Oktoberfest Chicken and Red Cabbage

This Oktoberfest recipe for chicken and cabbage is crazy simple. I adore Bavarian cuisine. My husband and I ate at wonderful German restaurants when we lived in San Francisco. Now I have to make my own since there’s no good German food where we live.

Preparation Details

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 1 hr 25 mins

Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins

Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 4 slices bacon
• 1 tablespoon bacon drippings
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• 2 pounds skinless chicken thighs
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 1 large apple, cored and sliced
• 1 head red cabbage, cored and sliced
• ½ cup red wine vinegar
• ¼ cup dry red wine
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (Optional)

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place bacon in a large oven-safe or cast iron skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate until cool; crumble bacon. Leave bacon drippings in the skillet.
3. Whisk flour, kosher salt, and smoked paprika together in a medium bowl until evenly combined. Coat chicken thighs evenly in seasoned flour.
4. Cook coated chicken thighs in drippings in the skillet over medium heat until browned, about 5 minutes per side; transfer chicken to a plate.
5. Drain grease in the skillet except for 1 tablespoon; cook and stir onion and apple in hot grease until onion is translucent and apple is softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in red cabbage and crumbled bacon; season with kosher salt. Cook, stirring often, until cabbage is softened, 5 to 8 minutes.
6. Pour vinegar and red wine into the skillet. Stir in brown sugar and cinnamon until well combined. Bring to a boil; cook until sauce is reduced by half, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Arrange chicken thighs on top of cabbage in the skillet.
7. Bake in the preheated oven until cabbage is tender and chicken is cooked through, about 40 minutes. An instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).