Coq au Vin
Total Time
1 hour and 45 minutes
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour and 30 minutes
Rating
4.94 out of 5 stars
(66)
Ingredients
4 servings
- 4 chicken thighs (, bone-in, skin on (~220g / 7 oz each) (Note 1)
- 4 chicken drumsticks (Note 1)
- 16 pearl onions or picking onions (Note 2)
- 1 bay leaf (, fresh (dry also ok)
- 3 thyme sprigs (sub 1 tsp dried thyme)
- 750 ml / 3 cups pinot noir red wine (, or other dry red wine (Note 3)
- 3 - 4 tbsp vegetable oil (or canola oil)
- 3/4 tsp salt (cooking/kosher salt, or 1/2 tsp table salt)
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 400g / 14oz white mushrooms (, halved (quartered if large) (Note 4)
- 150g / 5oz bacon piece (, (speck) cut into 1 x 2.5cm / 0.4 x 1" batons (Note 5)
- 60g / 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 garlic cloves (, finely minced (with knife)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 7 tbsp flour (, plain / all purpose)
- 750 ml / 3 cups beef stock
- 1/4 tsp salt (cooking/kosher salt, or 1/8 tsp table salt) (Note 7)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp parsley (, chopped)
- Mashed potato (or tagliatelle)
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Preparation
Step 1
Marinate chicken:
Step 2
Marinate chicken: Place the Chicken Marinade ingredients in a large glass or ceramic bowl or dish. Marinate overnight in the fridge (minimum 12 hours, maximum 24 hours).
Step 3
Strain wine into a bowl. Reserve herbs and wine. Separate the chicken and onion.
Step 4
Dry chicken: Spread chicken out on a try lined with paper towels, then pat dry with paper towels.
Step 5
Reduce wine: Pour red wine into a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Simmer vigorously, skimming off any impurities that rise to the surface, until reduced by half. Set aside.
Step 6
Brown chicken and vegetables:
Step 7
Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan).
Step 8
Season chicken: Sprinkle chicken with 3/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper.
Step 9
Brown chicken: Heat 3 tbsp oil in a large, heavy-based, oven-proof pot over medium-high heat. Add chicken thighs skin side down and cook for 2 - 3 minutes until nicely browned (it will be darker than usual because of the red wine). Flip thighs and cook the other side for another minute to kiss it with a little colour. Remove to a tray. Pull at skin of drumsticks to cover flesh as best as possible, then brown (I do 3 to 4 sides, ~5 minutes in total). Remove and set aside.
Step 10
Fry bacon: Remove any loose black burnt bits. Add a bit of extra oil if needed, then cook bacon for 3 minutes until golden. Add to tray with chicken.
Step 11
Sauté mushrooms: Add mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, or until golden. Remove into a separate bowl.
Step 12
Sauté onion: Add a bit of extra oil if needed, then cook onions for 5 minutes or until there are nice golden patches.
Step 13
Butter and flour: Add butter into pot. Once melted, add garlic and cook for a further 1 minute. Add tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes. Add flour and cook for 2 minutes.
Step 14
Add wine and stock: While stirring, slowly pour in beef stock – this helps the flour dissolve lump-free into the stock. Then add the reduced wine and mix until flour mixture is dissolved and mostly lump-free. (Note 8)
Step 15
Add everything back in: Add chicken, bacon, mushroom, thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper into the pot, then stir.
Step 16
SLOW-COOK:
Step 17
Oven 45 minutes: Bring to a simmer, then cover and transfer to oven for 45 minutes. Chicken will be very tender - but not "falling apart". (Note 9)
Step 18
Adjust salt: Remove from oven, taste sauce and add salt if needed.
Step 19
Leave overnight (recommended, Note 11): If time permits, leave the stew overnight before serving because as with all stews, it gets better with time! Reheat gently on a low stove in a covered pot, ensuring that chicken is fully heated through. Add water if needed to loosen sauce.
Step 20
Serve over mashed potato or tagliatelle, sprinkled with fresh parsley! For the ultimate experience, mop the plate clean with homemade brioche (surprisingly straight forward to make). See in post for side salad and dessert options.
Step 21
Save recipe for the next time?
