An easy and classic Coq Au Vin recipe prepared similarly to my Boeuf Bourguignon. Lots of wine and few dirty dishes makes a happy home chef. This classic French recipe has carrots, onions and mushrooms added to the chicken and lardons. So this Bastille Day, make some Coq Au Vin for your friends.
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What is Coq Au Vin?
Coq Au Vin is a French country recipe with humble roots. It is not well documented before 1900 though so it is quite the mystery as to when and where this recipe originated. This dish typically has skin-on and bone-in chicken, bacon, mushrooms, carrots, onions, Burgundy and broth.
Ironically, it was the American Julia Child who made Coq Au Vin popular in her book Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1
How do you pronounce Coq Au Vin?
Americans typically pronounce this as coke oh vin. Hopefully I understand the pronunciation correctly. The dish is pronounced cauk wa va. So next time you are in a French Bistro, because we do that all the time here, speak with confidence!
How do you cook Coq Au Vin?
The chicken is braised in this recipe which allows for developing a beautiful fond on the bottom of the pan. The meat is cooked in the pan then later is simmered in wine and broth, making the chicken tender and juicy.
A fond is the delicious brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan that is later optimized by adding a liquid to deglaze the pan, rendering an amazing sauce. Some recipes depend on developing a beautiful fond without burning it.
The meat is set aside and vegetables are cooked in the pan before the deglazing happens.
Originally this recipe was used to cook older chickens and roosters. In fact Coq Au Vin means Cock With Wine.
How is Coq Au Vin served?
I love to serve this with a great, crusty bread smothered in butter along with a healthy salad, because, you know. You can also serve this with noodles, roasted potatoes, gratin potatoes, mashed potatoes, polenta, rice, or a gratin made of seasonal squash. There is no wrong way to serve this but it’s really nice to not waste the amazing sauce so think about that.
Developing the fond with the seared chicken skin.
After the chicken, adding the bacon improves the fond and a delicious fat is rendered.
Cooking the veggies in the fond with the rendered fat is a match made in heaven.
Sprinkling the shallots and garlic with flour while cooking in the fat will thicken your dish.
Deglazing with wine and broth develops this beautiful sauce.
The set-aside-bowl is your friend in this recipe.
Bake it all in the oven and dinner is ready!
This recipe is inspired by recipes from many cookbooks in my massive cookbook collection as well as my Beouf Bourguignon recipe where I first started using the set-aside-bowl.
An easy and classic Coq Au Vin recipe prepared similarly to my Boeuf Bourguignon. Lots of wine and few dirty dishes makes a happy home chef. This classic French recipe has carrots, onions and mushrooms added to the chicken and lardons.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbs cooking oil
- 10 chicken thighs and drumsticks, skin-on, bone-in
- 1/2 lb smoked bacon, chopped
- 2 cups baby carrots
- 2 cups of pearl onions, peeled
- 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
- 2 shallots, peeled and sliced
- 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and stem removed
- 3 Tbs flour
- 1.5 cups burgundy wine
- 1.5 cups broth of your choice
- 1/2 cup fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary, tarragon, chervil are good choices)
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven heat 1 Tbs of oil over medium-high heat until it begins to smoke.
- Add chicken pieces, skin side dinner, cook on both sides until browned. Remove chicken in a large set-aside-bowl.
- Add bacon and gently render the fat over low-medium heat, preventing the fat from burning.
- Set aside bacon and drain on paper towels.
- Add carrots and onions, cooking on medium heat until charred, set aside in bowl.
- Add mushrooms and cook on medium until soft, set aside in bowl.
- Add shallots and garlic, sprinkle with flour and cook until soft and flour is browned, set aside in bowl.
- Add wine and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping the bits off the bottom, reduce wine by half.
- Add broth and contents of bowl. Add the herbs and stir.
- Bake for 1.5 hours at 325F, covered.
- Serve with your favorite starch and sop up that delicious sauce!
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