Apple Cider Chicken
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 762kcal
If you’re looking for easy chicken dinner ideas, this Apple Cider Chicken will do the trick! Made all in one pan, the apples and kale serve as the side dish!
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Ingredients
- 3 lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 2 small red apples such as fuji or gala
- 1 large bunch kale about 8 ounces once stems are removed
- 1 cup chicken stock
- ¾ cup apple cider
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
- 3 shallots thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves finely minced
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.Pat the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel and season on both sides with salt and pepper. Place a deep ovenproof skillet or casserole dish over medium high heat.
- Working in two batches, place chicken thighs skin side down and let them get golden brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Flip over and brown on the other side, about 2 minutes more. Set chicken aside on a plate.You will probably need to carefully drain off the hot fat from the pan before starting the second batch.
- While the chicken thighs are browning, slice the shallots thinly and mince the garlic. Slice the apples into thin little wedges. Remove kale from stems and tear into large pieces.
- When the second batch of chicken thighs are done, leave the fat in the pan. Add the shallots and garlic to the remaining rendered fat, stirring frequently and scraping up the browned bits of chicken until shallots are translucent and garlic is fragrant, about 4 minutes.
- Add the mustard, vinegar, apple cider, chicken stock, and sage to the pan and whisk to combine. Bring the sauce to a boil, then turn heat down to a simmer. Allow the dijon sauce to reduce slightly, then season with salt to taste.
- Add the kale to the dijon sauce and keep turning it over in the pan until it is wilted, then add the apple slices and stir to combine.
- Place the chicken thighs back into the pan and bake uncovered in the oven for 25 minutes.
Notes
- To remove kale leaves from stems, fold the leaves toward each other and grasp with one hand, then grasp stem with the other hand. Pull both hands away from each other, the leaves will come off easily.
- When you add the kale to the pan, it will seem like SO. MUCH. KALE. But don't worry, it wilts considerably. Just keep going!
- I used my Lodge enameled cast iron casserole for this recipe. It has high sides, so that keeps the spatter from browning the chicken to a minimum. You can also make this in a good ovenproof skillet, I've made this type of dish in my GreenPan skillet, too. (Disclosure: I am a member of the Lodge Blogger Network and this casserole dish was provided to me free of charge.)
- If you don't like attempting thin slices with a chef's knife, a kitchen mandoline might be just the thing you need. I have the OXO Good Grips Chef's Mandoline Slicer and I love it because it stands up on its own, has a wide range of adjustable widths, and a really good safety guard.
- To avoid damaging the surfaces of pans and casserole dishes, a good silicone whisk is a nice thing to have.
- Recipe adapted from NYT Cooking.
Nutrition
Calories: 762kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 51g | Fat: 50g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Monounsaturated Fat: 21g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 285mg | Sodium: 497mg | Potassium: 978mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 1713IU | Vitamin C: 24mg | Calcium: 86mg | Iron: 3mg