Coq au Vin - Chicken in Red Wine - In Honor of Julia Child

Coq au Vin - Chicken in Red Wine - is one of those "oven things" I like to cook during fall and winter. But since today is the tenth anniversary of the death of Julia Child, who made the dish so popular with Americans, I made it, at the height of summer, in her honor.

When I went out to the shops yesterday, there were not any organic bone-in skin-on chicken thighs or whole legs to be found. Not feeling up to cutting up a whole chicken, I decided to try it with the organic boneless skinless thighs that were available.

I also could not get my hands on any fresh or frozen pearl onions, so I had lots of modifications to make. So this is not Julia's recipe, though I was inspired by her. I met and chatted with Julia on several occasions years ago, and I know she'd be the first to tell me to just go for it.

"Once you have mastered a technique, you hardly need look at a recipe again." ~ Julia Child  

Turns out I like it even more with the boneless skinless chicken thighs! Oh, and I don't flame the brandy. I have cabinets and other flammable things too close to the stove to be messing about with fire! How about you? 

Coq au Vin - Chicken in Red Wine

(Serves 4 to 6)

3 ounces bacon (about 3 slices)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

6 to 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs (1.5 to 2 pounds)

1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chopped onions
1/2 pound carrots, in 1-inch diagonal slices
2 cloves garlic, coarsely smashed, optional

2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup low sodium chicken broth

1 to 2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup drinkable Burgundy or Pinot Noir
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, halved or quartered
3 tablespoons brandy
3 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley

1 Cut bacon slices crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide pieces. In a 4- to 5 1/2-quart enameled cast iron French/Dutch oven, sauté the bacon pieces in 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat until lightly browned and crisp. With slotted spoon, remove bacon from pan. Drain off all but a tablespoon of fat and reserve it to use as the recipe proceeds, unless you prefer to use all olive oil.

2 Pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels, and season with pepper and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Brown the chicken in a single layer (might need to do it in two batches), about 10 minutes, using as much of the bacon fat or olive oil as needed. Remove to platter.

3 Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Add chopped onions and sliced carrots to pot. Cook for 5 minutes, until onions are very soft. Sprinkle flour over vegetables. Cook for 2 minutes, working flour into the fat. Whisk in broth. Simmer, stirring frequently, until thickened. Whisk in tomato paste.

4 Add wine, bay leaf, thyme and 1/4 teaspoon salt to pot. Add chicken and bacon back to pot. Over high heat, bring to a boil. Cover with foil and lid and place in oven to cook for 1 1/2 hours at 300 degrees.

5 Take pot from oven; remove bay leaf. If not serving it today, let chicken cool to room temperature in the sauce, up to 2 hours, then cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 days.

6 On serving day, set pot over medium high heat and bring to simmer. Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet heat 1 tablespoon each butter and olive oil. Add mushrooms and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and coarsely ground black pepper. Sauté mushrooms over medium high heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in brandy. Add to pot. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.

Jean

If you like this post, please Pin it and share it!