Coq au Vin

(Chicken with Wine)

Serves

Hardware

Ingredients

4 oz bacon, cut into 1" pieces
3 lb chicken, boned and skinned
3 cups red wine
8 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 bay leaf
1 tsp thyme
8 oz onions
1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced
2 Tblsp butter
2 Tblsp flour
2 Tblsp parsley, fresh, chopped

Procedure

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 375F.

  2. In the sauteuse pan, cook the bacon until brown and crisp; remove the bacon and reserve the grease.

  3. If desired, lightly season the chicken with salt and black pepper.

  4. Working in batches small enough to fit in a single layer in the pan, and using just enough grease to coat the bottom of the pan, saute the chicken over a high heat until golden brown on all sides; if you run out of bacon grease use some olive oil, but try to work in a fairly dry pan, as this is what gives the color.

  5. Pour off and reserve the remaining grease (or oil).

  6. Use the wine to deglaze the pan.

  7. Return the chicken and the bacon to the pan; add the garlic, bay leaf, and thyme; cook over a moderate heat for 5 minutes.

  8. Cover the pan and cook in the oven for 20 minutes.

  9. Using the reserved grease, saute the onions until soft and brown. (If you're making the white wine variation, use clean olive oil and saute until soft and just golden.)

  10. When the chicken has cooked for 20 minutes in the oven, add the onions and the mushrooms; cook (covered) in the oven for another 40 minutes, or until the chicken is tender.

  11. Discard the bay leaf and remove the chicken, mushrooms, and onions to a warmed serving dish.

  12. Using the butter and the flour, make a light roux; whisk in the liquid from the sauteuse pan, stirring until the sauce just coats the back of a spoon.

  13. Pour the sauce over the chicken, garnish with parsley, and serve.

Variations

If you don't have bacon, you can use sausage instead; something like hot Italian-style sausage would be good. If you do this, you may need some olive oil for browning the chicken.

About the chicken: You can prepare this dish using whole pieces (I find breasts and thighs work best) or you can cut everything into large (1.5") chunks, or anything in between. My preference is whole thigh filets and breast filets cut in half. If you use smaller pieces, particularly chunks, you'll probably want more sauce.

If you use canned mushrooms (as I had to do one holiday weekend when all the grocery stores were closed), add them 30 minutes after you add the onions.

You can also make this dish with white wine instead of red. The result is quite different, but still yummy.

Notes

The original recipe called for “1 pound (about 12) small white onions”; these are sometimes called “pearl onions.” If you can find these, great; if not, yellow or white onions will do. Cut them into 1/12ths or into thick slices and then cut the slices in quarters; either way, separate the pieces a bit before sauteeing them.

If you have fresh thyme, use 1 - 2 tsp (chopped).

To make more sauce, use 4 cups of wine; you might have to use an extra 1/2 to 1 tablespoons of flour and butter, too. If you want a lot of sauce, add 1 cup of stock (brown if using red wine, and white with white) and about 1 tablespoon each of butter and flour.

A sauteuse pan is more wide than deep, and has short handles; by contrast, a sauce pan is more deep than wide, and usually has at least one long handle; a saute pan is a cross between the two: more wide than deep, with a long handle. All are made of metal, and can be used on top of the stove or in the oven (but make sure the handles won't melt).

This dish goes well with white rice and a green vegetable (fresh green beans or peas).

Rating

Source

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