Maple Recipes

Chicken, Bacon, and Apples with Maple, Submitted by Camp Aquila

Ingredients:

2 tbs vegetable oil
2 of each: boneless skinless chicken breasts and thighs cut into bite size pieces
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and cut into bite sized pieces
4 slices thick-cut bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4 inch slices
6-8 mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed, and quartered
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 medium clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup fresh chicken stock
2 tbs Dijon mustard
2 tbs chopped fresh thyme
2 tbs chopped fresh sage
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Place a large Dutch oven on the stove over medium-high heat and add the oil. Pat chicken dry with paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken, Saute until browned. Transfer the chicken to a plate.

Add apples to the pot and sauté, stirring frequently until just softened and caramelized, about 5 minutes. Transfer
apples to the reserved chicken plate.
Add the bacon, onions and mushrooms to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and the bacon fat has rendered, but the bacon is not crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the maple syrup, cider vinegar, and chicken stock. Reduce by half. Stir to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring to a boil and reduce the liquid by half. Stir in the chicken, mustard, apples, parsley, sage, and thyme. Simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken. Just before serving, off
the heat, finish with a nice knob of butter. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Notes: To make this into more of a “winter dish” add ¼ cup of heavy cream. Serve with pasta, cous cous, or on its own with crusty bread.

Recipe from Chef John Plante of Craft Cuisines