Chicken in Hard Cider Sauce Recipe

By KatKD

Caramelized onions give amazing complexity to the hard cider sauce recipe. The sauce is so delicious; the chicken is nearly an afterthought.

Cook’s note: Hard ciders from France are usually from Normandy and Brittany. If you have the choice, buy a Cidre Doux, or sweet cider. Demi-Sec and Cidre Brut are much too strong and dry for this recipe.

Ingredients

• 8 chicken tenderloins
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons butter, divided
• 1/2 cup chopped white onions
• 1 cup hard cider

Details

Preparation time 5mins
Cooking time 35mins
Adapted from frenchfood.about.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Preheat a large skillet to medium-high heat. Season the chicken with the salt and black pepper. Carefully avoiding spatter, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in the hot skillet, and then brown the seasoned chicken for 3 minutes on each side. Transfer the chicken to a small roasting pan.

Add the remaining butter to the pan, and allow it to melt. Sauté the chopped onions over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they become soft and slightly brown around the edges. Add the hard cider to the skillet and bring it to a boil for 4 minutes, making sure to scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet.

Makes 4 servings.

Pour the thickened cider over the browned chicken and roast in the preheated oven, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes. The chicken is done when the juices run clear and it registers 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Serve the chicken hot with cider sauce poured over it.

Reader's Review: “Why not add a dash of calvados (apple brandy) to flambe the chicken before putting it in the oven. After its's cooked, remove the chicken and onions, reduce the cidre and add a little heavy cream to make a delicious sauce. I can assure it will be well worth the extra effort!”