Coq au vin translates from French to English as a rooster in wine. While roosters are a little hard to find in America, the female hen is most often used in this recipe here. The process of this recipe is marinated and seared chicken that is then braised with vegetables in wine and stock.
Notes
- You can use thick-cut bacon or regular cut if you’d prefer.
- Celery also makes a great addition when braising the chicken.
- Other herbs you can use in your bouquet garni are rosemary or chervil.
- You may use just chicken breasts, thighs, drums, or any combination of each of these.
- When searing the chicken you may have to do it in batches if your pot is not big enough.
Ingredients
For the Marinade:
- 2 stalks of celery - roughly chopped
- 2 carrots - peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves - smashed
- 1 yellow onion - peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 whole chicken - fabricated
- 2 cups red wine
- ¼ cup cognac
- ½ cup olive oil
- sea salt
- pepper - to taste
For the Chicken:
- 6 strips thick-cut bacon - chopped
- 1 small yellow onion - peeled and diced
- 4 carrots - peeled and thickly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves - finely minced
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 leek - peeled
- 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley
- 4-6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 cups red wine
- 5 cups chicken stock - or beef
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cups button mushrooms - sliced in half
- 1 cup peeled pearl onions
- sea salt
- pepper to taste
Instructions
Marinate the chicken:
- Place the celery, carrots, garlic, onions, chicken, red wine, cognac, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a plastic zip bag and mix until all of the ingredients are combined, and the chicken is completely coated in the marinade.
- Place in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 4-6 hours.
Brown the Chicken:
- Remove the chicken from the marinade, discard the marinade, and season the chicken lightly on both sides with salt and pepper.
- Set aside.
- Add the bacon to a large Dutch Oven Pot over medium-high heat and cook until crisp and browned.
- Set the cooked bacon lardons aside and then add in the chicken and sear until golden brown, about 4-6 minutes per side.
Make a roux:
- Set the chicken aside, remove ½ of the oil in the pot and then quickly sauté the carrots, onions, and garlic quickly for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir in the flour until combined to make a roux.
Braise the chicken:
- Pour in the wine and add in the leek, parsley, and thyme bouquet garni (watch video), the stock, salt, and pepper, and the pan-seared chicken.
- Add on the lid and cook over low heat for about 90 minutes or until the chicken is cooked and tender.
Sauté the mushrooms and onions:
- With about 15 minutes left in the cooking process add the olive oil to a large sauté pan over high heat and add in the mushrooms and pearl onions and cook for 5-7 minutes or until lightly caramelized.
- Transfer the mushrooms and pearl onions to the coq au vin pot and mix in.
- Serve hot.
