Autumn Comfort: Braised Chicken with Apples and Pears
This delightful braised chicken combines tender chicken with the sweet, autumnal flavors of apples and Bartlett pears, enriched by a creamy cider-mustard sauce. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper, then sear them in a hot skillet until golden brown.
Set the chicken aside and sauté sliced apples and Bartlett pears in the same skillet until they begin to caramelize. Deglaze the pan with apple cider, scraping up any browned bits to enhance the flavor.
Next, whisk in Dijon mustard, allowing its tanginess to meld with the sweet cider. Return the chicken to the skillet, nestling it among the fruit, and pour in half and half for a luxurious, creamy texture. Cover and let it simmer gently, allowing the chicken to become tender and the flavors to meld together perfectly.
The apples and pears soften as the dish cooks, creating a subtly sweet contrast to the savory chicken, while the cider-mustard sauce thickens into a rich, velvety coating. Serve the braised chicken with mashed potatoes or rice to soak up the delicious sauce, and garnish with fresh herbs for a comforting, elegant meal perfect for a cozy evening.
Braising Chicken
Braising chicken is a cooking technique that combines both dry and moist heat methods to create tender, flavorful dishes. The process begins by seasoning the chicken pieces with salt, pepper, and desired spices, then searing them in a hot skillet with some oil until they develop a golden-brown crust. This initial browning step is crucial as it adds depth of flavor through caramelization.
Once the chicken is browned, it is removed from the skillet, and aromatic vegetables such as onions, garlic, or carrots are sautéed in the same pan to build a flavor base. The skillet is then deglazed with a liquid, such as broth, wine, or cider, which loosens the flavorful browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.
The chicken is returned to the skillet, nestled into the liquid, which should only partially cover the meat. The skillet is then covered, and the chicken is cooked at a low simmer, either on the stovetop or in the oven, for an extended period. This gentle, moist cooking method allows the chicken to become incredibly tender and absorb the rich flavors of the braising liquid.
Braising is particularly effective for tougher cuts of chicken, such as thighs and drumsticks, as the prolonged cooking time breaks down connective tissues, resulting in succulent, melt-in-your-mouth meat. The braising liquid often transforms into a luscious sauce, perfect for serving over rice, potatoes, or vegetables, making braised chicken a comforting and hearty meal.
Braised Chicken with Apple Cider, Apples, Pears & Mustard
The recipe calls for using hard cider, which is alcoholic, but I used fresh sweet apple cider because that’s what I had. To be honest, I misread the recipe. I’m not sure why they say don’t use fresh apple cider; the recipe turned out great.
Braised Chicken with Apples and Pears
Ingredients
- 6 chicken drumsticks
- 6 chicken thighs bone-in, skin on
- salt & pepper for seasoning
- 2 tablespoons olive oil plus a little more
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 apples I used Rome apples
- 2 hard Bartlet pears if too ripe, they will fall apart when cooking
- 2 cups apple cider fresh
- ¼ cup Dijon mustard
- 3 sprigs fresh marjoram
- ¼ cup half and half
- fresh marjoram chopped for garnishing
Instructions
- Rinse the chicken under cold water and pat dry. Season with salt & pepper.
- Peel & core the apples and pears. Slice them into sixths or eights.
- Chop some fresh marjoram for garnish.
- Preheat your oven to 350° F.
- In a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil and butter. When hot but not smoking, brown the chicken pieces a few at a time being sure not to crowd the pan with too many pieces or they will steam. Depending on the size of the pan, you may have to do this in batches.
- When all sides are browned, remove the chicken from the pan and transfer it to a plate to reserve. Pour out most of the butter/oil fat from the pan, but leave about 1 tablespoon for browning the apples and pears.
- Over medium-high heat, cook the pears and apples for about 4 minutes. Transfer the pears and apples to another plate to reserve.
- Add the cider to the pan to deglaze. Bring to a boil. Using a wooden spoon, scrape any bits of browned chicken from the pan. This stuff is called fond or sucs.
- Add the mustard and using a spoon or whisk, stir the mustard into the cider.
- Return the chicken pieces along with any juices that may have leaked out back to the pan.
- Add the marjoram sprigs, cover and place the pan into the oven on the middle rack.
- I didn’t have a sauté pan big enough for all the chicken pieces so for this step, I transferred everything to my Le Creuset Dutch Oven, one of my favorite pieces of cookware.
- After 10 minutes in the oven, I added the apple and pear slices to the pot and continued braising for another 30 to 40 minutes. The meat was so tender it was about to fall off the bone.
- I carefully removed the chicken and fruit to a plate with a slotted spoon, removed and threw out the marjoram sprigs and started the hardest part to this recipe – defatting. There’s just no easy way to get rid of the fat that comes off the chicken. I’ve tried those defatting gadgets, paper towels but nothing really works so well that it removes the fat and isn’t messy.
- If you have the time and don’t have to serve this up as soon as it’s finished, I highly recommend you transfer the liquid to a small bowl or plastic container let it cool and then place in the refrigerator over night.The next day you’ll have a layer of fat on top that you can easily remove and be left with nothing but incredibly flavored braising liquid. When I made this, I didn’t have the luxury of time so I defatted by hand and made the best of it.
- I transferred the liquid to a saucepan, brought it to a boil and then reduced the heat to medium, added the half and half and continued reducing until the sauce was my desired consistency.I could have made a roux (fat and flour) to thicken the sauce, but I think you get much better flavor by reduction.
- To serve, plate the chicken, top with a little sauce and sprinkle a little of the chopped marjoram on top. This is one delicious meal and even better if you let it sit for a day before serving.
8 Responses
Sounds like a great receipy…but what do you mean by ….’¼ cup half and half’?
Best regards
Joe
Half and Half is half milk, half cream with about 12% butterfat.
What a lovely recipe. I made it for dinner last night, it was delicious! I strayed from the recipe a bit, stirring in some greek yogurt at the end instead of half and half. I also added sliced fennel to the mix of apples, YUM!
Thanks so much, I love the site.
Gourmet Peasant
Can’t wait to try these recipes! Do wish they could be printed on only one page, tho! Thanx much!
Sharon
I really enjoyed this one! I used chicken breasts instead of legs and thighs, but it still came out great. Thanks for all the wonderful advice on this site!
I have the time – in fact, I want the time – to defat. However, how do you reheat the chicken?
Why wouldn’t you just cook everything in the Dutch oven to begin with? You lose all the yummy brown bits that were in the pan.
Hi Olivia, you can just cook everything in the Dutch Oven depending on how big it is. You don’t have to lose the fond or as you call it, “yummy brown bits” if you deglaze the saute pan and add it to the Dutch Oven. This is a good method if you are using a slow cooker (crock pot) rather than a Dutch Oven. Thanks for pointing this out. – RG
How many will this serve? Am having guests over- will it stretch to feed 6 or I can do 1 1/2x recipe. Know that’s 2 pieces per person- but enough sauce to go around? Thanks.
Should be plenty of sauce and two pieces per person sounds right but it really depends on who those 6 people are. I always think less for kids but my 14 year old daughter must be going through a growth spurt and is eating like an adult. Then their are the folks who are watching their weight and they only eat one piece. And of course there are some of us that always go back for seconds. So know your audience when deciding how much to prepare. – RG