Cider-Braised Chicken with Apples, Bacon, and Sage Recipe

By
Yvonne Ruperti
A photo of Yvonne Ruperti, a contributing writer at Serious Eats.
Yvonne Ruperti
Yvonne Ruperti is a food writer, recipe developer, former bakery owner, and cookbook author. She is also an adjust professor of baking at the Culinary Institute of America in Singapore.
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Updated Aug. 30, 2018
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A solid fall dish. Yvonne Ruperti

Notes: I used a medium-dry 4.5% ABV hard apple cider. For an alcohol free substitute, use 3/4 cup apple cider and 1 1/4 cups chicken broth. Serve this dish with mashed potatoes or egg noodles.

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Recipe Facts

5

(1)

Active: 60 mins
Total: 60 mins
Serves: 4 servings

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Ingredients

  • 4 whole chicken legs (about 2 pounds)

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1/8-inch thick slices

  • 3 slices bacon, finely chopped

  • 2 shallots, minced (about 3 tablespoons)

  • 2 cups hard apple cider (see note)

  • 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 3 sprigs plus 1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves, divided

  • 1 tablespoon heavy cream

  • 1 tablespoon flour

Directions

  1. Pat chicken legs dry with paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in Dutch oven over over medium high heat until just smoking. Place chicken into pot, skin side down, and cook until well browned, about 5 minutes (use oil screen if splattering). Turn over and cook another 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate and pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat.

  2. Add apples and cook, stirring, until just softened and caramelized, about 5 minutes. Transfer apples to bowl and reserve. Add bacon and shallots to pot and cook until shallots have softened and bacon has rendered but not crisped, about 3 minutes (reduce heat if browning too quickly).

  3. Whisk in cider, scraping up browned bits on bottom of pot. Whisk in mustard, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper. Nestle chicken (skin side up) and sage sprigs into liquid, and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to low, and gently simmer until chicken is cooked through and very tender, about 40 minutes (adjust heat to keep at gentle simmer).

  4. Transfer chicken to serving plate. Whisk cream into cooking liquid and simmer 1 minute. Transfer 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid to a small bowl and whisk in flour, then return to pot. Bring to a boil to thicken. Stir in apples and chopped sage, and season to taste. Serve with mashed potatoes or egg noodles.

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
583 Calories
32g Fat
26g Carbs
45g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 583
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 32g 41%
Saturated Fat 9g 44%
Cholesterol 234mg 78%
Sodium 1026mg 45%
Total Carbohydrate 26g 9%
Dietary Fiber 3g 12%
Total Sugars 18g
Protein 45g
Vitamin C 37mg 183%
Calcium 45mg 3%
Iron 3mg 14%
Potassium 733mg 16%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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