Simple & Delicious French Cooking- Coq au Vin

Coq au vin literally translates to “rooster with wine”, and is a traditional rustic French dish that is hearty and delicious. If you want a meal that will surely impress your friends, family, or a first date, this is it!!

Sounds difficult right? WRONG. This dish, made even more famous by Julia Child (all hail, Queen J), is so simple. But boy, does it pack one hell of a flavorful punch. Personally, I am a fan of any dish that involves wine so I was very excited to try this for the first time and it did not disappoint! The combination of the earthiness of mushrooms, savoriness of the bacon, and the full-bodied texture of the Burgundy was heavenly.

After a mix of wine and watching Julie/Julia for the 5th time, I was feeling inspired to try the dish, and I ordered my first dutch oven. Now, there are a TON of recipes online, and they all vary slightly. But the most important thing you need before taking on this recipe is a good quality dutch oven. It’s important to get one that is deep enough, since you will be braising the chicken in a mix of red wine and brandy, and you definitely don’t want to overfill the pot. Liquid+Oven=a long day of cleaning ahead.

Once you get your dutch oven, it’s time to get cooking! The secret to a delicious coq au vin is the ingredients:

• Chicken Drumsticks: Good quality chicken can make or break this dish. You can use any bone-in chicken for this meal, but my favorite is the chicken drumsticks. The richness of the wine and brandy soaks in nicely and makes the chicken fall off the bone, making it easy for your guests to dig in.
• Bacon or lardons: I personally use center cut bacon for this recipe. It gives the dish a nice flavor, without being too overpowering or fatty.
• Brandy and burgundy: Booze! This is the base for the entire dish. You’ll need good quality brandy and a nice burgundy (or another full-bodied red) to help braise the chicken and tie all the ingredients together.
• Onions, carrots, and garlic: I use a yellow onion for this, I think it gives it a bit of a sweet flavor than your typical red or white onions. When sauteéd with the carrots and garlic, it creates a nice balance to the slight bite of the garlic.
• Chicken stock: I love using the low-sodium chicken stock from Amazon. You want to avoid using too much salt in this dish, especially when cooking with the fattiness of the bacon and skin from the chicken.
• Mushrooms, rosemary, and thyme: The pièce de résistance of this dish are the mushrooms and thyme. This is where you get that earthy herbal taste to shine through, and really give your dish that extra boost.

Once you’ve assembled all your ingredients, and cookware, let’s get started!

Coq au Vin

Servings: 8

Total cooking time: 4 hrs

• 2-3 lbs Chicken drumsticks
• 4 oz Bacon, cubed
• 1 yellow onion
• 2 carrots
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup Brandy
• 1 1/2 cup Burgundy, or other full-bodied red
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken stock
• 4 sprigs of Thyme
• 4 sprigs of Rosemary
• 1 tbsp of unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 tbsp flour
• 1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced
• Salt + pepper to taste
• 3 whole carrots, sliced
• 1 tsp olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250^oF
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. Season chicken with salt and pepper, and brown in bacon fat. Remove from dutch oven, and place on plate with the bacon (brown in batches to avoid overcrowding)
4. Slice onion, garlic, and carrots and add to dutch oven. Cook over medium heat for 10 mins, or until fragrant.  
5. Add brandy, and scrape to loosen brown bits from the dutch oven
6. Add bacon and chicken back to the dutch oven, will all juices from chicken
7. Add red wine, chicken stock, thyme, and rosemary sprigs to the dutch oven. Bring to boil, cover with lid, and place in oven and set timer for 60-70 mins
8. Once time is up, remove the dutch oven and check your chicken (should register 160-165^oF with meat thermometer). Once done, melt butter on the stove, and mix with flour to create a roux. 
9. Stir the roux into the dutch oven mixture and top with your sliced mushrooms. Stir to combine and place back in oven for 30 mins
10. Let sit for 10 mins, and serve over mashed potatoes or with crusty bread! (This tastes even better the next day, once all the flavors marinate together)