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1
Season all 8 chicken pieces thoroughly with salt and white pepper. Heat the butter and oil together in a wide, heavy-bottomed casserole over a medium-high flame until the butter foam subsides. Place the chicken pieces skin-side down and sear at 180 °C without moving them until the skin is deep golden and releases cleanly from the pan; turn and colour the underside. The caramelised surface is the flavour foundation of the finished dish.
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2
Remove the chicken. Pour off excess fat, leaving the fond intact. Deglaze with the 100 ml of dry cider, scraping the base, and reduce by half over a brisk flame. The liquid should smell sharp and clean, with the raw cider edge cooked off.
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3
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the sliced shallots and sweat gently until soft and translucent, with no colour. Add the apple wedges and sauté until their cut faces are lightly golden but the wedges hold their shape entirely — they must not begin to collapse.
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4
Return all chicken pieces to the casserole. Add 30 ml of Calvados and, standing clear, ignite with a long match or tilt the pan to catch a gas flame. Allow the flame to burn out completely without intervention. This step — the flambé — is where the dish lives or dies: the flame caramelises residual sugars and eliminates harsh raw alcohol; skipping it leaves an unresolved spirit edge that no subsequent reduction corrects.
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5
Pour the 200 ml of crème fraîche d'Isigny around the chicken pieces. Cover the casserole and transfer to an oven set to 160 °C. After 25–28 minutes, probe the breast pieces: when they read 68 °C at the thickest point, lift them out and keep warm, loosely covered. Return the casserole to the oven for a further 10 minutes until the legs are cooked through.
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6
Remove the legs and apple wedges and reserve with the breast pieces. Pass the braising liquid through a fine sieve into a small saucepan. Reduce over a medium flame, stirring occasionally, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon in an ivory-gold, glossy film.
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7
Remove the saucepan from the heat. Stir in the reserved 30 ml of Calvados, the tablespoon of Pommeau de Normandie, and the final tablespoon of crème fraîche. Add a small squeeze of lemon juice. Taste: the sauce should be rich but not cloying, with cream, apple, and Calvados present in equal measure and no single element dominating.
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8
Return the chicken pieces and apple wedges to the sauce, turn once to coat, and serve immediately — with steamed potatoes alongside to absorb the sauce.