Braised Chicken with Apples

Ingredients:

- 8 Chicken thighs with skin and bones (3 lb)
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 tablespoon Unsalted Butter
- 1 tablespoon Brown Sugar, packed
- 2 Gala Apples (3/4 lb), peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2 inch thick wedges
- 1/2 cup Shallots, finely chopped
- 2/3 cup Chicken Broth
- 1 teaspoon Cider Vinegar
- 4 strips bacon, chopped (optional) - prosciutto can be substituted
- 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh Sage
- 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh Thyme
- Salt & Fresh Black Pepper, to taste

Directions:

- Cook bacon strips until crispy in a large heavy skillet (dutch oven). Remove onto paper towels and set aside. If any bacon burned onto the skillet, clean that out with a paper towel (brown bits are fine)
- Trim the chicken of excess fat, but leave skin on. Pat the chicken dry and sprinkle all over with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in the skillet over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Brown the chicken well starting with the skin sides down and turning over once, 10/12 minutes total. Transfer the chicken to a plate and pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from the skillet.
- Add butter, brown sugar, apples, and shallots to the fat in the skillet and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the apples are browned, about 5 minutes.
- Add the broth, vinegar, sage, and thyme and deglaze the skillet by boiling. Stir and scrap up any brown bits. Return the chicken to the skillet, skin sides up, along with any juices accumulated on the plate.
- Reduce the heat and simmer, loosely covered with foil until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is slightly reduced, about 20-25 minutes. Stir in bacon pieces and serve!