Coq au Vin
Some dishes are classics!
They are classics because they are good and they have survived the tests
of time. The dish does not have to be haute
cuisine (classical French cuisine). It
can be from the countryside. Such is the
case with Coq au Vin.
Coq au Vin in its simplest form is chicken, braised in red
wine. Some versions use vin de table
other vin de pays. Classically it is
made with red wine from the burgundy region of France. Some versions
include the use of cognac to flambé ingredients. Some versions have pearl onions as a garnish.
Regardless of the ingredients used, this dish exemplifies cooking
of the countryside. The rooster got to
be too old to perform his barnyard duties.
In the spirit of food utilization, the old, tough rooster was braised
to make it tender. Since this cooking of
the countryside, the ingredients varied throughout the year to reflect what was
available at the time.
Braising is classified as a combination cooking method. In this dish, it starts by sautéing the seasoned
chicken until it is golden brown or doré.
When the chicken is doré, the wine is added. The chicken then “stews”
in the liquid over low medium heat and becomes nicely tender.
Most recipes agree that bacon, onion, garlic and mushrooms
are integral parts of the dish.
For my version, I do not include pearl onions as garnish. My local markets tend not to carry pearl onions. I usually do not use cognac to flambé
the ingredients. Other than that, I use
most of the ingredients listed in the majority of recipes.
This is the recipe that I used when I taught this dish in class.
Coq au Vin
Yield: 4 servings
3 tablespoons butter
1 frying chicken, cut into 8
pieces
to taste salt and pepper
1 medium onion, small dice
2 cloves garlic puree
¼ cup cognac
3 cups red wine (
2 cups chicken stock
½ tablespoon tomato paste
as needed fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
to taste salt and white pepper
24 each small round onions
½ pound quartered mushrooms
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons flour
Cut bacon into lardoons (1/4 inch
wide by 1 inch long).
Sauté the bacon slowly in hot
butter until lightly browned. Remove to
a side dish.
Season chicken with salt and
pepper and fry the chicken (skin-side-down) in the hot fat until golden brown. Turn the chicken.
Return the bacon to the casserole
with the chicken and add the onion and garlic.
Cover and cook slowly for 10
minutes.
Uncover, and flame with cognac.
Add wine.
Add enough chicken stock to cover the chicken.
Stir in the tomato paste, and
herbs; bring to a simmer.
Cover chicken with parchment paper
and then the lid.
Simmer chicken slowly (on stove or
in oven) 25 to 30 minutes or until the chicken reaches 160 degrees.
While chicken is cooking, sauté
the onions and mushrooms.
Remove the chicken to a side dish.
Simmer the cuisson (cooking
liquid) for a minute or so, skimming the fat.
Raise heat and reduce cuisson to
2¼ cups.
Correct seasoning and discard bay
leaf.
Remove to side.
Blend the flour and butter
together by hand until a smooth paste (beurre manie).
Beat the paste into the hot liquid
with a wire whip.
Bring sauce to a simmer, stirring,
and simmer for a minute or two.
Combine chicken, mushroom and
bacon with sauce.
Bring chicken to a simmer until
completely reheated.
The above seems like a lot of
ingredients and a lot of steps.
In its simplest form this recipe
is made by the following steps:
Cook bacon until crisp and remove it from the pan.
Cook chicken in the bacon
drippings until it is golden brown and remove it from the pan.
Sauté onion and garlic until
tender.
Add the red wine and chicken back
into the pan.
Cook the chicken until it is
tender and remove it from the pan.
Degrease the cooking liquid and
thicken it using the thickening agent of your choice.
Add the chicken, sautéed mushrooms and bacon to the thickened liquid and serve when hot
2.
I used skin on, bone in chicken thighs instead of a whole chicken cut in
pieces.
3.
I did not flambé the chicken using cognac.
4.
I omitted the chicken stock and used Cotes du Rhone red wine, as the
only cooking liquid. I did not fully cover
the chicken. My liquid level was two-third
of the way up the chicken.
5.
I omitted the tomato paste.
6.
I performed the entire cooking process on the stove top.
7.
I used roux to thicken the (cuisson) cooking liquid after I degreased
it.
To detail my recipe:
1.
I rendered the bacon lardoons (bacon cut match stick style) until they
released their fat and browned. The bacon was removed and saved on the side.
2.
I seasoned the chicken thighs with salt and black pepper. I sautéed the chicken
skin side down in the bacon drippings until it was doré and then turned it over. I sauteed the chicken for about 5 minutes on
the 2nd side and removed it from the pan.
3.
I added the onion and garlic to the pan and cooked (sautéed) it for
about five minutes.
4.
I added approximately a half bottle of wine and deglazed the pan. (Deglazing removes the caramelized food from
the bottom of the pan. This allows the caramelized
food particles to flavor the dish and influences the color of the “gravy”.
5.
I adjusted the seasoning of the liquid in the pan with salt, black
pepper, bay leaf and dry thyme. I added
the chicken thighs, skin side up, into the pan.
I then adjusted the liquid level so it came 2/3s of the way up the
chicken. I brought this to a simmer and covered
the pan.
6.
I turned the chicken over after approximately 15 minutes.
7.
While the chicken was braising; I sauteed the quartered mushrooms in a
little butter, in a separate pan, until they were almost done. I reserved these on the side.
8.
When the chicken was tender, I removed it from the pan. I degreased the cooking liquid. I brought it back to a boil and thickened it
with roux, blond.
9.
When I was satisfied with the consistency of the cooking liquid, I
returned the chicken to pan and added the sautéed mushrooms and bacon. I allowed this to simmer, covered, for about
5 minutes and then turned the chicken over to help it heat through.
I hope you enjoyed this information.
As always, your questions or comments are welcome.
Until next time,
Bon Appetit Y'all
Leslie Bartosh
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