Tart & Comforting Coq au Canneberge

For my first meal back on my feet after knee surgery, I wanted something comforting that wouldn’t require a lot of standing on my feet. While Coq au Vin is my usual go-to comfort food, I wanted to try a different spin on it to make it a bit lighter for Springtime. A while back I had made a delicious sheet pain meal of bone-in chicken thighs that had been marinated in a cranberry-orange glaze for 24 hrs and loved the flavors. I mean, cranberry orange is just plain delicious at any time of year 🙂 For this recipe, I wanted to challenge myself and try to combine two of my favorite recipes. The result? A meal my mom would claim tasted like Christmas! 

Coq au Canneberge
Total Cooking Time: 2.5 hrs
Serves: 4-5

Ingredients

• 3 lbs bone-in chicken thighs
• 4 pieces bacon, diced
• 1 bag frozen cranberries, thawed
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 c chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 c dry white wine
• ¼ c orange juice
• ¼ c maple syrup
• 2 tbs soy sauce
• 3-5 sprigs, fresh rosemary
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 2 tbs olive oil, separated

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400^oF
2. 2. Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven on the stove and fry bacon until brown. Using a slotted spoon, remove to plate to cool.
3. Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven on the stove and fry bacon until brown. Using a slotted spoon, remove to plate to cool.
4. Season chicken with salt and pepper, and brown in bacon fat. Remove from the dutch oven, and place on the plate with the bacon (brown in batches to avoid overcrowding).
5. While chicken is cooking, blend your ½ bag cranberries, garlic, broth, wine, juice, syrup, soy sauce, 3 springs of Rosemary, and olive oil until completely mixed. Once smooth, set aside. 
6. When chicken is browned, add cranberry sauce to the dutch oven and bring to a simmer for 15-20 mins. Add chicken to dutch oven with remaining Rosemary springs and cranberries, cover, and let simmer for 30 mins. After the time is up, place the dutch oven in your preheated oven for 1.5 hrs or until chicken temp reaches 165^oF.
7. Remove from oven and serve with mashed potatoes. Enjoy!