Description
Coq au Vin is a classic French dish featuring tender chicken braised slowly in red wine with aromatic vegetables, bacon, pearl onions, and mushrooms, resulting in a rich and flavorful one-pot meal perfect for dinner.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken and Seasoning
- 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 4 chicken drumsticks
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil
Meat and Vegetables
- 4 ounces lardons or slab bacon, diced
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 2 large carrots, peeled and cut diagonally in 1-inch pieces
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 8 ounces peeled pearl onions
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
Liquids and Herbs
- 1 bottle (750ml) red wine, preferably a Burgundy or Pinot Noir
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme, tied with kitchen twine
- 3 cups chicken stock, homemade or store-bought
Fats and Garnish
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup chopped parsley
Optional Thickener
- Beurre manié: 1 tablespoon flour and 1 tablespoon softened butter
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Chicken: Preheat oven to 350ºF. Pat dry the chicken pieces with a paper towel and season generously with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Cook Bacon: In a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the diced lardons or bacon and cook until golden, about 6-8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve, leaving drippings in the pot.
- Brown Chicken: Add more oil if needed, then add chicken pieces without overcrowding the pot. Brown on all sides until golden, about 8-10 minutes. Remove chicken and bacon to a plate and reserve.
- Manage Excess Fat: If the pot has excess fat, drain or wipe off, leaving about 1 tablespoon of drippings and browned bits at the bottom.
- Sauté Vegetables: Lower heat to medium. Add chopped onion and carrots, cooking until onions soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in minced garlic and cook for 1 minute to release aroma.
- Add Tomato Paste and Flour: Stir in tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Then add flour and cook for another minute to eliminate raw flour taste.
- Deglaze with Wine: Pour in the red wine, add thyme sprigs and bay leaf, scraping browned bits from the pot with a wooden spoon. Cook until wine reduces by half, about 10 minutes, skimming off any foam.
- Add Stock and Simmer: Add chicken stock, season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then return chicken, bacon, and any collected juices to the pot.
- Braise in Oven: Cover and transfer the pot to the oven. Cook for 45 minutes or until chicken is very tender.
- Prepare Pearl Onions and Mushrooms: With about 15 minutes left, heat 1 tablespoon oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add pearl onions with a pinch of salt and brown for 5-8 minutes. Remove and reserve. Add another tablespoon oil and 2 tablespoons butter, sauté mushrooms until browned, about 8-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and reserve with pearl onions.
- Finish Sauce: Remove chicken from the pot and tent with foil to keep warm. Discard bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Optional: mix 1 tablespoon softened butter with 1 tablespoon flour to make beurre manié. Return pot to stove over medium-high heat, add beurre manié to thicken sauce if desired, adjusting thickness with additional stock or wine as needed.
- Adjust Seasoning and Add Garnishes: Taste sauce and adjust seasoning. Stir in ¼ cup chopped parsley, reserving remaining parsley to garnish. Add the pearl onions and mushrooms back into the sauce.
- Serve: Either return chicken to the pot and garnish with remaining parsley before serving, or serve chicken in a serving dish and pour the sauce over it, garnishing with parsley.
Notes
- Coq au Vin tastes even better the next day; it can be made 1-2 days ahead and refrigerated after cooling completely.
- Leftovers store well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freeze leftovers for up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
- Before reheating, remove any solidified fat from the surface. Reheat gently on the stove over medium-low heat with occasional stirring and adding stock or wine as needed, or in the oven at 350ºF for about 30 minutes.
- Pearl onions can be substituted with small shallots if unavailable, and mushrooms can vary to button mushrooms if preferred.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 550 kcal
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 750 mg
- Fat: 35 g
- Saturated Fat: 12 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 20 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 12 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 45 g
- Cholesterol: 150 mg
