Coq au vin
recipe image
Description Coq au vin is a casserole of chicken pieces and vegetables cooked in red wine.
Ingredients
At a glance
Course
Main Ingredient
Cuisine
Cooking Method
Difficulty
Serves
9
2 large yellow onions, peeled and diced   
3 shallots, peeled and diced     
8 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped   
3 sprigs parsley       
2 bay leaves      
5 branches thyme      
1 1/2 bottles good quality Merlot or Zinfandel         
2 large chickens (3 1/2-4 pounds each), cut up        
Salt to taste      
Freshly ground black pepper to taste   
1/2 cup olive oil    
2 tablespoons flour      
1/2 cup cognac     
2 cups chicken stock (canned is OK)  
1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder   
6 ounces thick- sliced apple- wood-smoked bacon, diced       
1 basket pearl onions, blanched and peeled  
1 pound button mushrooms, quartered    
2 tablespoons chopped parsley for garnish
Methods/steps
 Place the onions, shallots, garlic, parsley  sprigs, bay leaves, thyme and wine in a large non-reactive bowl. Add  the chicken, and stir to mix well. Cover with plastic wrap, and  refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours.

Remove the chicken from the wine marinade; reserve the marinade.  Dry the chicken pieces with paper towels, and season them generously  with salt and pepper.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy casserole over high heat. Add the  chicken in batches to avoid crowding the pan. Brown the chicken well  on all sides. Remove the pieces when browned, and set aside.

Add the flour to the casserole and cook, stirring constantly, for  2 minutes.

Return the chicken to the casserole, stir and add the cognac.  Remove the casserole from the heat, carefully ignite the cognac, and  let the flames burn out.

Add the marinade to the casserole, and bring the mixture to a boil  over high heat, scraping up all browned bits from the bottom of the  pan. Add the chicken stock. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer  until the chicken is tender, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Remove the chicken from the casserole and set aside. Strain the  sauce through a sieve. Discard the solids, and return the sauce to  the casserole.

Put the cocoa in a small bowl; add about  1/2 cup sauce, and whisk  until smooth. Add the cocoa mixture to the casserole, turn the heat  to high, and boil the sauce until it is reduced to about 4 cups.

When the sauce is reduced, lower the heat to medium-low and return  the chicken to the casserole to heat through.

Meanwhile, saute the bacon in a large skillet. As it begins to  brown, add the pearl onions and then the mushrooms. Let the mixture  cook about 10 minutes until lightly colored.

Remove the mixture from the skillet with a slotted spoon, leaving  the fat in the skillet, and add the solids to the chicken. Stir to  combine, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.

Serves 8.
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