Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F. Pat dry the chicken legs and thighs thoroughly with a paper towel and season them generously with salt. In a large casserole dish, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces and brown them on all sides until golden. Transfer the browned chicken to a platter and set aside. Optionally, reserve the rendered chicken fat for later use, or discard it if you prefer.

In the same casserole dish, fry the chopped bacon lardons over medium heat until the fat renders out. If there's an excess of bacon fat, discard most of it, keeping just enough to cook the aromatics. Remove the cooked bacon and add it to the platter with the browned chicken. Next, add the diced shallots (or onion) and diced celery to the same pan, along with 2 sprigs of thyme. Cook over low heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft but not browned. Add the minced garlic and cook for another 30 seconds, stirring. Pour in the brandy or whiskey, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze, and continue cooking until the alcohol evaporates. I like to really scrape up any browned bits for maximum flavor in the sauce.

Sprinkle the flour into the pot and stir well, mixing it thoroughly into the fat and vegetables to make a paste. Gradually pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly to avoid lumps and create a thick gravy. Stir in the hard dry apple cider and mix until the sauce is well combined. Return the browned chicken and bacon from Step 1 and 2 to the casserole dish. Add the remaining 2 to 3 sprigs of thyme, bring everything to a boil, then cover the casserole and place it in the preheated oven. Bake with the lid on for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and cook for an additional 30 minutes uncovered so the sauce can reduce slightly.

While the chicken is baking, heat 2 tablespoons of the reserved chicken fat (or substitute with butter or oil if you'd prefer) in a skillet over medium heat. Add the apple wedges and fry them until they are golden and just tender, watching carefully so they don't burn. Once cooked, set the apple wedges aside. For a deeper flavor, I sometimes sprinkle a pinch of salt over the apples as they cook.

Remove the casserole from the oven. Stir in the heavy or double cream thoroughly to enrich the sauce, then return the dish to the oven and cook uncovered for an additional 20 minutes. When finished, take the casserole out of the oven and gently fold in the pan-fried apple wedges from Step 4. Serve the chicken hot, ideally with potatoes or rice on the side.