Poulet au Cidre - Chicken in Cider

One of the products that Brittany is known for is their amazing cider.  In the United States, cider lacks alcoholic content unless specifically noted as hard cider.  In Brittany, however, alcoholic cider is the norm.  Aside from being served in many cafes and along with meals, cider in Brittany is also used in cooking (and not just as a drink for the chef!). 

One of the traditional recipes that features Brittany's cider is Poulet au Cidre, or Chicken in Cider.  Chicken is cooked along with apples and onions in cider.  The cider is then mixed with cream and reduced to a delicious sauce.  The contrast of a sweet sauce in a savory dish reminded me a lot of the Pork Chops with Blueberry Sauce from Trentino-Alto Adige in Italy.  It was a great way to mix up the regular old chicken dinner!

Poulet au Cidre - Chicken in Cider

Adapted from FrenchEntree.com

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts

salt and pepper

3 tablespoons butter

1 large apple (whatever kind is your favorite!)

1 large onion

1.5 cups cider (hard if possible, but regular cider will work just fine)

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon flour

Process:

1. Salt and pepper the chicken breasts.  Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter to a large frying pan.  Add the chicken and brown about 3 minutes on each side.  Remove the chicken to a plate.
2. Cut the onion in half lengthwise, and then cut into thin strips (they should be half circles).  Dice the apple into small cubes.
3. Heat the remaining butter in the frying pan over medium heat.  Add the onions and apples to the pan and cook about 5 minutes until soft.
4. Add the chicken back to the pan with the apples and onions.  Pour the cider over the chicken.  Sprinkle with nutmeg.  Simmer the chicken for about 40 minutes, flipping the chicken about half way through.
5. Remove the chicken from the pan and keep warm.  Add the cream to the cider and stir for several minutes.  Add the flour and whisk in to thicken the sauce.  Salt the sauce to taste.
6. Pour the sauce, apples and onions over the chicken and serve hot.

Ryan's rating of Poulet au Cidre - Chicken in Cider - 5. 

Comments

[Jeanne]

I love hard cider but I think the only things I've made with it are soup and chili. I'll have to give this a try.

[Sue]

Id never cooked with cider before at all, so it was something new for me.  This would be a fun thing to make in the fall after a day of apple picking!

[Sean]

Just made this dish. DELCIOSE! We used a local hard dry cider, which worked really well. It was a good balance between sweet and savory. We paired it with barley, which was also nice and provided a texture similar to risotto. All in all a fantastic recipe.

[Sue]

Thanks, Sean! Im glad you guys liked it. The barley is a great serving idea.

[Jeanne]

Sean's makeing this again tonight. The house smells so good! This time we're having it with brown rice and homemade thyme biscuits. Thanks again for this recipe.