AI-generated
Normandy-Style Chicken with Apples and Cream Sauce
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Source: https://recipheon.com/en/recipes/main-dishes/normandy-style-chicken-with-apples-and-cream-sauce
About this recipe
Normandy-style chicken combines braised thighs, apples and dry cider in a mild cream sauce. Brown the chicken first, then braise it slowly, covered, so it becomes tender around the bone too. Firm, sweet-tart apples with their skins on are cooked separately from the meat and set aside until the final warming, which helps the wedges keep their shape. Use dry alcoholic apple cider, not apple cider vinegar: cider provides the fruity base for the sauce. Add the cream only after reducing the liquid, over very low heat, without letting it boil vigorously. This sequence gives you a smooth, lightly creamy sauce, and the apples do not overcook during the long braise. A deep skillet about 30 cm across with a lid should hold all four thighs in a single layer; brown them in two batches, though. These quantities make four servings, each with one thigh, apples and sauce. Allow about an hour and 45 minutes, including browning both batches and gently braising the chicken for 40–45 minutes.
Ingredients
Chicken, apples and sauce
4 large bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, without drumsticks, about 1000 g in total; raw weight including bones, which are not eaten
400 g firm, sweet-tart apples with their skins on, weighed after coring; buy about 450 g whole apples
150 g peeled onion
250 ml dry alcoholic apple cider without added flavorings; not apple cider vinegar
200 ml liquid whipping cream (30% fat)
30 g unsalted butter: 20 g for the apples and 10 g for the onion
10 ml refined canola oil for browning the chicken
6 g fine salt: 4 g for the chicken and 2 g for the onion
0.5 g ground black pepper
Steps
Pat the thighs dry with paper towels and rub them with 4 g salt and all the pepper. Wash the apples, leave their skins on, remove the cores and weigh out 400 g of flesh; cut it into thick wedges, about 2–3 cm at the widest point. Finely chop the onion.
In a deep skillet about 30 cm across, with a base large enough to hold four thighs in a single layer, heat the oil over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Brown two thighs at a time, skin-side down for about 5–6 minutes until the skin is browned, then for about 3–4 minutes on the other side. Do not crowd the pieces, and do not try to cook them through at this stage; they will cook during the braise. Transfer the thighs to a plate as you go; browning both batches takes about 20 minutes in total.
AI-generated Reduce the heat under the same skillet to medium-low and add 20 g butter. Arrange the apples in a single layer and cook for about 6–8 minutes, turning gently, until the flesh is browned in places but the wedges remain firm. Transfer them to a second plate, separate from the browned chicken.
AI-generated Add the remaining 10 g butter, the onion and the remaining 2 g salt to the skillet. Cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring, until the onion is soft and translucent. Pour in all the cider, increase the heat to medium and cook for about 2 minutes, scraping the browned bits from the bottom with a spatula.
Return all the thighs to the skillet in a single layer, skin-side up, and pour in the juices from their plate. Cover and braise over low heat for about 40–45 minutes, keeping the sauce gently bubbling; the liquid should surround the lower part of the meat without covering the skin. Braise until the chicken is fully cooked. The meat should be tender and pull away easily with a fork near the bone; if it is still tough, braise for another 5–10 minutes. Leave the apples on their plate until you finish the sauce.
AI-generated Transfer the braised thighs to a clean plate and cover loosely with foil so they do not cool while you finish the sauce. Cook the liquid and onion without a lid over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the amount is noticeably reduced and the flavor becomes more concentrated. The chicken waits only while you work on the sauce.
Take the skillet off the heat to let the vigorous boiling subside, then gradually stir in all the cream. Return to very low heat and warm for about 2 minutes, stirring gently, until the sauce is smooth and lightly creamy. Do not let it boil vigorously, so the cream does not curdle in the acidic sauce.
Return the thighs to the sauce with the juices from the clean plate and add the browned apples. Warm over very low heat for about 3 minutes, until everything is hot, gently distributing the sauce between the pieces. Do not stir vigorously, and do not let the sauce boil hard, so the apples do not fall apart and the sauce stays smooth.
Divide the dish among four plates, giving each person one thigh and a share of the apples and sauce. Serve hot immediately after the final warming.
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