Coq au Vin
This is classic French comfort food; chicken braised in red wine with bacon, mushrooms, and onions. It seems fancy, but it's a straightforward process of building layers of flavor in one pot. The key is properly browning the ingredients and letting it all simmer long enough for the chicken to become tender.
Ingredients
- 4 lbs bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 bottle dry red wine 750-ml, such as Burgundy or Pinot Noir
- 8 oz thick-cut bacon cut into 1/2-inch lardons
- 1 pound cremini mushrooms halved or quartered
- 1 large yellow onion chopped
- 3 large carrots peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 tbsp brandy or cognac
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Fresh parsley chopped, for garnish
Method
- Cook bacon in Dutch oven until crisp (8-10 min). Remove bacon, leave fat.
- Pat chicken thighs dry, season with salt and pepper.
- Brown chicken in bacon fat 5 min per side. Remove to plate.
- Cook onion, carrots, mushrooms in same pot 10 min.
- Add brandy, flambé until flames die down.
- Add garlic, cook 1 min. Stir in flour, cook 1 min.
- Pour in wine, stock, tomato paste. Add herbs and bacon. Simmer.
- Return chicken to pot. Liquid should cover halfway.
- Braise covered at 350F for 45-60 min until chicken reaches 175-185F.
- Remove chicken to platter. Remove herbs.
- Simmer sauce to thicken if needed. Whisk in butter.
- Season to taste. Pour sauce over chicken. Garnish with parsley.
Notes
Use Burgundy or Pinot Noir wine. Chicken should be fall-off-the-bone tender.