LikeBeef Bourguignon, the beauty of this dish lies in its simplicity.
Coq au Vin French chicken stew
Chicken stews are delightful and criminally underrated in my book.
Too often they play second fiddle to the divas of the stew world likelamb shanks,braised short ribsandcurries.
Marinating chicken in red wine for Coq au Vin
Maybe its because chicken as a meat is considered somewhat common?
As a result, delicious and hardworking dishes like thisEveryday Chicken Stew(with crispy skin!)
or this weeknightFast Chicken Stewjust dont get their share of the love they deserve.
This French (naturally!)
The sauces deeply savoury flavour perfumed with herbs and bacon is complex and seems to just linger forever.
If I had to call it (and regular readers know I will!
Yet theres actuallylessingredients than any of the stews mentioned earlier.
The recipe is surprisingly straightforward.
What you better make Coq au Vin
1.
Chicken and red wine marinade
Heres what you oughta marinate the chicken.
Chicken pieces Coq au Vin literally means rooster in wine.
Once upon a time older male chickens may have been the bird of choice for this traditional dish.
Marinating chicken in red wine for Coq au Vin
Bone-in, skin-on thighs and drumsticks are the safest for the most tender, juicy results.
Cutting up your own whole chicken would also be an option (and more traditional).
Keep the chicken breast whole with the skin on and bone in.
Searing chicken
Pinot Noir is the traditional winetypically used in Coq au Vin, usually from Burgundy.
The bottle I used was a $15 one, reduced to $6 (Dan Murphys!).
Pearl onionsare very small onions and are irritatingly hard to find in Australia.
Thyme and bay leaves Classic French stew-friendly herb aromatics.
Good quality store-bought from butchers etc.
are far better than mass-produced (like Campbells here in Australia).
If you cant find slab bacon, try speck (which in Australia is smoked pork belly chunks).
Mushrooms Just your everyday button mushrooms.
Cut large ones into quarters, medium ones in half.
Swiss brown /cremini are also fine.
White is more traditional and looks nicer because the paler colour stands out more against the dark brown sauce.
Garlic For flavouring (its rare to see a savoury dish around here without it!).
Tomato paste For a touch of brightness, to help thicken the sauce, flavour and colour.
FlourThis is what thickens the Coq au Vin sauce.
Marinate chicken and sear
Dont skip the overnight marination.
This infuses the chicken with flavour all the way through to the bone.
12 hours is the minimum recommended, up to 24 hours.
Beyond this is still fine but doesnt really add anything more, Ive found.
So dont skip it!
Reduce wine Strain the red wine into a pot and reduce by half on the stove.
Place the chicken in a paper towel-lined tray, then user paper towels to pat the chicken dry.
This ensures that the chicken browns nicely.
Wet chicken just wont get a nice golden crust.
It will be darker than usual because the chicken is stained by the red wine.
Flip and repeat on the other side.
In this step, we are just searing the outside of the chicken for flavour.
The inside will still be raw which is fine since we will cook it through when we braise it.
Once the thighs are browned, remove and add the drumsticks.
Because of the shape of the drumsticks, its harder to brown them evenly.
In contrast,Beef Bourguignontakes a good 2 1/2 hours!
Sauteing each of the ingredients separately is key for developing some nice golden colour thus flavour.
Cook bacon Cook the bacon lardons until golden.
Once the bacon is done, add it to the tray with the chicken.
Saute mushrooms Next, cook the mushrooms in the bacon fat, still on medium-high heat.
When the mushrooms are done, remove them and add to the chicken pile.
If you dont, that burnt layer will end up dissolving in your stew and make it bitter.
Onions Now, in go the onions!
Just stir regularly until you get nice golden patches on them.
Tomato paste and flourNext, add butter and let it melt.
Add garlic and cook it for 1 minute until the garlic is golden and it smells ridiculously good.
Then add the tomato paste and cook it for 2 minutes.
This mellows the sourness of tomato paste as well as bringing out and concentrating the flavour.
Now add the flour and cook it for a further 2 minutes.
Add liquids While stirring, slowly pour in the beef stock.
Incorporating the stock little by little helps the flour dissolve lump-free into the liquids.
But dont worry if you do (or think you do!)
have small lumps, they will easily dissolve during the braising time.
Once the beef stock is added, keep stirring to completely dissolve the flour into the liquid.
Then mix in the reduced red wine.
Give it a good stir, then allow it to come to a simmer.
Why oven instead of simmering on the stove?Its just easier and lower maintenance.
The oven temperature may seem a little high to you for a slow-cooked recipe.
Slow-cook for 6 hours on low.
Transfer to pot then simmer (no lid) for 15 20 minutes until sauce reduces.
I really think its just easier to use the oven, to be honest!
Pro tip:Keep the sauce slightly thinner than you would like to see it once served.
This is because rouxthickened sauces like this will thicken further as they cool slightly and once served.
Adjust saltAlso, taste the sauce and add more salt if needed.
What to serve with Coq au Vin
Starchy vehicles to soak up that sauce!
This is a flat noodle pasta that is 6mm / 0.236 wide (to be accurate!
Fresh is best, but dried is still perfectly good.
Emphasis on DREAMY!!!
Have you really had a proper French dinner if you dont have dessert??NO!
Madeleines This was dessert for we made for the last French dinner party I hosted.
Make the batter beforehand and leave it in the fridge.
It takes 90 seconds to fill the baking pan, and 10 minutes to bake.
Pile on a plate and watch as they disappear in seconds!
His recipe is much (much!)
Life of Dozer
Yes Dozer.
I made this ENTIRE cake for YOU…… not!
Its work in progress!
Prevent screen from sleeping
