Chicken Dishes/ French Recipes

Coq au Vin

I learned this Coq au Vin recipe at the Le Cordon Bleu School in Paris, so it should be ‘authentic’, right? The truth is, there are quite a few variations for this dish, but they all have the same thing in common: a chicken stew cooked in wine, accompanied by mushrooms, smoked bacon and onions and sprinkled with parsley. I’ve added some homemade croutons to my dish for a French rustic touch.

Coq au Vin is a French country dish, evolved from the farm where the resident rooster was cooked in a pot when it could no longer ‘service’ the hens. The rooster’s  blood was often used to thicken the stew- in fact, we were given the option of thickening our Coq au Vin with pig’s blood at Le Cordon Bleu. (FYI, no one in my class opted to use this technique, instead thickening the sauce with butter and flour. In fact, the chef said she would refuse to taste our dish if we used the blood!).

There are some variations for this dish: the Cordon Bleu recipe recommends that you first marinate the chicken pieces in red wine, preferably overnight. As a comparison, Julia Child omits this step with her dish, getting right into cooking the chicken with the wine and stock. (I know which method I’d prefer)! Cordon Bleu also recommends cooking the chicken in both wine and aromatic vegetables, such as carrots and celery. The vegetables, which are eventually discarded, help to give your sauce a much deeper flavour at the end.

And finally, this dish is served so that you can identify each of the ingredients on the plate. In fact, most of the elements are cooked separately (i.e. the mushrooms, onions and bacon) and are then all assembled at the end. No more having the chicken and mushrooms lost in an avalanche of sauce- each ingredient ‘takes pride of place’ and can easily be identified. This dish is Country French at its best!

P.S. I’d love it if you’d ‘like’ my G’day Souffle’ Facebook page- it would really make my day! 

Authentic Coq au Vin
Serves 4
An authentic French stew, flavored with thick bacon, mushrooms and onions
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Prep Time
45 min
Cook Time
1 hr 15 min
Total Time
2 hr
Prep Time
45 min
Cook Time
1 hr 15 min
Total Time
2 hr
Marinade
  1. 1 large onion, cut into wedges
  2. 2 carrots, chopped
  3. 2 celery stalks, chopped
  4. 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
  5. 1 Bouquet Garni (2 bay leaves and several sprigs of thyme tied together)
  6. 8 - 10 black peppercorns
  7. 4 cups red wine
  8. 1/4 Cognac (optional)
Main Ingredients
  1. 1 chicken, cut-up into pieces, with bones in
  2. salt and pepper to season the chicken
  3. 1 - 2 cups chicken stock
  4. 1 Bouquet Garni
  5. 3 tbsp plain flour
Onion ‘Confit’
  1. 1/2 cup red wine, reduced to a glaze
  2. 1/4 cup white vinegar
  3. 1 large onion, sliced thinly
  4. 2 tbsp butter
  5. 1/4 cup water
  6. Pinch salt and sugar
  7. Binding (thickening) agent (beurre manié)
  8. 3 tbsp flour
  9. 2 tbsp softened butter
Garnish
  1. 15 - 20 button mushrooms
  2. 8 ounces speck (smoked slab bacon)
  3. 3 tbsp parsley, chopped
  4. Crusty bread rolls or baguettes, brushed with oil or butter, toasted in oven
Instructions
  1. Place all marinade ingredients in a large bowl; add the chicken pieces to the marinade, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or overnight if possible.
  2. Remove chicken pieces and pat dry with paper towel. Set aside the marinade mixture for later.
  3. Heat several tbsps. of oil in a Dutch oven or large casserole dish. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, then brown in several batches over medium high heat, about 3 minutes each side. Remove from the pan and drain the fat.
  4. Now add the following ingredients back to the Dutch oven or pan: browned chicken pieces, wine and vegetables from the marinade, flour and Bouquet Garni. Add enough of the chicken stock to cover the ingredients (1 - 2 cups of stock). Place cover on the pan and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until the chicken meat is tender.
  5. While the chicken is baking, prepare the onion ‘confit.’ Place sliced onions into fry pan with some butter, add the water, pinch of salt and sugar. Cover with parchment paper and simmer over medium low heat until the oinions soften and the moisture reduces.
  6. In separate small saucepan, reduce the 1/2 cup red wine until it becomes syrup, add the vinegar and simmer for several minutes. Add this mixture to the ‘confit’ onions and set aside.
  7. Sauté the button mushrooms in butter for several minutes until soft and set aside.
  8. Cut the bacon speck into thin strips about 1 inch long and ¼ inch wide, add some oil to a fry pan and brown for several minutes over medium high heat. Remove the bacon from the pan, pat dry with a paper towel and add the bacon to the mushrooms.
  9. When the chicken pieces are cooked, remove the pan from oven, set aside the chicken pieces, strain the vegetables and herbs from the cooking liquid and discard. Reduce the cooking liquid over medium heat until it reduces to about 2/3 of the original volume. To prepare the thickening agent, massage the butter and flour together with your fingers to form a smooth paste. Beat the paste into the hot liquid with a wire whisk and simmer for several minutes until the sauce thickens. Strain through a fine mesh strainer, adjust seasoning to taste.
  10. To serve, add the ‘confit’ onion mixture to the bottom of the serving dish, arrange the chicken pieces, speck and button mushrooms around the dish and then pour some sauce on top. Be careful not to 'drown' the ingredients with the sauce, you still should be able to make out the individual ingredients in the dish.
  11. Garnish with chopped parsley and several pieces of toasted baguettes.
Adapted from Le Cordon Bleu recipe
Adapted from Le Cordon Bleu recipe
G'day Soufflé https://gdaysouffle.com/

 

 

 

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15 Comments

  • Reply
    Joanne T Ferguson
    April 28, 2016 at 8:25 pm

    I LOVE aithentic Coq au vin Fran! This looks delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

  • Reply
    Fran
    April 28, 2016 at 8:44 pm

    Yippee! Thanks so much for your comment, Joanne!

  • Reply
    John/Kitchen Riffs
    April 28, 2016 at 11:25 pm

    I haven’t made this dish in ages! Really need to again — yours looks spectacular. I’ve gone back and forth on whether I want to marinade this dish. For Beef Burgundy I often don’t. But I’m rethinking that, because it does improve the flavor. The argument for doing it with this dish is if you’re using a tough old chicken, the marinade helps tenderize it just a little (as well as improve the flavor, of course). But the chicken most of us are likely to use is quite tender to begin with. But, probably doesn’t taste as good as those tough old birds. So I think I’m coming to the conclusion that you really must do a marinade in this recipe. I think. 🙂 Anyway, good stuff — thanks.

    • Reply
      Fran
      April 29, 2016 at 7:15 am

      Thanks John! I agree- marinating the chicken does give it extra flavour. I don’t think any store sells old roosters, so we don’t need to worry about ‘tough old chickens’ any more!

  • Reply
    Juliana
    April 29, 2016 at 3:30 am

    Wow Fran, this looks so good, I would love to have my fork and spoon digging into this dish and savory every bite of it…thanks for sharing such a great recipe.
    Enjoy the rest of your week 🙂

    • Reply
      Fran
      April 30, 2016 at 7:46 am

      Juliana, thanks so much for your comment!

  • Reply
    Kim | Low Carb Maven
    April 29, 2016 at 12:31 pm

    Wow. I saw this dish on FoodGawker and was delighted to see it was one of yours. It sounds like an amazing recipe – well worth the work. I think that most people who enjoy complex flavor don’t mind an extra step or two for classic dishes with classic flavor. I can’t wait to try this recipe!

    • Reply
      Fran
      April 30, 2016 at 7:47 am

      Yes, it is worth the extra steps! This is the second time you mentioned seeing my food photos posted on Food Gawker- it sure is a good way to promote the photos!

  • Reply
    Anne
    April 30, 2016 at 12:13 pm

    This looks absolutely delicious!!! I’m glad you didn’t include the blood in the recipe 😉 although that would’ve been really interesting 😛

  • Reply
    Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop
    April 30, 2016 at 9:47 pm

    I love that you went to the Cordon Bleu….what an amazing experience. I’ve never had coq au vin….It sounds so delicious.

  • Reply
    Chris Woollacott
    May 1, 2016 at 11:26 am

    A real classic. What aussie red would you advise? I know that Julia Child used Burgundy or Cotes du Rhone. I suspect some Australian Shiraz would be too heavy.
    Love your site, waiting now for cassoulet!

  • Reply
    Fran
    May 1, 2016 at 1:32 pm

    Hi Chris, thanks for stopping by my blog. I used Cabernet Merlot (Banrock Station) for my dish. I would also recommend Cabernet Sauvignon and even Shiraz would be alright. I would just avoid using Port wine (too syrupy) or a sparkling wine (too ‘fizzy’). Hmm, maybe I will do a cassoulet recipe soon!

  • Reply
    Karen (Back Road Journal)
    May 2, 2016 at 4:28 am

    There are a lot of steps to this dish but the result is what has made it such a classic.

  • Reply
    Amira
    May 12, 2016 at 2:04 am

    Woow thickening with blood!!! I almost fainted :)))).
    Love your recipe, looks so delicious.

  • Reply
    Claire @ Simply Sweet Justice
    May 24, 2016 at 1:29 am

    I will be making this soon! Many recipes that I have seen have seemed very complicated, but not yours! It has been on my list to make, and I know your recipe will be perfect!

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