to give such a nice gift to someone he had only known a short time.  Last year George passed away, so I want to dedicate this post to a very nice man who will be remembered, at least by our family, for his kind and thoughtful ways.  I have provided instructions and photos for this tasty, comforting dish below.

 George's Pork Drummies

Cut 2 to 3 lbs of boneless pork into large cubes (pork sirloin roast or boneless chops work well.  You could also use a shoulder roast).

Find some small wooden skewers around 6 to 7 inches long, or cut longer ones down (as I did, using a sharp knife to score them, then breaking them and discarding part.  You just want them to fit easily into your skillet for browning).

Soak the skewers in water for at least an hour.  If any shards of wood start to pull away, peel these off so you don’t get into pieces of skewer in when you spear the cubes of meat.

Place the meat onto the skewers, saving a bit of room on the ends to hold onto when you eat them.

Either crush some cornflake crumbs or buy the already crushed kind.  For each cup of crumbs you use, mix in a teaspoon of seasoning salt.  Any brand will do.

Pour some evaporated milk into a shallow dish and place the cornflakes into another dish. 

Dip the skewers into the milk, then roll into the crumbs, using your hands to sprinkle more on until they are well covered.

Place some cooking oil and butter into a large skillet. Brown the Drummies over medium high heat, turning as needed and seasoning all sides well with salt and pepper.  When they are browned nicely, if there is any excessive fat left in the pan, drain it off. When I did mine, there wasn't any left to drain.

Turn the heat down very low, add a can of chicken broth, cover, and simmer for an hour. 

During the simmering stage, the liquid should be eventually absorbed, leaving you with just the browned bottom of the pan.

Now remove the drummies carefully and make gravy in the pan if you would like, using more chicken broth, some evaporated milk, and flour/water thickener, scraping the pan to get the browned pieces off.  (See all of that carmelized stuff in the bottom of the pan? This will make delicious gravy for your mashed potatoes).  For more specific instructions about gravy making, go HERE or HERE.

I like to add fresh parsley to the Drummies and to my pan gravy. Hope you like them!