Coq Au Vin
On cold, wet and wintery nights, we long for big bear hugs and perhaps the toasty warmth of a log fire.
My favourite is to simply fire up the stove and oven to warm up the place with comfort food. And it’s difficult to go past the French classic Coq Au Vin, simply translated to mean “chicken in wine”.
It’s not hard to imagine why the French would stew their national bird in red wine when there is so much of this liquid flowing from its vineyards, and good ones too. I like to use a more intense flavoured red with a good splash of cognac.
Although the wine used by the French is usually Pinot Noir from the Burgundy region, I have used a Cabernet Merlot in this instance and flavours were just spectacular.
Ingredients
Whilst some recipes recommend a whole chicken, I prefer using different cuts to make up the entire dish because it is easier to prepare and flavours are just as intense when the meat is fresh.
Ingredients for Coq Au Vin
So here it is in no precise measures as I love cooking with feel rather than conforming to a precise regiment.
Ingredients Method 1. Wedge brown onions, peel carrots and string celery and roughly chop into bite size pieces. 2. Place Marylands into a cast iron braising pot and then combine the above vegetables with generous sprigs of thyme and red wine until the meat is completely covered with the vegetables and wine. 3. Set aside and marinate for at least 6 hours or overnight if possible. 4. Remove and separate chicken, vegetables and wine. 5. Brown diced bacon in the cast iron pot then set aside. 6. Brown chicken pieces with olive oil and set aside. 7. Sautee remaining vegetables with some garlic and olive oil, then pour in Cognac and flambé with a long match stick or lighter until all alcohol has dissipated. 8. Return chicken into pot with stock and red wine and braise for approximately 30 minutes until chicken is tender. 9. Listen to a beautiful Chopin nocturne and enjoy the beautiful aromas from your oven on this cold winter night. 10. Add a little corn starch to thicken stock if required and salt to taste. Serve chicken pieces on warm plate, drizzle with the stock and garnish with the crispy bacon, parsley and freshly cracked black pepper. Toast loads of fresh sourdough rubbed with fresh garlic and French butter to mop up all the flavoursome gravy. Serves: Up to 6 people.
Place vegetable in stewing pot
Add red wine to vegetables
Sear marinated chicken
Sautee vegetables with Cognac
Fresh sourdough
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I’ve never made coq au vin, but I like to make pot roasts in my cast iron pot (that looks like yours, just yellow :D). The flavors of your dish must have been wonderful!
The flavours are really nice because of the wine and that it’s has been stewed for a while.
When my mom used to make coq a vin, it was with white wine. I had been surprised to see so many recipes using red wine. But I love how the chicken and mushroom flavors meld with the wine. Such a buttery rich flavor. I haven’t had it with red wine in a while and would like to try your simple “by feeling” recipe.
And by the way, that’s just how this type of recipe should be done. I like the difference between precision of baking and the free-form nature of a dish like this. Each fits with my mood in a different way. One of my cooking rules is that you have to have great music going on in the background.
Erika K
Cuisinart 12 cup food processor