Coq au Vin, the classic French dish, translates into rooster with wine. It was traditionally made with an old rooster tenderized by braising in red wine. Nowadays it’s made with chicken thighs and drumsticks.
I never make Coq Au Vin the true authentic French way. A friend of mine does, spending hours in her kitchen cooking it.
Coq Au Vin is the fancy way of making chicken stew. I take several liberties: Below in black font are the authentic ingredients and in blue font are my tweaks. One thing that remains the same is using a 6-quart Dutch oven to cook then transfer the chicken stew into your oven to bake:
Authentic vs. Inauthentic Coq Au Vin
Ingredients/Ingredients:
6 strips bacon, cut into 1” pieces - Usually I dice smoked deli ham but if I have bacon, I’ll use it.3 lb. bone-in, combination of skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks - I’m guilty of a travesty by substituting 2 to 4 (depending on size) chicken breasts, leaving the skin on.
8-oz. pearl onions, peeled - I keep it simple by dicing a large onion, any variety.
Kosher salt - In my home, it’s usually pink Himalayan salt.
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped - I toss in 1 carrot per person.
8 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced - If I only have white snow cap mushrooms I don’t sweat over the difference. Into the pot they go!
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. tomato paste - Tomato sauce if it's all I have.
2 cups red wine - Oh, yeah, this one stays, and I always have it.
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth - Never, always bouillon cubes with 1 cup of water.1 Tbsp. brandy - Nope, substitute Kentucky bourbon or rum. Brandy? Sheesh! What am I, a liquor store?
Small bunch thyme - Dried thyme will do.
3 Tbsp. butter - Leave out, with chicken drippings, it won’t be missed.
Freshly chopped parsley for serving - Dried parsley works fine!
Directions:
1) Grill your bacon or smoked ham in your dutch oven. A pad of butter if your pan is too dry, otherwise nothing. Remove for later.
2) Next brown your chicken skin side down in the Dutch oven. If I don’t have enough skin on my chicken breast pieces I’ll dip them in a little bit of flour before putting them into the pan. Salt and pepper as they cook. Remove for later.
3) Brown the vegetables: onions, carrots, mushrooms and garlic until they start to turn brown. Toss in some flour and stir to coat the vegetables.
4) Add the tomato paste, wine, water, bouillon cube, bourbon, dried spices and return the grilled bacon or ham bits and chicken pieces into the Dutch oven. Save a little of the bacon/ham bits for garnish.
5) Bring to a boil then transfer it to a preheated 350 degree F oven to bake for 30 minutes. It should cook until the chicken is well done and the sauce reduces and thickens.
Plate and top the chicken with the saved bacon or ham bits and dried parsley. A side dish of mashed potatoes and broccoli or green beans completes the meal.
I know, I know, chefs swear chicken thighs are the tastiest rich in flavor chicken part, but we’re a white meat family ... Coq Au Vin, our way. Chère France, Désolé d'avoir changé la recette.🍷🇫🇷
I’ll end the week with 3 State Fair blue ribbon desserts. Thursday’s post.
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