hard cider

This simple, classic braise from northern France brings together the fall flavors of sweet apples, yeasty cider, cream and chicken. The only trick is flambéing the Calvados or brandy, which gives it a toasty flavor — it’s literally playing with fire, so if you’d prefer not to do that, you can stay safe and get very similar results by pouring the liquor in off-heat, and gently simmering it to evaporate the alcohol.

Poulet à la Normande

chicken,

Salt and black pepper

olive oil, duck fat or chicken fat

Calvados

pearl onions, peeled (frozen is fine)

cornstarch

crème fraîche (see note)

Pat the chicken very dry with paper towels, and season well with salt and pepper. Heat the fat in a large Dutch oven or deep skillet over medium-high until shimmering. Brown the chicken, in batches if necessary, skin side down until deep golden, 6 to 8 minutes, then flip, and sear the other side until golden, another 3 minutes.

If flambéing: Make sure there is nothing flammable near or above your stove. Gently warm the Calvados in a saucepan over medium heat. When the chicken is well browned, protect your hand, and use a long kitchen match to light the liquor on fire, then carefully pour it into the chicken pan. The flame can shoot over 2 feet high, so be careful. Cook until the flame subsides. If not flambéing: Once the chicken is browned, turn off the heat, and add the Calvados. When the sizzling subsides, turn the heat on to medium low, bring the liquid to a simmer and cook for 4 minutes to evaporate the alcohol.

Add the cider and onions, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn the heat down to a very gentle simmer. Quickly peel and core the apples, and cut them into 1 1/2-inch chunks, and place them on top of the chicken. Cover the pan, and cook, checking occasionally to ensure the liquid is maintaining a gentle simmer, not boiling, until the chicken is just cooked through, 35-40 minutes.

Remove the chicken, onions and apples to a platter, and cover. Make a slurry with the cornstarch and 3 tablespoons of cold water. Stir this into the braising liquid, and bring to a simmer for 1 minute, until thickened. Stir in the crème fraîche, and season the sauce with salt to taste, replace the chicken, onions and apples in the sauce and serve with crusty bread and a salad.

A delicious and simple berry hard cider recipe.

Berry Hard Cider Recipe

gal Apple Cider

tsp Yeast Nutrient

pack Nottingham Ale Yeast

lbs Mixed Berries

2.5 tsp Campden (for bottling)

2.5 tsp Sorbate (for bottling)

Sanitize Everything

Clean and sanitize all cider making equipment before starting.

Fill the Fermenter

Pour the Apple juice into the fermenting vessel.

Hydrometer Reading

Take a hydrometer reading to measure the gravity and record.

Add Nutrient

Pitch Yeast

Attach Airlock

Close the fermenter and install an airlock filled with sanitizer.

Ferment

Allow the cider to ferment in a cool and dark place for about two weeks.

Dry Hop

Pack the berries into a hop bag and place the bag into the fermenter for about a week.

Bottle

Celebrate Katniss Everdeen with this Hunger Games inspired fireball cocktail - The Girl on Fireball! OR just celebrate your love of perfect fall cocktail recipes and combine spiced Fireball with hard cider! 

The Girl on Fireball Cocktail

shot Fireball Whiskey

Slowly pour the two together to reduce any...

Slowly pour the two together to reduce any foam. Enjoy!

https://mediavine-res.cloudinary.com/video/upload/c9wzxvrkgldow6g2ii5s.mp4

Celebrate Katniss Everdeen with this Hunger Games inspired cocktail – The Girl on Fireball Cocktail! OR just celebrate your love of perfect fall cocktail recipes and combine a hard apple cider with spiced Fireball Whiskey!

GIRL ON FIREBALL RECIPE

There are some culinary combinations that cannot be improved upon, and apples and pork is surely one of them. This recipe calls for pan-frying boneless pork chops and serving them with butter-browned apples and a Normandy-style sauce made with cider and cream. It makes for a perfect cold weather meal.

Pork Chops With Apples and Cider

black peppercorns

cloves

allspice berries

sage

salt

pork

apples

butter

All-purpose flour,

hard cider,

Dijon mustard

chicken broth

potato starch

crème fraîche

Calvados, apple brandy

chives

parsley

Make the spice salt: Put peppercorns, cloves, allspice and sage in a spice mill or mortar and grind to a powder. Remove to a bowl and stir in salt. Season pork chops on both sides with salt mixture. (There will be some salt mixture remaining; use it to season the sauce, Step 4.) Cover and leave chops at room temperature to absorb seasonings for at least 30 minutes.

Peel, quarter and core apples, then cut each apple into 12 wedges. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a wide skillet and raise heat to medium-high. Add apple wedges in one layer and brown gently on one side, about 2 minutes. Brown on the other side and cook for 2 minutes more, or until apples are cooked through but still firm. Remove apples from pan and keep warm.

Add 1 tablespoon butter to pan and swirl to melt. Dust pork chops with flour, and place in pan and brown gently for about 4 minutes per side. Adjust heat if necessary to keep pork from cooking too quickly. Remove chops and keep warm on a platter in a low oven. Discard remaining butter.

Add ½ cup cider to pan, raise heat to high and cook down to a syrup. Add mustard and chicken broth, and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Add potato starch and stir with a wire whisk as the sauce thickens. Stir in crème fraîche. Season to taste with remaining spiced salt. Add 2 tablespoons cider and the Calvados, if using. Cook for 1 minute more.

Spoon sauce over the chops, then spoon the apples around the platter. Sprinkle with chives and parsley.

Here is the the beauty of wassail: more than just another nice-tasting drink, it’s part of a long (if largely forgotten) tradition of celebrating the life that winter can seem determined to snuff out. It’s a fragrant, warming concoction mixed in bulk (this recipe makes 12 servings) and set out for sharing, all but demanding that you call in a crowd. There’s really no such thing as wassail for one. A punch bowl is good for this, although you can also ladle it into individual cups. (The New York Times)

Wassail

brown sugar

dark brown sugar

Madeira

(22 4/10 ounces) London Pride Ale

(48 ounces) Strongbow English Cider

apple cider

cinnamon sticks, 2 inches long

orange peel, 2 inches long

ginger

nutmeg

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place apples in a 9-by-9-inch glass baking dish. Spoon light and dark brown sugar into center of each apple, dividing sugar evenly among them. Pour 1 cup water into bottom of dish and bake until tender, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, pour Madeira, ale and English and apple ciders into a large slow cooker or heavy pot. Place cloves, allspice, cinnamon and orange peel into cheesecloth, tie shut with kitchen twine and add to slow cooker or pot along with ginger and nutmeg. Set slow cooker to medium, or place pot over low heat. Gently simmer for about 1 hour, while apples bake, or longer if desired.

Add liquid from the baking dish and stir to combine. Using tongs, transfer apples into slow cooker or pot to garnish. Reduce heat. Ladle hot wassail into heatproof cups to serve.

Learn how to make a delicious and simple fermented hard cider recipe at home.

Homemade Hard Cider Recipe

pack Safale S-04 Yeast

tab Campden

Take a hydrometer reading to measure the original gravity and record.

Add Campden if using fresh unpasteurized cider if desired.

A delicious and simple dry hopped hard cider recipe.

Citra Hopped Hard Cider Recipe

oz Citra Hops

Pour the hops into a hop bag and place the hop bag into the fermenter for about a week.

Pear Hard Cider Recipe

gal Pear Juice

2.5 tsp Potassium Metabisulfite

2.5 tsp Potassium Sorbate

Pour the pear juice into the fermenting vessel.

Take a hydrometer reading to measure the gravity.

Install the airlock on the fermented and fill with sanitizer.

This recipe would also work with small cipolline onions or larger torpedo-shaped shallots.

Cider-and-Bourbon-Glazed Shallots

shallots,

⅔ cup (or more) apple cider vinegar

unsalted butter

bourbon

maple syrup

kosher salt,

black pepper

Bon Appétit

Bring shallots, vinegar, butter, bourbon, maple syrup, ¼ tsp. salt, and 2 cups water to a boil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer, adding water by the tablespoonful if needed, until shallots are crisp-tender and liquid is partly evaporated, 25–30 minutes.

Uncover shallots and cook until liquid is evaporated and shallots begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Continue to cook, swirling pan often, until shallots and surface of skillet are covered in a rich brown caramel, about 6 minutes. Add ¼ cup water to skillet and stir to deglaze caramel and coat shallots. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a microwave-safe bowl and let cool.

To reheat, cover bowl with plastic wrap and microwave on high in 30-second intervals, tossing in between, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, and vinegar if needed.

Do Ahead: Shallots can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

Top 10 hard cider recipes from across the web

The most viewed hard cider recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Poulet à la Normande

Berry Hard Cider Recipe

The Girl on Fireball Cocktail

Pork Chops With Apples and Cider

Wassail

Homemade Hard Cider Recipe

Citra Hopped Hard Cider Recipe

Pear Hard Cider Recipe

Cider-and-Bourbon-Glazed Shallots

Hard Cider From Store Bought Juice

Top 10 hard cider recipes from across the web

The most viewed hard cider recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Poulet à la Normande

Berry Hard Cider Recipe

The Girl on Fireball Cocktail

Pork Chops With Apples and Cider

Wassail

Homemade Hard Cider Recipe

Citra Hopped Hard Cider Recipe

Pear Hard Cider Recipe

Cider-and-Bourbon-Glazed Shallots

Hard Cider From Store Bought Juice

The most viewed hard cider recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine