Words Joan Saunders
Photos Sarah Hartley Photography
I may be biased, but when I hear a recipe said with its traditional French name, it just sounds more impressive. Take, for example, Coq au Vin; it’s a dish that was created to make the tough meat of a rooster more palatable. Simply put, the name just means “rooster with wine.” An essential component of the recipe is the wine because its acidity helps to tenderize the meat, even before you start cooking. And, as we are substituting rooster with some chicken thighs or perhaps, drumsticks, the dark meat helps avoid creating something that’s dry and overcooked.
When you cook with wine, choose one you enjoy. Usually Coq au Vin is made with a full-bodied red wine. Its earthiness helps develop the base of a rich, flavourful sauce that doesn’t overpower the fairly simple ingredients. The general rule for cooking with wine is that if you wouldn’t like to drink a glass of it on its own, don’t put it in the dish. This doesn’t mean you have to buy an expensive bottle, but the wine definitely transforms this recipe into something special.
This delicious, savoury classic is even better the next day. Just refrigerate any leftovers and gently reheat. Or, if you’re busy, make it the day before and you’ll be ready to go when guests arrive. It’s delicious paired with something that helps to sop up the sauce, like good crusty bread or a baguette, or perhaps some creamy mashed potatoes. You could also try it with rice, couscous or noodles. Add a simple salad tossed with a tangy mustard dressing and you’ve got yourself a fabulous fall meal. Bon appétit.
Coq au Vin (serves 4)
8 skin on, bone in chicken thighs
kosher salt, as needed
pepper
1 bottle red wine (traditionally a Pinot Noir)
1 bay leaf
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup diced bacon
1 diced onion
3 carrots, peeled, chopped small (about 1 cup)
10 mushrooms, washed, trimmed, quartered
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp tomato paste
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter, room temperature
1 cup pearl onions, peeled
about 2 cups chicken broth, or as needed
1/3 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
Season chicken (on both sides) with salt and pepper. In a large bowl, combine chicken with wine, bay leaf, thyme sprigs. Cover and marinate for 30 minutes.
In a Dutch oven or large pot, cook bacon over medium heat until browned and crispy (about 10 minutes). Remove pan from heat and transfer cooked bacon to a plate lined with paper towels. Reserve leftover fat in pot.
Take chicken out of wine marinade (keep marinade for later). Return pot to stovetop. Heat fat over medium heat until it starts to shimmer. Put chicken, skin side down, in pan and cook until brown, about 4-5 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side for about 4 minutes. Work in batches if needed, so you don’t crowd the pieces of chicken. If needed, add a little bit of olive oil. Move seared chicken to a plate.
If there’s too much oil/liquid in the pot at this point, remove some with spoon or paper towel (leave about 1 tbsp). Add onion, carrots and mushrooms to pan; season with a bit of salt. Cook at medium-low for about 8 minutes, or until softened.
Add tomato paste and garlic and mix with the veggies while cooking for about 1 minute more. Add the marinade. Bring the mix to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the liquid is reduced to about half.
Add the chicken, pearl onions, bacon. There should be enough liquid to just cover the chicken, if not add as much chicken stock as needed. Cover and simmer over low heat until chicken is tender (about one hour).
After the hour, uncover, remove chicken and put on a plate; continue to simmer sauce for about 10 minutes.
While it’s simmering, mash the butter and flour together into a smooth paste. Add about 2-3 tbsp of the hot liquid mixture into flour/butter mix; combine until smooth. Mix butter/flour/sauce into pot; simmer until sauce thickens further. It should be thick enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon (should only take a couple of minutes). Remove bay leaf and thyme sprigs, if you can.
Return chicken to pot and simmer until warm. Remove from heat; garnish with chopped parsley.
Serve with something to sop up the sauce with like mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, crusty bread, rice, whatever you prefer.
