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

 4 ounces lean bacon

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 (Burgundy, Beaujolais)

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

 Use a heavy 10” skillet with a tight fitting lid for this dish.

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

 So, how is my version different?

 1.  I started with house made, dry cured, cold smoked, bacon.  This adds a dimension of yummieness that store bought bacon just cannot begin to do.  When the bacon was rendered and golden brown, I removed it and saved it on the side.

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 2^nd 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.

 For service I plated a chicken thigh with silky cabbage and spaetzle.

I hope you enjoyed this information.

As always, your questions or comments are welcome.

Until next time,

Bon Appetit Y'all

Leslie Bartosh