Crispy chicken thighs, caramelized shallots, and sweet, tart apples, with salty pancetta and tangy vinegar all coming together in one skillet. Fancy enough for a dinner party and easy enough for a quickie Tuesday din.
The sweet and tart apple juices mingle with the savory chicken and pancetta drippings, apple cider vinegar, a smooch of honey and a hint of thyme, creating a pan sauce that tastes like autumn… crispy chicken skillet style.
I Have Roasted Chicken Thoughts
On chicken: bone-in, skin-on, always, regardless of cut. Thighs are one of the most flavorful parts of the bird, hard to overcook, and the most photogenic if you ask me. Any part of the bird works with apples, pancetta, and shallots – just adjust your cook time accordingly. Dark meat takes longer than white, so if you're using both, pull the light meat out while the dark keeps cooking. Either way, it's done when it's cooked through – technically 165°F on an instant thermometer, which I don't personally use.
On searing before roasting: it's what gets you golden, crispy skin. Dry the chicken with a paper towel first – wet skin won't crisp.
The chicken goes into a cold, dry skillet, and the heat rises with it, rendering its skin in its own fat as it builds flavor
On the pancetta: A skillet with beautifully rendered chicken fat perfect for crisping the pancetta. Then the shallots and apples go in and caramelize right in that naturally just made fat, no butter or oil needed. Faster color, deeper flavor, all in one pan.
On the apples: apples to chicken ratio: treating apples like a co-star rather than a garnish.
Because apples belong next to crispy chicken just as much as they do inside a pie.
Shallots: ½ cup per thigh – if you can get the big ones. Some shallots are the size of potatoes, some are the size of garlic cloves, and ya gotta peel every one. I love my shallots so much I've been known to go up to 1 cup per thigh when the big ones show up — they cook down a lot.
Reducing the sauce at the end concentrates all that flavor into something worth spooning over everything.
Make Ahead
There isn't much prep required here. Apples are best cut shortly before using – they oxidize and lose their crispness. If you want to prep them ahead anyway, toss the cut apples with a little lemon juice, refrigerate covered, and keep it to a few hours rather than overnight.
Shallots can be peeled up to a few days ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container, but slice them the same day you're cooking.
Leftovers keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Play Away
Apple cider vinegar if you've got it – bright, love the double apple. Not telling ya to buy a bottle for three tablespoons — if it's not already in your pantry, any kind of vinegar works. Balsamic: richer, more caramel, wintery. White vinegar: sharper, one-note. Red wine, champagne, or rice vinegar: all fine, none of it makes or breaks the dish.
Pears play here too – especially something firm like Bosc, which holds up to roasting the same way the apples do.
More Chicken with Fruit Recipes
Same one-pan chicken situation, different fruit each season – cherry and peach in summer, pomegranate and grape in fall, cranberry for the holidays. Once you've made one, you'll know how to make them all.
If ya tried it, I'd love to hear – leave a comment below and tag me on IG, @danielagerson, so I can see too!
There's a whole lot more seasonal recipes and colorful produce guides waiting for ya on the site.
Let's make waves in the kitchen.
Roasted Chicken with Apples & Shallots
Ingredients
- 3 lb bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 4 oz pancetta diced
- 6-12 shallots peeled and sliced (depending on size)
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey or maple syrup
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme or sage
- 3 firm apples Honeycrisp or Gala, cut into wedges
- kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Pat the chicken thighs completely dry with paper towels. Season all over with kosher salt and several grinds of black pepper.
- Place the chicken skin-side down in a large, cold, dry cast-iron skillet — no oil needed, the skin renders its own fat as the pan heats. Cook over medium-high, undisturbed, until the fat has mostly rendered and the skin is light golden, 8-10 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate, leaving the fat in the skillet.
- Add the pancetta and cook in the rendered chicken fat until crisp, 5-6 minutes. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat behind.
- Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to caramelize, 4-5 minutes. Add the apples and cook alongside, turning once, until golden and the shallots are fully caramelized, 3-4 minutes more. Transfer shallots and apples to the plate with the pancetta.
- Whisk together the apple cider vinegar and honey or maple syrup. Pour into the skillet, scraping up the browned bits. Simmer 1 minute.
- Nestle the chicken back in skin-side up, keeping as much skin exposed as possible. Tuck the thyme or sage around the chicken.
- Roast for 20 minutes.
- Scatter the shallots, apples, and pancetta around the chicken. Continue roasting until cooked through and the juices run clear, 10-15 minutes more.
- Place the skillet over medium heat, thickening the pan juices into a sauce. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper.
- Spoon the pan juices over the chicken, apples, and shallots. Enjoy.
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