Best Hard Apple Cider Recipes

SIMPLE HARD APPLE CIDER

Steps:

• pour out a little of the juice so there's room, pour the yeast and 1 1/2 cups sugar in, top back up with apple juice but leave at least an inch of room at the top. replace the lid and shake well to dissolve yeast and sugar as much as possible.
• stretch a balloon over the top of the jug instead of the lid, poke a few holes in the top of the balloon with a pin. this is your air lock. it will allow CO2 to escape without letting bacteria inches i like to wrap string or a rubber band around the balloon to keep it firmly in place and sealed.
• set in a closet or basement and ignore for a month.
• when you come back your balloon will be somewhat limp (rather then rigid and puffed up like it's been when you've been checking on it, oh yes you have) and your brew should be back to as clear as it was before you added things. if you used store brand apple juice it should be clear, if organic it will still be somewhat cloudy, either way there should be a clear separation from the sediment at the bottom.
• either carefully pour out your cider, leaving the sediment at the bottom, or siphon out. add as much of the remaining sugar as pleases your taste buds, at least 1/4 cup though or it won't carbonate.
• wash out some pop bottles really well, this looks ghetto but they were designed to handle the pressure of carbonation and wine bottles could explode. if you want to be really pro you can get proper beer bottles and stuff, i just don't serve in these. pour your brew into the bottles, try not to leave them half full, you'll need one two liter and one 500ml bottle, unless you spill a bunch while siphoning, like i did.
• seal the lids on well and let sit for another week to mellow and carbonate, chill and drink! it will mellow more as it ages but i wouldn't let it go more then a year.

HARD APPLE CIDER MARINATED PORK CHOPS

Steps:

• Combine 1/2 bottle of the hard cider, salt, and Siracha sauce in a gallon sized sealable bag or marinating container. Mix well, and add pork chops.
• Marinate pork chops in cider mixture for one hour, turning halfway through (for extra flavor, prick holes in the pork chops with a fork). Marinate the pork chops in the refrigerator to ensure freshness.
• While the pork chops are marinating, slice the onion. Onion slices should be no thicker than 1/8 inch. Separate the onion slices so all layers are loose.
• Once pork chops are finished marinating, combine the remainder of the cider, Old Bay, olive oil, Italian seasoning, and black pepper in a large nonstick saucepan, and heat over medium heat until the mixture starts to boil/sizzle.
• Add garlic and onions, and saute until the onions start to soften.
• Add the pork chops, and saute until the chops are cooked through (about 10 minutes), turning once. After you turn the pork chops, sprinkle with the paprika to give the chops some color. Note: while sauteing the pork chops, make sure that you don't have any of the onions under them. Allowing the pork chops to rest on the bottom of the pan and cook in the cider mixture allows them to cook faster and to soak up more of the flavors of the saute.
• Once pork chops are completely cooked, remove from pan and place on dinner plates, sprinkling them with a pinch of salt (to taste). Garnish with the sauteed onions on top of the pork chops and serve.

APPLE BREAD PUDDING WITH HARD CIDER SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 10 by 14-inch baking dish with the butter and set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the cream, cider, sugar, melted butter, salt, and cinnamon, and whisk to combine. Add the bread, fresh and dried apples, and stir to combine.
• Pour into the prepared dish, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the bread is well saturated, up to 1 hour.)
• Bake until the top is golden brown and the center is firm, about 1 hour.
• Remove from the oven and let sit on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Cut into pieces and drizzle with the Hard Cider Sauce. Serve immediately.
• Hard Cider Sauce:
• In the top of a double boiler, melt the butter over simmering water. Add the sugar and whisk to combine, whisking for 1 minute.
• Add the cider and whisk until the sugar is dissolved, 2 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and add the egg yolks, 1 at a time, whisking constantly.
• Return to the heat and continue whisking until the sauce is pale and slightly thickened, 5 minutes.
• Remove from the heat.
• Spoon the sauce over the pudding and serve immediately. (Note: The sauce will thicken and set up as it cools. If you desire a thicker consistency, serve the sauce slightly cooled.).

BRAISED BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH BACON AND HARD APPLE CIDER

Steps:

• Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high. Add bacon and cook, stirring here and there, until brown and crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Pour all but 1 Tbsp. bacon fat into a heat-proof jar and reserve for another use. Add butter to skillet. When the butter has melted, add the sprouts. Cook for about 5 minutes, gently shaking the skillet from time to time. Stir in the shallots and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the cider, honey, salt and pepper, gently mix, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until the sprouts are tender and the liquid has almost evaporated, 5-7 minutes. If the sprouts need more cooking time, add more cider. Toss with bacon and serve immediately.

CROCK POT APPLE CIDER AND HARD CIDER

Steps:

• 1. Wash apples to remove any dirt/chemicals etc. Cut apples into 4 parts (original recipe said that you can keep seeds in it and others say to remove, you can decide which you prefer). Put into crock pot. Add spices and cover apples with water, do not have to be completely submerged as apples will cook down. Mix everything around to blend ingredients. Cook for 8-10 hours on low for stronger flavor, stirring it occasionally. Or you can cook it on high for 4-5 hours stirring it every hour. Mash with potato masher. Strain out cider. Now this is where you have options. I have heard everything from straining it through a cotton pillowcase, straining it through a colander a couple times, or even a mesh strainer. One author said they liked the bits of apple in their cider another said they wanted it all removed. So strain to your preference. Bottle.
• 2. Now as for the spices in the ingredient list I have found cider recipes cooked with honey, oranges and lemons so you can add those too if you wish. I plan to add some citrus honey to mine. As for the Hard Cider you can add rum if you like, or you can put it in a demijohn with some beer yeast and let ferment for about a month for one batch and two weeks for another for a weaker alcohol content.

HARD APPLE CIDER

Steps:

• crush and dissolve campden tablets in a cup of warm water and mix well with the FRESH apple juice in your primary fermenter.
• Let stand over-night. Mix in all other ingredients except yeast making sure everything is dissolved, then sprinkle yeast over top of juice and cover with plastic sheet and ferment 3 to 5 days.
• Rack (siphon) into secondary fermenter and attach air lock.
• Rack again in 3 weeks.
• When all fermentation is finished, rack into a clean vessel and add 2 oz of white sugar and gently stir well.
• (I usually put the sugar into a bit of water and dissolve it first by boiling it in the microwave) When sugar is well mixed, bottle and age 3 months.
• This will give you a crisp, carbonated hard cider.
• * the more sugar you add, the more alcohol you will get, but the longer it will take to ferment. I would recommend from 1/2 to 1 pound per gal/4.5 l and not more than 2 lbs.

SPARKLING GINGER HARD APPLE CIDER

Steps:

• In pitcher or punch bowl, mix bourbon, liqueurs, maple syrup and bitters. Slowly add hard cider.
• Carefully add ice. Garnish with apple slices.

HOT HARD APPLE CIDER RECIPE - (4.4/5)

Steps:

• In a large pot, add all the ingredients except for the spiced rum. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes or so. Add rum and keep warm over a low heat or pour into an insulated container to keep warm. To keep your cider potable to nondrinkers, do not add the spiced rum to the pot of cider. Instead, add 2 ounces of rum per cup afterward.

HARD APPLE CIDER

Steps:

• Other items you'll need: Stock pot, stirring spoon, 1 gallon glass jug, rubber stopper with hole for airlock (available from your local home-brew shop), Airlock (also available from your local home-brew shop), enough bottles to hold one gallon of your cider (screw top bottles that have already held carbonated beverages are ideal.).
• Pour about half of the cider into the stock pot and heat to 80°.
• Stir in honey and continue to stir until honey is completely dissolved.
• Remove from heat.
• Cool the cider to 75°.
• Funnel warm cider into 1 gallon glass jug.
• Add enough of remaining cider to fill jug (with 3 or 4 inches of space left at the top.).
• Add yeast.
• Place stopper and airlock on jug.
• Let the jug rest in a cool dark place for approximately a week.
• Fill screw top bottles with cider, then let sit for 2 or 3 more days in that same cool dark spot.
• Refrigerate and drink!