Honey Braised Chicken Thighs With Apple Food

HONEY-MUSTARD CHICKEN AND APPLES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
• Heat the olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches if necessary, add the chicken, skin-side down, and cook until golden, about 6 minutes. Flip and cook 2 to 3 more minutes, then transfer to a plate. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the drippings.
• Add the onion and apples to the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Cook until slightly softened, about 4 minutes. Mix the broth with the mustard, then add to the skillet and bring to a boil. Arrange the chicken, skin-side up, in the skillet. Transfer to the oven and roast until the chicken is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Mix the butter and flour to form a paste. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken, apples and onion to plates. Bring the pan juices to a simmer, whisk in about half of the butter-flour mixture and boil to thicken, 2 minutes. Continue to cook, adding more of the butter-flour mixture as needed to make a slightly thick gravy. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over the chicken and sprinkle with parsley.

BAKED CHICKEN THIGHS WITH APPLES AND ONIONS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Season both sides of the chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
• Heat oil in a deep oven-proof skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken thighs to the hot oil and cook until browned on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a plate and keep warm.
• Add sliced onions to the skillet and saute until they just start to brown, about 3 minutes. Pour in apple cider and chicken stock, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any browned bits. Stir in thyme and salt. Simmer until the onions are soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.
• Add chicken back to the skillet and spoon some sauce over the top. Arrange sliced apples around the chicken. Cover the skillet with a lid or aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove skillet from the oven and carefully uncover. Transfer chicken from the skillet to a plate and keep warm. Whisk heavy cream and cornstarch together in a small bowl. Stir gently into the sauce in the skillet. Place chicken back into the skillet and spoon some of the sauce over the chicken.
• Return skillet to the oven and bake, uncovered, until the chicken is no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, and an instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone reads 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), about 15 minutes more. Serve chicken and apples with the sauce.

CHICKEN THIGHS WITH WILTED CABBAGE AND APPLES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Season the chicken all over with the thyme, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until very hot, but not smoking. Working in batches, add the chicken to the skillet, skin-side down, and cook, flipping once, until browned on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Turn the heat down to medium if the skillet starts to get too dark. Transfer the thighs to a baking sheet and roast in the oven until no longer pink near the bone, 10 to 12 minutes more.
• While the chicken bakes, add the cabbage, apples, 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper to the same skillet over medium heat. Cook, tossing, until slightly wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the broth, vinegar and sugar and continue to cook until the cabbage is tender, the liquid has reduced slightly and the sugar dissolves, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley leaves. Season with additional salt and pepper.
• Transfer the cabbage and apples and any juices in the skillet to a serving platter and top with the baked chicken thighs.

BRAISED CHICKEN THIGHS AND APPLES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degree F. Sprinkle the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large, deep ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Place the chicken in the skillet skin-side down and cook, flipping once, until golden on both sides. Transfer to a plate.
• Reduce the heat to medium, add the thyme and leeks to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Pour in the wine and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom. Cook until the skillet is nearly dry. Stir in the broth, apple cider and a pinch each of salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
• Use a fork to mash the butter and flour together in a small bowl until smooth. Whisk the butter-flour mixture into the skillet until dissolved. Stir in the apples and remove from the heat. Nestle the chicken skin-side up in the skillet along with any collected juices from the plate. Bake until the chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes.

BRAISED CHICKEN THIGHS WITH APPLE AND BACON CHUTNEY AND ROASTED

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• place the red wine vinegar in a sauce pan over medium high heat and add in the brown sugar. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and then simmer while other ingredients are being prepared.
• Peel and dice 4 cloves of garlic. Add to the vinegar and brown sugar mixture.
• Dice the bacon into 1/4-1/2" pieces and place it in a frying pan. Cook until crisp and then drain and set aside.
• Combine the chopped apples and bacon to the vinegar and brown sugar mixture and return to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes.
• Cut red potatoes into quarters or however you prefer based on size of potatoes. Place them in a baking dish and drizzle lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Place in the oven for 20 minutes or until done.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper to taste. Place chicken thighs in heated skillet and cook for 7 minutes. Flip chicken and cook for another minute then reduce heat to low and cover, letting the chicken braise in the oil and juice for the next 10 minutes.
• Plate the chicken, top with chutney and place a few red potato wedges along side it and enjoy!

CIDER-BRAISED CHICKEN THIGHS WITH APPLES AND GREENS

Steps:

• Pat the chicken thighs dry and season generously with salt and pepper.
• In a Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat the oil over medium. Cook the chicken thighs skin-side down, undisturbed, until the skin is golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Flip and cook until lightly browned on the other side, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
• Pour off all but about 3 tablespoons of fat from the pot, turn the heat to medium-low, then add the shallots and sage. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Be careful not to let the garlic burn.
• Add the cider, cider vinegar, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until the cider has reduced slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pot, skin-side up. Pour just enough broth around (not on!) the chicken to cover the sides of the thighs but not cover the skin on top.
• Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low. Partly cover and gently simmer until the thighs are cooked through and tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a clean plate or sheet pan (if you'd like to broil the chicken in the next step), raise the heat to medium, and add the kale and apple to the pot. Cook, tossing often, until all the kale is wilted, the apples are just softened and the liquid has reduced slightly, about 5 minutes. While the greens cook, if you'd like to crisp the skin on the chicken, pop it under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Taste for seasoning, and stir in 1 or 2 more teaspoons cider vinegar to taste. Divide the chicken and kale mixture among shallow bowls; serve with crusty bread to mop up broth.