Coq au Vin

I love your blog, I refer to it all the time. First time making this and it was great. I noticed Julia Child’s and Alton Brown’s version called for tomatoes…hmm, I might try that next time.

I did use lardons because I can get them them here easily. I did the par boil thing and it took too much of the fat out. Guess I did it too long.

Mine didn’t stick at all- for those of you with that problem- make sure you get a decent quality Dutch oven like Staub or Le Cruset and get it up to operating temp before frying the chicken. It’s nice stuff, lasts a lifetime, and worth the cost if cooking is really your hobby as it is for me.

I didn’t have a problem with purple chicken either- add the stock first then the wine and use a real Burgundy. A true burgundy has a light body and won’t stain your chicken. Also- it goes great with the meal- I used a nice one from Beaune that was six euros a bottle. Very drinkable.
Eet Smaaklijk,
Carl
The Hague

Made a half recipe using 4 thighs (there’s just my son and me). I’ve had this dish in restaurants and I must admit, this version is as good as they get. It’s probably healthier too since you get to control the amount of sodium and fats. To change things up, I used rigatoni (because it’s big and “meaty”) instead of egg noodles. Red wine was Chianti. Thanks to the many excellent recipes on this website, I always have fresh thyme and flat leaf parsley on hand so the only unique ingredient I needed was pearl onions.

Going off topic, I figured out how to keep parsley fresh in the refrigerator for a month or more. Purchase the freshest bunch you can find and when you get it home, cleanly trim the stems using a very sharp knife (I remove about an inch off the bottom and keep the bundle together with a rubber band). Find a plastic container about 3-4 inches in diameter and about 4 inches tall, take a paper towel and fold into quarters and stuff it flat inside the container bottom. Add clean water to moisten the towel plus 1/4 inch of standing water. (I recycled a prepared icing container.) Place the parsley into the container so the freshly cut ends are in contact with the water and paper towel. Tent the “flower pot” using a produce/fruit plastic bag (special green color keep-fresh bags featuring microscopic holes). Closed end on top and open end on bottom. Don’t seal the bag, just let the open end rest on the refrigerator shelf. As you use the parsley, pick off any yellowed leaves and stems then change the water or paper towel as needed. If you can’t find the special keep fresh bags, you can use the grocery store plastic produce bag as the tent — however leaves that touch the plastic will yellow quickly so wrap or drape the parsley bundle top with a paper towel before tenting.

I would buy a hunk of Canadian bacon so that it doesn’t need to be blanched. You pare the rind and cut the remaining into thick, long strips. Brown the bacon and rind in the oil and continue normally. Its easier and tastes better than with American bacon.

If your chicken is sticking to the pan, you’re trying to move it too soon after starting to cook. Make sure the pan / oil is hot when you add the chicken, and don’t try to move it until it has had a minute or so to brown. It should release easily.

I am new to French cooking and have been invited to bring a side dish to accompany Coq au Vin. Could someone kindly suggest a selection of side dishes to acompany this recipe? It needs to be something that can be made in advance and will travel well.

When I cooked the chicken the skin came off and stuck to the pan so my chicken looks “skinned”.
What did I do wrong?

No idea. ~Elise

The liquid doesnt seem to want to reduce. What could I be doing wrong?

I suggest turning up the heat. ~Elise

If you don’t like the skin, I would suggest you dredge the skinless chicken pieces in some all purpose flour mixed with salt, pepper and some herb seasoning and then shallow fry the pieces to a golden brown before adding the wine to it. This not only gives it a skin-like texture to it, but also seals in the juices and makes it more tender and moist. Also, the flour helps thicken the sauce as it cooks. I also throw in chunks of carrot or parsnip in the dish as I cook it and they cook beautifully. It may not be traditional, but is delicious!

Nice recipe. However The reasoning for “blanching” the bacon is not to reduce the salt but to break up the fat Molecules allowing you to create crunchy “lardons” rather than chewy ones, they hold up much better in the sauce. Also I recommend using salt pork not bacon as most bacon is smoked and if you get the non sliced kind you can cut it into small cubes (lardons). Also in order to blanch, just add a very small amount of water to the pan (small!) and allow it to boil around your pork until evaporated. It should take no more than a minute or two. Bacon should always be cooked in this way when frying. The Pinot noir Is the only wine I would choose for this dish, the Burgundy will send the chicken off balance and the Zin will make it taste like Kool aid.

Hi – I made this recipe and was a bit disappointed. By the time it reduced enough to be saucy, there was not enough volume to cover all the chicken pieces. Also, I’m not huge on salt, however blanching the bacon took out too much of the “umph” that makes using bacon interesting.

Next time around I plan to try the following:
– blanch the bacon for a shorter window of time
– douse the chicken in flour before browning
– increase the amt of wine by 1 cup to increase both volume of sauce and strength of taste
– add baby carrots along with the mushrooms