Mains · By James
Coq Au Vin (Chicken in Wine)
From the early years of our marriage, Sharon and I loved to experiment with foods from around the world. A dish that we played with in various guises from the mid 1980s was the French classic: chicken in wine. We were beginning our more-involved relationship with wine, and to have a dish that used wine liberally was just perfect! We did the dish with red and white wine variations, experimenting with various recipe ideas, adding in our own variations. For some time, it was our "go-to" special meal for guests; we would have to think back to whether we served it the last time these guests were with us. It was also a special meal for the family when Cam and Joc were young. This recipe is for the red-wine version of coq au vin, a deeply flavored dish that is perfect for a winter meal! The white-wine coq au vin (called coq au vin blanc) is a very different dish, where the wine allows the herbs (usually thyme and rosemary) to show through brightly and the wine has a lively acidity — delicious and considerably lighter.
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 250 g thick-sliced bacon (½ package), sliced crosswise into ½-inch pieces (the French call these "lardons")
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 15 large cremini mushrooms, quartered
- ½ large red onion, finely diced
- 6–8 shallots, whole or cut in half, if large
- 4 tsp all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 cups red wine (500 ml)
- 8+ sprigs fresh thyme (strip leaves and rough chop)
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ½ tsp anchovy paste
- 7–10 drops liquid smoke
Method
- 1
Note: marinate your chicken thighs in the 500 ml of red wine overnight for an intense wine flavor in the meat.
- 2
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- 3
Take chicken thighs out of the red wine marinade, reserving the red wine, and allow thighs to drip dry for 5 minutes (save the liquid and add back into the reserved red wine marinade).
- 4
Season chicken thighs all over with salt and black pepper.
- 5
Place bacon and olive oil in a large enameled braising pan (or Dutch oven) and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper-towel lined plate, leaving drippings in the Dutch oven.
- 6
With heat still on med-high place 6 chicken thighs, skin-side down, into the braising pan. Cook until browned, 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a plate; drain and discard all but 2 tablespoons of drippings from the skillet. You will have wonderful deeply-browned stuff all over the bottom and sides of the pot.
- 7
Then sauté mushrooms, diced onions, and shallots in the hot Dutch oven until golden and caramelized, around 12 minutes. During this time the released liquid from the vegetables will soften the browned stuff in the pot and you can scrape it into the vegetable mixture using a wooden spatula.
- 8
Sprinkle flour onto vegetable mixture and add the butter in small chunks. Stir until completely incorporated.
- 9
Pour red wine marinade into the Dutch oven with the vegetables and bring to a boil while scraping any further browned residue off of the bottom of the pan. Stir bacon and thyme leaves into red wine mixture; simmer until wine is about ⅓ reduced, 5 minutes. Pour chicken broth into wine mixture and set chicken thighs down into the sauce. Bring mixture to a simmer.
- 10
Cook mixture in the preheated oven for 30 minutes with lid on. Take the lid off and cook for 20 minutes to thicken sauce.
- 11
Add the anchovy paste and liquid smoke, season with salt and pepper. Serve with mashed potatoes and glazed carrots.
A note from James
Serve with mashed potatoes, and a side-dish of honey/butter/orange-juice/thyme glazed carrots. For a great white wine version (coq au vin blanc): https://www.pardonyourfrench.com/coq-au-vin-blanc/ Drink/wine pairing: any red wine of some depth with peppery notes — particularly good is an oaky Rioja Reserva, or Italian Primitivo.
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