Roasted Apple Cider Chicken

Use apple cider in cooking – like with this easy roasted chicken recipe for your next family dinner.

Roasted Apple Cider Chicken

Disclosure: Boyden Valley Winery provided an in-kind wine tasting and purchasing discount for attendees at Blog Brûlée but I was not compensated nor asked to write this post. Opinions are my own.

Chickens roasting on an open fire….

OK, that’s not exactly how the song goes but the cold weather has kicked in here in Philly and you can just feel the holidays coming on. (Though I gotta say, props out to the stores that are closed on Thanksgiving, or not opening early the day after or not putting up holiday decorations until after Thanksgiving – I’m sure hoping this trend continues.)

So, back in September during our Blog Brulée event, we were lucky enough to squeeze in a wine and cheese tasting (at 10 am – that’s how we roll) with Boyden Valley Winery and our friends at Cabot Cheese.

First off, it was one of the most picturesque scenes of the weekend both inside and out – red barns, pumpkins on display, chandeliers hanging from wooden rafters.

Now, I’m certainly not a wine connoisseur but I’ve done a fair share of tastings and vineyard visits and I have to say, Boyden produces some of the most unique wines/spirits I’ve seen in a while. Case in point:

• Vermont Ice Hard Cider – a dry, sparkling hard cider made with Vermont Macintosh, Empire & Northern Spy apples. <–yeah, I bought two bottles. (And it was paired with my new favorite Cabot cheese: Alpine Cheddar.)
• Cranberry Rosé – a semi-dry rosé made by Vermont grown cranberries <– so unique
• Gold Leaf – a dessert wine made of Northern Spy apples and estate maple syrup fermeted and aged for two years <— WHY did I not buy this? It was magical.
• Vermont Ice Maple Crème Liqueur – a cordial made from apple brandy, estate maple syrup and cream – like apple + maple meets Baileys <— I did buy a bottle of this. You’re welcome everyone coming over for Christmas as we will be breaking open this baby.

On top of everything, Boyden’s owner, Linda Boyden and manager Bridget Jones were so welcoming and full of interesting stories and information – that the time flew by. If you are ever near Burlington or heading to Smugglers’ Notch, I definitely recommending stopping by Boyden Valley Winery for a visit (located in Cambridge, VT.)

So, onto the recipe…this couldn’t be simpler.

1) Add about 2 1/2 pounds of chicken parts to a roasting pan.

2) Add apples, onions, lemon and seasonings.

3) Pour apple cider over and cook in oven for about 75 minutes.

4) Done.

And now for the more official recipe…..

Roasted Apple Cider Chicken

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• Author: Deanna Segrave-Daly, RD

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Description

Use apple cider in your cooking like with this easy roasted chicken recipe for your next family dinner.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 pieces of chicken (breast, leg, thigh or a combination) – about 2 1/2 pounds
• 3 medium apples, coarsely chopped
• 1 large onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 medium lemon, cut into wedges
• 6 springs rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups hard apple cider or non-alcoholic apple cider

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Pour oil into a large roasting pan and add chicken (flip each piece a few times so oil is coating all pieces.)
3. Add apples, onion and lemon wedges. Place rosemary springs over chicken pieces. Sprinkle with pepper and salt.
4. Slowly pour apple cider over chicken. Bake for 75 – 80 minutes or until chicken is browned and cider is reduced down a bit.

Notes

Adapted from the US Apple Association’s Cider-Baked Chicken and Sausage

While this roasts, the aroma coming out of your kitchen will be just heavenly. Be sure to serve it with a crusty, multi-grain bread to sop up all that lovely cider juice so you can really clean your plate.

If you’re digging this post, you might also like these recipes:

CHINESE STYLE BAKED LEMON CHICKEN
UGLY ROSEMARY ORANGE ROASTED CHICKEN
SPINACH SALAD WITH ROASTED APPLES + HOLIDAY SALAD RECIPE ROUNDUP

Are you an apple cider (regular or hard) fan? Do you ever cook with it?