Poulet Vallée d'AugeNormandy Chicken with Cider and Apples

Joint the chicken into 8 pieces and prepare for searing

• 1 MeanwhileWhile the chicken rests for 15 minutes, prepare 3 thyme sprigs and 1 bay leaf, and measure 150 ml chicken stock.
• 2 MeanwhileWhile the chicken rests for 15 minutes, finely chop 60 g onion.
• 3 MeanwhileWhile the chicken rests for 15 minutes, wipe 200 g mushrooms with a damp cloth, trim the stem ends, cut large ones lengthwise into 4 and toss with 5 ml lemon juice.
• 4 Pat the 1200 g whole chicken dry and place breast-side up on a board. Cut the skin at the leg joints, pull the legs outward to dislocate the joints and detach the 2 whole legs.
• 5 Cut each of the 2 legs at the white joint line into 2 drumsticks and 2 thighs.
• 6 Remove the 2 wing tips at their joints and reserve for the carcass.
• 7 Cut the breasts away along either side of the breastbone, leaving the upper wings attached to the 2 breasts. Halve each breast diagonally, making 2 pieces with wing attached and 2 without, for 8 chicken pieces in total.
• 8 Use kitchen shears to divide the remaining backbone, breastbone and wing tips, plus neck if present, into roughly 5 cm pieces and keep together as the carcass.
• 9 Season all surfaces of the 8 pieces and carcass with 6 g salt and 1 g black pepper; rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Brown lightly and dust with flour

• 1 Heat 30 g butter and 15 ml sunflower oil in a heavy cast-iron pot about 24 cm across over medium heat, until the butter's bubbles become fine.
• 2 Arrange the chicken skin-side down without overlapping and cook undisturbed over medium heat for 5–6 minutes.
• 3 Once pale golden, turn and cook the other side for 4 minutes. Work in 2 uncrowded batches, in the order drumsticks, thighs, then breasts; transfer browned pieces to a tray.
• 4 Brown the carcass in the same pot for 2–3 minutes, turning, then transfer to the tray.
• 5 Perform singer, dusting with flour and cooking it as a thickening base: return chicken and carcass, sift 15 g flour over through a tea strainer and cook over medium-low heat for 2 minutes, turning with a wooden spoon.

Soften onion and deglaze with Calvados

• 1 Add 60 g chopped onion between the chicken pieces and sauté over medium-low heat for 3–4 minutes, stirring until translucent and its moisture evaporates, without coloring.
• 2 Turn off the heat briefly and pour 50 ml Calvados down the side of the pot.
• 3 Return to medium heat and boil for 1–2 minutes, scraping the savory browned layer from the bottom with a wooden spoon, until the sharp alcoholic smell disappears.

Braise in cider and stock, removing breasts first

• 1 MeanwhileWhile braising, combine 500 ml water and 5 ml lemon juice in a bowl. Peel 2 apples, core and cut each 1 into 8 wedges, placing them immediately in the lemon water, for 16 wedges total.
• 2 Pour in 300 ml dry cider and 150 ml chicken stock; add 3 thyme sprigs and 1 bay leaf.
• 3 Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and skim floating scum with a ladle 3–4 times.
• 4 Set the lid slightly ajar and simmer gently for 15 minutes, with the surface barely moving.
• 5 After 15 minutes, use tongs to remove all 4 breast pieces, 2 with wing and 2 without, to a plate and cover with foil.
• 6 Continue simmering the remaining 2 thighs, 2 drumsticks and carcass over the same low heat for another 10 minutes.

Strain and reduce to 250 ml

• 1 MeanwhileWhile reducing, melt 15 g butter in a frying pan over medium heat and spread in 200 g mushrooms. Cook untouched for 2 minutes, then for 3–4 minutes more, turning occasionally until dry and browned at the edges; season with 1 g salt and remove from the heat.
• 2 MeanwhileWhile reducing, whisk 1 egg yolk and 50 ml thick crème fraîche, cultured cream, smoothly in a small bowl to make a liaison, the egg-yolk and cream mixture used to thicken sauce.
• 3 Remove the remaining 2 thighs and 2 drumsticks to the plate with the 4 breast pieces and cover with foil.
• 4 Remove and discard carcass, thyme and bay leaf with tongs.
• 5 Strain the liquid into a measuring jug through a chinois, a fine conical sieve, or other fine strainer; press the retained onion lightly with the back of a ladle to extract liquid.
• 6 Wipe fat and browned deposits from inside the empty cast-iron pot with paper towels and return the strained liquid.
• 7 Reduce over medium heat for 4–5 minutes, carefully skimming surface fat with a ladle.

Finish with liaison, reheat chicken and sauté apples

• 1 MeanwhileWhile reducing the cream, lift the 16 apple wedges from the lemon water and dry thoroughly with paper towels.
• 2 MeanwhileWhile reducing the cream, melt 25 g butter in another frying pan over medium heat. Once foaming, arrange the 16 wedges without overlapping and cook for 3 minutes per side, turning gently only once with a spatula, for 6–7 minutes total until pale caramel on both sides; add 1 g salt and turn off the heat.
• 3 MeanwhileWhile reheating the chicken, pick the leaves from 4 parsley sprigs and chop coarsely.
• 4 Add the remaining 150 ml thick crème fraîche to the reduced liquid and cook over medium heat for 4–5 minutes, stirring, until lightly thickened.
• 5 Reduce to low heat and temper the liaison with 1 ladleful of hot sauce, about 60 ml, at a time, whisking in 3 additions.
• 6 Return the warmed liaison to the pot and heat on the lowest setting for 2–3 minutes, constantly drawing a wooden spoon across the bottom.
• 7 Turn off the heat and season with 5 ml lemon juice, 2 g salt and 0.5 g black pepper.
• 8 Return the sautéed mushrooms and all 8 chicken pieces; reheat over the lowest heat for 3–4 minutes, spooning sauce over them.

Plate warm with apples and parsley

• 1 Fill 4 deep plates with hot water for 1–2 minutes, discard it and dry with a clean cloth.
• 2 Arrange 2 chicken pieces per person in the center of the 4 warm plates, combining drumstick, thigh, breast with wing and breast without wing so each type is distributed.
• 3 Divide mushrooms among the 4 plates around the chicken and ladle sauce over everything.
• 4 Arrange 4 sautéed apple wedges per person in a fan along the rim.
• 5 Grind 0.5 g black pepper over the 4 plates and scatter with chopped parsley.