Perhaps it’s too soon to think about making another turkey dinner. But I still love that flavor profile this time of year. This is a nice stand-in, takes a fraction of the time, and hopefully, you still have a lot of these ingredients around.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup fresh cranberries
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon arrowroot or corn starch
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3/4 cup brandy (or sherry)
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
salt & pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large shallot
4-5 cloves of garlic
1 cup chicken broth
2 large apples, any variety
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
1 or 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (optional)
METHOD
Preheat oven to 425.
Cut each apple into 8 slices and remove the core.
In a large bowl, mix the sugar, arrowroot, soy sauce and 2 tablespoons of the brandy. Mix well.
Add the apples and cranberries and mix. Set aside.
Season the chicken with pepper and a little salt (remember the soy and broth will be salty).
Heat a cast iron skillet to medium high and heat up the oil.
Place the chicken in the pan, skin side down and let cook for about 5 minutes, browning the skin. Turn the chicken over and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate.
Take all but about 1 tablespoon of the fat out of the pan.
Slice the shallot very thin - a mandoline would be best.
Turn the meat down to medium.
Add the shallot to the pan, then mince the garlic and add that to the pan as well.
In a few minutes after the shallots are golden and fragrant, turn off the heat and add the rest of the brandy (no flambe required!)
Increase the heat to high and stir until most of the liquid is boiled away.
Pour in the broth and bring to a boil for about 2 minutes.
Add the fruit mix, scraping the bowl to make sure all the sugar and sauce gets in the pan. Mix.
Nestle the thighs in the pan, skin side up.
Dust the top with the rosemary.
Place in the oven for 25 minutes. Test the chicken to make sure it’s reached 165 degrees.
Chop the parsley and sprinkle over the chicken.
The sauce in this dish is a tiny bit on the sweet side, so if you’re serving bread with it, choose one that’s crusty and not too soft or sweet. If you don’t like sauces that tend to be a little sweeter, swap out the brandy/sherry for white wine.
Serve with a nice dry German Reisling like Dr. Heidemanns Reisling Dry. It’s inexpensive and a great foil to this sauce.
Christmas dinner may necessitate another turkey dinner, but until then, I’m using the fresh cranberries while they’re still here.
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