Chicken Normandy (Chicken Legs Braised in Apple Cider & Brandy)

Course: Dinner, Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine: European, French

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 1 5

Servings:

Calories: 660kcal

Author: Edyta

Chicken Normandy, also known as 'Poulet á lá Normande,' is a super delicious, fall, French Chicken dish. It is whole chicken legs braised in apple cider and brandy; then cooked with onions, garlic, and herbs, and finally finished off with cream, dijon mustard, and fried apples. It's luxurious, has that definite "Wow" factor both in look and in taste - yet it's easy to make.

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Ingredients

2 tbsp Butter unsalted, to fry apples
2 whole Apples* (see notes) peeled, cored, sliced
4 Whole Chicken Leg Quarters
pinch of Salt to season each chicken leg
2 tbsp Butter unsalted, to sear the chicken legs
1 Yellow Onion medium size, sliced
1 clove Garlic minced
1 teaspoon Dry Thyme
1/2 cup Brandy (ideally Apple Brandy)
2 cups Apple Cider (Claudy Apple Juice)
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
2 springs Fresh Thyme chopped
Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions

Fry the apples: Peel, quarter, remove seeds and slice the apples. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in the skillet, add the apples in one layer and fry them until golden brown, flipping a few times. Once cooked on both sides, remove apple slices and set them aside (about 5-7 minutes)
Sear the Chicken: To the same skillet add another 2 tablespoons of butter; season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides and sprinkle with flour. Sear the chicken on the hot pan for 5-7 minutes on each side until the skin is crispy and golden brown. Then remove the chicken from a pan and set aside.
Prepare the braising liquid: Preheat the oven to 375ºF. To the same pan add sliced onions. Sauté the onions on medium heat for approximately 5-7, add garlic and dry thyme and cook for another minute. Deglaze the pan with brandy and cook until half of it has evaporated, then add apple cider (cloudy apple juicer) and cook for about 5 minutes.
Braise the chicken: Add the chicken (skin side up) back to the skillet, cover the pan and move to the hot oven. Bake the chicken for 30 minutes. Carefully remove the pan from the oven using heavy-duty oven mittens.
Finish up the sauce: Remove your chicken onto a plate and finish up the sauce. First, add heavy cream and then Dijon mustard and mix well. Cook it for about 5 minutes until the sauce thickens out. Add fried apples, fresh thyme, and chicken back to the skillet (to soak up some of the sauce).
Serve: To serve place the sauce onto the plate, make sure each plate has onions, apples, and enough sauce to dunk in. Place a chicken leg on top of the sauce and serve. Enjoy!

Notes

For this recipe, you will need to use rather hard apples that can handle the heat well. I recommend Honeycrisp but Granny Smith could be a good option too.

Nutrition