Description
Coq au Vin is a classic French stew featuring tender chicken braised in a rich red wine sauce with bacon, pearl onions, mushrooms, and aromatic herbs. This comforting dish is perfect for dinner and tastes even better when made ahead.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken and Bacon
- 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 4 chicken drumsticks
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil
- 4 ounces lardons or slab bacon, diced
Vegetables and Aromatics
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 2 large carrots, peeled and cut diagonally in 1-inch pieces
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 8 ounces peeled pearl onions
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
Liquids and Herbs
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 bottle (750ml) red wine, preferably Burgundy or Pinot Noir
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme, tied with kitchen twine
- 3 cups chicken stock, homemade or store-bought
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup chopped parsley
Optional
- Beurre manié: 1 tablespoon flour and 1 tablespoon softened butter
Instructions
- Preheat and season: Preheat oven to 350ºF. Pat dry the chicken pieces with paper towels and season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside.
- Cook bacon: In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil. Add diced lardons and cook until golden and crisp, about 6-8 minutes. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve, leaving drippings in the pot.
- Brown chicken: Add more vegetable oil if needed. Add chicken pieces without overcrowding and brown on all sides until golden, about 8-10 minutes. Remove chicken and bacon to a plate and reserve.
- Prepare vegetables: If needed, drain excess fat leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pot. Lower heat to medium, add onion and carrots, and cook until onions soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add tomato paste and flour: Stir in tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add flour and cook another minute to remove raw flour taste.
- Deglaze with wine: Pour in red wine, add thyme sprigs and bay leaf, scrape browned bits with a wooden spoon, and cook until wine reduces by half, about 10 minutes. Skim off any foam.
- Add stock and return chicken: Add chicken stock, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Add chicken, bacon, and any collected juices back to the pot.
- Braise: Cover pot and transfer to the preheated oven. Cook for 45 minutes until chicken is very tender.
- Sauté pearl onions: With 15 minutes left on braise time, heat 1 tablespoon oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add pearl onions with a pinch of salt and cook until browned, about 5-8 minutes. Remove and reserve.
- Sauté mushrooms: Add another tablespoon oil and 2 tablespoons butter to the pan. Sauté mushrooms until browned, about 8-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside with pearl onions.
- Remove chicken and aromatics: After braising, carefully remove chicken to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm. Discard bay leaf and thyme sprigs from the pot.
- Thicken sauce (optional): Mix softened butter and flour to make beurre manié. Return pot to stove over medium-high heat, stir in beurre manié to thicken sauce as desired. Adjust thickness with more stock or wine if needed, and season to taste.
- Finish sauce and combine: Stir in ¼ cup chopped parsley and return reserved pearl onions and mushrooms into the sauce.
- Serve: If serving from the pot, return chicken and garnish with remaining parsley. Otherwise, plate chicken and spoon sauce over, garnishing with parsley.
Notes
- Make Ahead: Coq au Vin tastes even better the next day. Refrigerate after cooling completely for up to 2 days.
- Leftovers: Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: Freeze for up to 3 months; thaw overnight in fridge before reheating.
- Reheating: Remove solidified fat before reheating. Warm on stove over medium-low heat with occasional stirring, adding stock or wine as needed; alternatively, reheat in oven at 350ºF for about 30 minutes.
- You can use frozen pearl onions if fresh ones are unavailable; thaw and peel before cooking.
- If you prefer a thicker sauce, add more beurre manié gradually until desired consistency.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 550 kcal
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 680 mg
- Fat: 35 g
- Saturated Fat: 12 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 20 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 12 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 45 g
- Cholesterol: 140 mg
