Apple Cider Glazed Chicken with Apples and Fennel
This cozy chicken dinner is the kind of recipe you’ll want to keep on repeat all fall and winter. Juicy chicken thighs are seared until golden, then simmered with sweet cider, crisp apples, and caramelized fennel in a tangy maple-Dijon glaze. The result? Tender chicken with a sauce you’ll want to scoop up with bread or spoon over roasted potatoes. It’s hearty enough for a Sunday dinner, but easy enough for a weeknight.
Ingredients
- 8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 small fennel bulbs cored and cut into wedges (reserve fronds for garnish)
- 2 Honeycrisp or Gala apples cored and cut into thick wedges
- 3 garlic cloves smashed
- 1 ½ cups fresh apple cider (non-alcoholic) not vinegar
- ¾ cup chicken stock
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven. Set oven to 375°F.
- Season the chicken. Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels. Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Sear the chicken. Heat olive oil in a 6-qt Rondeu or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Place chicken skin side down and sear until golden and crisp, about 8–10 minutes. Flip and cook for another 2–3 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate. Work in batches if needed to avoid overcrowding.
- Cook the fennel and apples. Reduce heat to medium. Add fennel wedges and garlic to the pan and sauté until caramelized, about 10 minutes. Remove from the pan. Add apple wedges and cook 1–2 minutes per side until lightly golden.
- Make the cider glaze. Pour in cider, chicken stock, vinegar, maple syrup, Dijon, and thyme. Stir to combine, scraping up any browned bits. Return the fennel, garlic and chicken (skin-side up) into the pan.
- Simmer. Cover and simmer on the stovetop for 10 minutes.
- Roast. Transfer the uncovered pan to the oven. Roast until the chicken's internal temperature reaches 175°F (at the thickest part of the thighs) and the sauce is bubbling and slightly reduced, about 25 minutes.
- Thicken the sauce. If the sauce is too thin, remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and simmer the liquid on the stovetop until slightly thickened.
- Finish and serve. Move the chicken to the side of the pot and stir the butter into the sauce. Garnish with reserved fennel fronds, and serve with sauce spooned over top.
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