Coq au Vin

Foundations Referenced

• → Chicken Stock
• → Mirepoix
• → Bouquet Garni
• → Braising Technique

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces (→ fabrication guide)
• Salt, pepper, flour
• 4 oz thick-cut bacon, cut into lardons
• 1 bottle (750ml) dry red wine (Burgundy or Pinot Noir)
• 2 cups chicken stock (→ foundation)
• 1 onion, medium dice
• 2 carrots, oblique cut
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 bouquet garni (→ foundation)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 8 oz pearl onions, peeled (blanch 1 min to peel easily)
• 8 oz cremini mushrooms, quartered
• 2 tbsp butter
• Fresh parsley

Method

1. Render lardons in a Dutch oven until crispy. Remove, reserve fat.
2. Sear chicken: Season and flour pieces. Brown in bacon fat on all sides, working in batches. Remove.
3. Build aromatics: Sauté mirepoix 5 min. Add tomato paste, cook 2 min. Add garlic.
4. Deglaze: Add entire bottle of wine, scrape fond. Reduce by one-third.
5. Braise: Add stock, bouquet garni, lardons, and chicken. Cover, braise at 325°F for 1.5 hours.
6. Garnish: Meanwhile, sauté pearl onions and mushrooms in butter until golden. Add to pot in last 20 min.
7. Finish: Remove bouquet garni. If sauce is thin, reduce uncovered on stovetop. Garnish with parsley.

Serve with crusty bread, egg noodles, or mashed potatoes.

What You're Practicing

• Full braise method from sear to finish
• Whole-bottle wine reduction — the alcohol cooks off, leaving concentrated grape flavor
• Multi-component timing: garnish cooks while the braise finishes
• Classical French technique at its most iconic