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Chicken Normandy or “poulet a la Normande” is a classic dish of French origin. It’s named for the Normandy region which is known for apples and calvados (an apple brandy). I’ve encountered many variations of Chicken Normandy over the years but almost all include chicken, apples, cider, calvados, and cream. This makes it a fabulous recipe for the fall when apples are in season and we crave creamy stews. Most recipes, including mine, take a bit of time as you generally need to brown the chicken and then slowly braise it in cider. This makes it a perfect recipe for a weekend when you have a bit more time for cooking and for relaxing over a gourmet dinner with a bottle of wine or hard cider. Chicken Normandy is also a wonderful dish for entertaining. Serve it with my apple harvest salad and crusty french bread for a gourmet fall feast!
Looking for more French classics. Try my poulet au vinaigre (chicken in vinegar), chicken bonne femme, or my hunter’s chicken stew. For dessert, try this rustic apple tart.
Ingredients
For this recipe, I’ve opted to use chicken drumsticks rather than the more traditional whole chicken cut into eight pieces. I picked up this trick from one of my favorite coq au vin recipes. This way, the meat cooks more uniformly. I also think the slow braising method works especially well with drumsticks. The result is very tender juicy chicken. If you don’t like drumsticks, bone-in thighs work well too. The other ingredients include:
- Apples
- Onions and garlic
- Calvados or apple brandy
- Hard Cider
- Chicken stock
- Thyme, bay leaf, and honey
- Crėme fraiche
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
This recipe is fairly simple but takes a bit of time. You brown the chicken, sautee your apples and onions, and then braise the chicken in a mixture of calvados, cider, and chicken stock. A bit of cream is stirred in at the end for richness.
Season the chicken well with salt and pepper. I use about 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper.
Drudge the chicken through the flour until well coated.
Brown the chicken, for about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a large plate or bowl and then sautee the apples, onion, and garlic.
Add liquid ingredients and herbs. Return chicken to the pot. Cover and braise for 40 minutes turning the chicken once. Stir in creme fraiche and garnish with parsley.
Hint: You can add a bit more olive oil or butter to the pan before you cook the onions and apples if needed.
Tip: Crėme fraîche can be expensive. Try making your own by combining heavy cream and cultured buttermilk. Here is a recipe from Serious Eats.
Substitutions
Here are some ingredients you might want to swap if you don’t have them on hand or avoid alcohol.
- Calvados: you can use any apple brandy or cognac (or just regular brandy/cognac). You can also replace the calvados with cider (hard or regular) and/or chicken stock.
- Hard Cider: You can use regular apple cider in place of hard cider. Omit the honey if you do this.
- Crėme fraîche: I prefer crėme fraîche but sour cream, plain greek yogurt or heavy cream can be used as substitutes.
Pairings
I recommend serving this dish with crusty bread. You will want something to drudge through the delicious sauce. A salad and potatoes or squash also pair well with this dish.
- Salad
- Crusty bread
- Potatoes or squash
- Hard Cider – try a nice dry French or Spanish variety
Equipment
This dish doesn’t really require any special equipment. For recipes where you braise meat slowly, I really love my enamel Le Creuset braiser or dutch oven (shown below). They are great for stovetop braising and recipes where the pot needs to go in the oven. They are also so pretty, I use them for serving as well – no need to get more serving dished out! A set of tongs for browning chicken and transferring it in and out of the pot is also very useful.
Chicken Normandy
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings 1x
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Braise
- Cuisine: French
Description
This simple French chicken stew is perfect for autumn!
Ingredients
- 8–10 Chicken drumsticks (about 2–2.5 pounds)*
- salt and pepper for seasoning
- ⅓ cup flour
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 3 granny smith apples, sliced about ½ inch thick
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ⅓ cup calvados or apple brandy*
- 1 cup dry hard cider*
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- ⅓ cup crėme fraîche*
Instructions
- Season chicken generously with salt and pepper (I use about 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper). Drudge it through the flour to coat. Set aside and reserve the extra drudging flour.
- Heat oil and butter in a large skillet or dutch oven equipped with a lid. Add the chicken and brown over medium high heat (about 4 minutes per side). Transfer chicken to a plate.
- Lower heat to medium and add the onions. You can add a little more oil or butter if needed. Cook onions for 5 minutes. Add the apples and garlic and cook 2 minutes more. Add 3 tablespoons of flour (use the reserved drudging flour). Stir the mixture until the onions and apples are well coated.
- Add the calvodos, cider, chicken stock, honey, thyme, and bay leaf to the pan. Nestle the chicken into the pan and raise the heat to high. Once the mixture has reached a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Simmer for 40 minutes turning the chicken at the halfway point.
- Transfer the chicken to a plate. Stir in the crėme fraîche and heat through. Adjust seasoning to taste. Return chicken to pot and serve.
Notes
- Bone-in chicken thighs also work
- You can substitute regular cognac/brandy for the calvados as well or apple cider
- You can substitute apple cider for hard cider. Skip the honey if you do this. If you are also swapping apple cider for the calvados, you might do ½ cup cider and ½ cup chicken stock.
- You can substitute plain Greek yogurt or sour cream for the creme fraiche
Keywords: chicken, apples, french
FAQ
Calvados is an apple brandy that is made in Normandy France. It is great for sipping, cocktails, and cooking.
I love Calvados but it is pricey. If you are looking for substitutes, try an apple brandy like Laird’s Apple Jack. You can also use plain brandy or cognac. Apple cider works too if you don’t want to use alcohol.
Yes, absolutely. You can skip the honey if you use apple cider.
Creme fraiche is a thickened cream made with cream and a fermenting agent. It is similar to sour cream but a bit thicker and less tangy. Unlike sour cream, it does not curdle when you add it to hot stews and sauces. This makes it ideal for soups and stews.
