Coq Au Vin
A coq au vin is a classic French stew in which chicken is braised slowly in red wine and a little brandy to yield a supremely rich sauce filled with tender meat, crisp bits of bacon, mushrooms, and burnished pearl onions.
Yield: 4 people
Calories: 291kcal
Equipment
- 1 Dutch Oven
- 1 lighter or matches
Materials
- 3 lbs. chicken legs and thighs
- Salt & black pepper to season the chicken
- 4 oz bacon diced into ¼-inch pieces
- ¼ cup cognac or brandy
- 3 cups hearty red wine preferably from Burgundy
- 1.5 cups beef stock
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp tomato paste
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil for onions
- 24 peeled pearl onions
- Salt to taste
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil for the mushrooms
- ½ lb white mushrooms cut in quarters
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp butter
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- Lighter or matches
Instructions
- Pat chicken pieces with paper towels until dry, then season chicken with salt and pepper & set aside
- In a large Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium-low heat until fat has rendered and the bacon is golden and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate, leaving rendered fat in the pot.
- Heat bacon fat over medium heat until it’s just about to smoke.
- Brown chicken on all sides in the hot fat.
- Cover the pan, and cook slowly (300 degrees) for 10 minutes, turning the chicken once.
- Heat oil & butter in a frying pan, add onions, and toss for several minutes until lightly browned.
- Add water to halfway up the onions and ¼ to ½ teaspoon salt, cover the pan, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the onions are tender when pierced with a knife.
- Then uncover the chicken, pour in cognac, and ignite with a flame.
- Shake the pan back and forth until the flames subside.
- Pour wine into the pan, and add enough bouillon to cover the chicken.
- Return bacon to the pan,
- Stir in tomato paste, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme.
- Bring to a simmer, then cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken meat is tender when pierced with a fork.
- Heat butter & oil in a frying pan; when hot, toss in mushrooms and sauté over high heat for 4 or 5 minutes until lightly browned.
- When the chicken is done, drain out the cooking liquid into a saucepan. Skim off fat and boil down liquid, if necessary, to concentrate flavor.
- You should have about 2¼ cups. Remove from heat.
- Blend 3 tbsp butter and 3 tbsp flour in a saucer;
- Whisk butter/flour mix into the cooking liquid with a wire whip.
- Bring to a simmer, stirring, and simmer for a minute or two until the sauce has thickened.
- Scrape onions and mushrooms into the sauce and simmer for a minute to blend flavors.
- Carefully taste the sauce, adding more salt and pepper if needed
- Then pour the sauce over the chicken.
- Before serving, bring to a simmer, and baste the chicken with the sauce. Cover and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, until chicken is hot through.
- Serve from a casserole, or arrange on a hot platter and decorate with sprigs of parsley.
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 422g | Calories: 291kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 325mg | Potassium: 924mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 473IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 2mg