Coq au Vin

Coq au Vin is probably the first name that pops into your head when talking French cuisine! I find Coq au Vin a super easy winter warmer that all the family enjoys and although it may look like a complicated recipe, it is a great meal to cook and prepare.

The word “coq” in French means “rooster” or “cockerel”, and tough birds benefit from braising, most coq au vin recipes call for capon or chicken. But if you fancy a bit of Coq then I’m sure one can be ordered from your butcher!

Now this dish is supposedly a typical Burgundy dish but it is generally accepted as a regional rustic dish all over France and eaten with some home baked bread! As for the origin, well, that can be adapted to whichever region of France you chose, as it is usually cooked using the local wine, such as coq au vin jaune (Jura), coq au Riesling (Alsace), coq au pourpre or coq au violet (Beaujolais nouveau), coq au Champagne and so on.

I quite often prepare this on a Friday evening and it is the sort of prep I really enjoy. I can enjoy a couple of glasses of wine while prepping as there will of course be a bottle or two opened for the marinade and I can slowly clean up afterwards too!

This dish is always best prepared the day before as the marinade makes a difference, but when pushed I can prep on a Saturday morning, although it’s not as much fun without the glass of wine or two! I have also made this dish with friends for our families and it was great fun especially when the work is shared. But like the very best of dishes Coq au Vin goes onto the stove or in the oven looking and smelling pretty nasty, but after the process of time and heat it turns into something quite magical!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

 1 litre plus an extra 225 ml red wine usually a burgundy
 1 onion cut into 2-3 cm dice
 1 carrot, sliced
 1 celery stick cut into 1 cm slices
 4 whole cloves
 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
 1 bouquet garni
 2.5 kg chicken pieces with skin on or 4 half chickens
 2 tbsp French olive oil
 6 tbsp butter
 1 tbsp flour
 120 g bacon lardons
 250 g button mushrooms
 12 small pearl onions
 1/4 tsp sugar
 Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation method:

Day one

Yes this is best prepared the day before, so let’s get started! Open that wine and pour yourself a small glass and pour the rest in a large bowl and add the diced onion (not the small pearl onions, we will get to those later), sliced carrot, celery, cloves, peppercorns and bouquet garni. Place the pieces of chicken in the bowl and make sure it is submerged and completely covered in liquid. Cover with cling film and place in the fridge to chill overnight. Add more wine if necessary.

Day two

Remove the chicken from the marinade, pat the pieces dry and put to one side. Strain the marinade through a fine strainer keeping the liquid and the veg separately for later. Season the chicken with salt and pepper then in a large pot heat the oil and 2 tbsp of the butter until almost smoking then add the chicken pieces and then brown them. Once browned remove and set aside. Now put the saved marinated vegetables in the pot and cook them over a medium heat until soft and golden. Sprinkle with the flour and mix well so that they are all coated then pour in the liquid from the marinade and stir. Put the chicken pieces back in the pot and cook for about an hour and twenty minutes on a low heat, pour yourself a glass of wine and relax for a bit!

Whilst the chicken is stewing away nicely fry the bacon lardons in a small pan until golden. Remove and drain on a paper towel. Keep about a tablespoon of the fat from the pan and sauté the mushrooms until golden then set them aside.

In a small saucepan combine the small pearl onions, sugar a pinch of salt, 2 tbsp of butter and enough water to cover the onions and cover the pan with parchment or foil. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook until all the water has evaporated. Keep an eye on this as you don’t want to burn the onions. Remove the foil and cook until the onions are golden then remove the onions and set aside, add to the saucepan and 225 ml red wine, scrape off the burnt bits from the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper and reduce over medium heat until the sauce coats the back of a spoon.

You are pretty much done now, so pour yourself another wine.

When you can see that the chicken is cooked through. Remove from the liquid and place on a nice serving platter. Strain the liquid into the reduced wine add the mushrooms, lardons and pearl onions and the remaining 2 tbsp of butter. Season if need be with salt and pepper and then pour over the chicken and serve to your hungry guests with some nice red burgundy!

Can be served with flat band noodles or I usually roast some potatoes or more recently have made a pommes dauphinois.

Enjoy!