Coq au Vin
One of France’s most famous dishes, coq au vin is traditionally made with a big old rooster — that’s the coq. These days, and stateside, it’s usually made with chicken. Either way, the bird is cut up, marinated in red wine and aromatics overnight, browned then braised in the marinade and and garnished with mushrooms, pearl onions and lardons.
You can use a whole cut-up chicken supplemented by a couple of extra thighs or drumsticks (that’ll give you about as much as the big rooster would have weighed), or say the hell with tradition use entirely dark meat — thighs and drumsticks (about six nice-sized of each, 3 to 3 1/2 pounds total). What kind of wine? Just about any red will work fine; don’t spend more than $10 or $12 if you can help it. Pinot noir, Beaujolais, Dolcetto d’Alba, Barbera, Sangiovese and Tempranillo all work great.
In the last few years, in our neck of the woods, pearl onions have disappeared from most supermarket produce sections. (Where are we going as a society?!) Frozen ones have the benefit of being already peeled, which is nice, but their flavor is a bit wan. Instead, we like to use small shallots, if we can find them. They’re a little more assertive than fresh pearl onions, which we actually love. If you live in a big, sophisticated city, you might find cipollini onions; those are ideal, whether white or red. We also have difficulty finding slab bacon in supermarkets anymore — a nice, unsliced hunk may require a trip to a dedicated butcher shop. (You might buy twice or thrice as much as you need, and freeze the rest for future coqs au vin, beef bourguignon or frisée salad with lardons.) Finally, our recipe calls for optional demi-glace; using it results in a thicker, silkier sauce. You can find excellent veal demi-glace in the freezer section of some high-end supermarkets, or buy it online at D’Artagnan. Freeze (or re-freeze) what you don’t use. The sauce won’t have as much body if you leave it out, but it’ll still be really good. (If you want it thicker, you can reduce it a bit further in the second-to-last step, or stir in a couple tablespoons of beurre manié — softened butter mixed with equal amounts of flour — and cook a few more minutes.)
You might think this is only something to make if you’re going to serve a small crowd, but honestly the leftovers are so insanely delicious I’d rather serve it to three or four and enjoy the rest (les restes, as they’re called in France!) over the days that follow. Serve the coq au vin with boiled or mashed potatoes (or buttered egg noodles, which are not so traditional), along with crusty bread for sopping up all the sauces.
Serves six to eight.
Ingredients
Marinade
1 bottle of red wine
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 onion, sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
20 or so whole black peppercorns
2 or three branches thyme
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
Chicken
1 large chicken (about 3 ½ to 4 ½ pounds) cut into 8 pieces (wings and back saved for another use), plus 2 bone-in, skin-on thighs or drumsticks, OR 3 to 3 1/2 pounds thighs and/or drumsticks (bone-in, skin-on)
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus additional if needed
6 ounces bacon in a single piece, cut into lardons of 1/2 inch X 1/2 inch X 3/4 inch
2 shallots, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3-4 branches of thyme
3 tablespoons flour
2-3 cups chicken broth
2 to 4 tablespoons demi-glace (optional)
Garnish
2-4 tablespoons unsalted butter
16-18 baby onions, very small shallots or cipollini, peeled (trim and plunge them briefly in boiling water then cold water; the skins will come off easily); or frozen (defrosted) pearl onions
2 pounds cremini or white mushrooms, trimmed and quartered if large
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Chopped Italian parsley (small handful)
Instructions
1. To make the marinade, pour the red wine into a large saucepan, add the red wine vinegar, onion, celery, carrot, whole garlic cloves, peppercorns, thyme, bay leaves and salt, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn heat to medium-low, simmer for five minutes then let cool completely. Place the chicken in a large bowl and pour the marinade over, pushing down the pieces so they’re all submerged. Cover with plastic and leave in the refrigerator to marinate 24 to 48 hours, turning the chicken pieces from time to time. Alternatively, transfer the chicken and marinade to a large zipper bag, pushing out the air, and set the bag in a bowl in the refrigerator, turning it a couple times during the process.
2. About two or two and a half hours before you want to serve the chicken, remove the chicken pieces from the marinade (don’t throw away the marinade!) and pat them completely dry with paper towels, then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Strain the marinade, reserving the solids. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat, add the lardons and cook until browned, about five minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside in a medium bowl. Now you’ll be adding a second skillet or sauté pan, so you can brown all the chicken at once (and both pans will have second uses). In a separate skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat, till it’s shimmering (keep the first pan on medium-low, then turn up to medium to brown). Add the chicken pieces (skin-side down) to both pans, and brown them well — about 10 minutes on the first side, and 5 minutes on the second side. Transfer them to a plate or sheet pan as they’re finished browning. When you’re done. turn the heat off under the Dutch oven, but leave it on under the skillet.
4. Deglaze the auxillary skillet: With the heat still on, add about a third of a cup of water and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom. Strain this liquid into the marinade. Wipe the skillet with a paper towel, but no need to wash it, as you’ll use it again.
5. From the Dutch oven, discard all but about 2 tablespoons of the fat (add a little olive oil if necessary), and heat it over medium heat. Add the reserved marinated vegetables and herbs to the casserole and sauté until they start to brown, 5 minutes or so. Add the chopped shallots and garlic and the fresh thyme, and cook for 1 more minute. Stir in the flour, and cook, stirring, for about three minutes, so the flour loses its raw flavor. Pour in about 1/2 cup of the strained marinade and bring it to a boil, scraping the browned bits and stuck flour from the bottom, until it is all loose. Now stir in the rest of the marinade, bring to a boil over high heat and stir constantly, until the sauce thickens somewhat, then add two cups of the chicken broth, plus all the chicken pieces (except the breasts, if using). Bring to a simmer over high heat, cover the Dutch oven and transfer it to the oven to braise. After 25 minutes, open the casserole, turn the pieces and add the breasts (if using), along with the demi-glace (if using). Cover and continue braising another 15 minutes.
6. While the chicken is braising, prepare the mushroom and shallot garnishes: In the skillet, melt two tablespoons of the butter in a sauté pan, add the peeled onions or shallots and sauté, shaking the pan now and then, until golden-brown (about 10 or 15 minutes). Remove with a slotted spoon and add them to the reserved lardons. Now add the mushrooms to the pan, along with the rest of the butter, if necessary. Cook the mushrooms until they give up their water and are tender, about seven minutes (do this in two batches, if necessary). Remove with a slotted spoon and add to the lardons and onions.
7. When the chicken has completed its Step 5 braising time, remove the casserole from the oven, skim off any fat that has accumulated on top, transfer the chicken pieces to a bowl, pour the braising liquid into another bowl, and clean the Dutch oven. Strain the braising liquid back into the Dutch oven, and stir in the reserved lardons, mushroooms and shallots or baby onions. Add the chicken pieces, making sure they’re submerged. Bring the stew to a simmer over high heat (uncovered), reduce heat to medium or medium-low so it liquid bubbles very gently, and continue cooking about 15 minutes, until the chicken is thoroughly cooked and the sauce has thickened.
8. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning, adding salt and freshly ground pepper as needed. Transfer the chicken to a deep serving platter or large, shallow serving bowl, and spoon some sauce over it. Use a slotted spoon to retrieve all the lardons, shallots and mushrooms and arrange them over and around the chicken. Scatter the chopped parsley over all, and pour the remaining sauce to a sauce boat to pass separately. Serve with boiled potatoes (tossed in butter or plain) or mashed potatoes, plus lots of good crusty bread.
Coq au Vin
Ingredients
- 1 bottle of red wine
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 1 carrot, peeled and sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
- 20 or so whole black peppercorns
- 2 or three branches thyme
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 large chicken (about 3 ½ to 4 ½ pounds) cut into 8 pieces (wings and back saved for another use), plus 2 bone-in, skin-on thighs or drumsticks, OR 3 to 3 1/2 pounds thighs and/or drumsticks (bone-in, skin-on)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus additional if needed
- 6 ounces bacon in a single piece, cut into lardons of 1/2 inch X 1/2 inch X 3/4 inch
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 3-4 branches of thyme
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 2-3 cups chicken broth
- 2 to 4 tablespoons demi-glace (optional)
- 2-4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 16-18 baby onions, very small shallots or cipollini, peeled (trim and plunge them briefly in boiling water then cold water; the skins will come off easily); or frozen (defrosted) pearl onions
- 2 pounds cremini or white mushrooms, trimmed and quartered if large
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Chopped Italian parsley (small handful)
Instructions
- To make the marinade, pour the red wine into a large saucepan, add the red wine vinegar, onion, celery, carrot, whole garlic cloves, peppercorns, thyme, bay leaves and salt, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn heat to medium-low, simmer for five minutes then let cool completely. Place the chicken in a large bowl and pour the marinade over, pushing down the pieces so they’re all submerged. Cover with plastic and leave in the refrigerator to marinate 24 to 48 hours, turning the chicken pieces from time to time. Alternatively, transfer the chicken and marinade to a large zipper bag, pushing out the air, and set the bag in a bowl in the refrigerator, turning it a couple times during the process.
- About two or two and a half hours before you want to serve the chicken, remove the chicken pieces from the marinade (don’t throw away the marinade!) and pat them completely dry with paper towels, then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Strain the marinade, reserving the solids. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat, add the lardons and cook until browned, about five minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside in a medium bowl. Now you’ll be adding a second skillet or sauté pan, so you can brown all the chicken at once (and both pans will have second uses). In a separate skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat, till it’s shimmering (keep the first pan on medium-low, then turn up to medium to brown). Add the chicken pieces (skin-side down) to both pans, and brown them well — about 10 minutes on the first side, and 5 minutes on the second side. Transfer them to a plate or sheet pan as they’re finished browning. When you’re done. turn the heat off under the Dutch oven, but leave it on under the skillet.
- Deglaze the auxillary skillet: With the heat still on, add about a third of a cup of water and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom. Strain this liquid into the marinade. Wipe the skillet with a paper towel, but no need to wash it, as you’ll use it again.
- From the Dutch oven, discard all but about 2 tablespoons of the fat (add a little olive oil if necessary), and heat it over medium heat. Add the reserved marinated vegetables and herbs to the casserole and sauté until they start to brown, 5 minutes or so. Add the chopped shallots and garlic and the fresh thyme, and cook for 1 more minute. Stir in the flour, and cook, stirring, for about three minutes, so the flour loses its raw flavor. Pour in about 1/2 cup of the strained marinade and bring it to a boil, scraping the browned bits and stuck flour from the bottom, until it is all loose. Now stir in the rest of the marinade, bring to a boil over high heat and stir constantly, until the sauce thickens somewhat, then add two cups of the chicken broth, plus all the chicken pieces (except the breasts, if using). Bring to a simmer over high heat, cover the Dutch oven and transfer it to the oven to braise. After 25 minutes, open the casserole, turn the pieces and add the breasts (if using), along with the demi-glace (if using). Cover and continue braising another 15 minutes.
- While the chicken is braising, prepare the mushroom and shallot garnishes: In the skillet, melt two tablespoons of the butter in a sauté pan, add the peeled onions or shallots and sauté, shaking the pan now and then, until golden-brown (about 10 or 15 minutes). Remove with a slotted spoon and add them to the reserved lardons. Now add the mushrooms to the pan, along with the rest of the butter, if necessary. Cook the mushrooms until they give up their water and are tender, about seven minutes (do this in two batches, if necessary). Remove with a slotted spoon and add to the lardons and onions.
- When the chicken has completed its Step 5 braising time, remove the casserole from the oven, skim off any fat that has accumulated on top, transfer the chicken pieces to a bowl, pour the braising liquid into another bowl, and clean the Dutch oven. Strain the braising liquid back into the Dutch oven, and stir in the reserved lardons, mushroooms and shallots or baby onions. Add the chicken pieces, making sure they’re submerged. Bring the stew to a simmer over high heat (uncovered), reduce heat to medium or medium-low so it liquid bubbles very gently, and continue cooking about 15 minutes, until the chicken is thoroughly cooked and the sauce has thickened.
- Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning, adding salt and freshly ground pepper as needed. Transfer the chicken to a deep serving platter or large, shallow serving bowl, and spoon some sauce over it. Use a slotted spoon to retrieve all the lardons, shallots and mushrooms and arrange them over and around the chicken. Scatter the chopped parsley over all, and pour the remaining sauce to a sauce boat to pass separately. Serve with boiled potatoes (tossed in butter or plain) or mashed potatoes, plus lots of good crusty bread.
