Cider-Braised Chicken Thighs With Apples and Greens

By Lidey Heuck

Cider-Braised Chicken Thighs With Apples and Greens
Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.
Total Time
50 minutes
Rating
4(1,849)
Comments
Read comments

In this hearty one-pot dinner, chicken thighs are browned, then braised in chicken broth flavored with mustard, sage, garlic and a triple dose of apple: apple cider, cider vinegar and apple slices. The addition of a few handfuls of greens makes this a complete meal, in need of nothing else but a nice of hunk of bread to soak up the broth and perhaps a glass of dry white wine.

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1½ to 2pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 4 to 6)
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • 2tablespoons canola or grapeseed oil
  • 1cup thinly sliced shallots (2 to 3 medium shallots)
  • 2tablespoons roughly chopped fresh sage leaves
  • 3garlic cloves, minced
  • ¾cup fresh apple cider
  • 2tablespoons apple cider vinegar, plus more to taste
  • 2tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • ¾ to 1cup chicken broth, preferably low-sodium
  • 1bunch curly kale (10 to 12 ounces), stemmed, leaves torn into bite-size pieces
  • 1crisp red apple, such as Fuji, cored and thinly sliced
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

652 calories; 43 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 16 grams monounsaturated fat; 12 grams polyunsaturated fat; 30 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams dietary fiber; 15 grams sugars; 39 grams protein; 1150 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Pat the chicken thighs dry and season generously with salt and pepper.

  2. Step 2

    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.

  3. Step 3

    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.

  4. Step 4

    Add the cider, cider vinegar, mustard, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ 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.

  5. Step 5

    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.

  6. Step 6

    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.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

4 out of 5
1,849 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

Jillybean

WHat could I use instead of kale. My husband doesn't even what to SEE the word kale!! ha ha

Leslie Parsley

I'm with your hubby on this fad food of the 2018-2019s. I'm going to make this otherwise delicious sounding dish using spinach, mustard greens, or turnip greens. And, imvho, there's nothing preventing one from using leaks, broccoli (cut up in small pieces), peas, asparagus, or whatever green veggie appeals to you.

Willemsnd

Use red cabbage, not the same color but it goes very well with apples.

Elizabeth

Meh. Something was missing, that I don't think would've been improved by more salt or apple cider vinegar. Maybe I should have reduced the apple cider mixture more? The flavor of the broth was bland, and after cooking the chard (which I used instead of kale) + Fuji apple slices, the apple slices had no flavor whatsoever. The chicken was very tender, though. I think next time, I'll just make NYT's pork with miso caramel apples, only use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead.

Whitebirch

This method for cooking the chicken is fantastic—don’t skip the final step to crisp the skin again at the end. Have used the technique with different recipes/braises and it never fails.

Jenell

Tried this recipe only because I had kale. I’ve paired apples with pork but never chicken - turns out it was a hit! I did serve it over rice but it’s good without it too. Easy recipe for something unique and flavorful. It also was a quick mid-week one-pot meal.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.