Classic French Chicken Braised with Wine and Vegetables
I love this recipe. It’s the best of Barefoot Contessa in all the right ways – classic French cooking, made simple with good quality ingredients. Everything comes together as a simple but elegant dinner that feels like you spent the entire day making it. She once described this dish as beef bourguignon made with chicken. Now we know why we love it so much!
Also – I HIGHLY recommend making Boursin mashed potatoes to go with it… Perfection – my mashed potato recipe is here, and I just add 1/2 a block of Boursin to it. https://walestable.com/garlic-yukon-gold-mashed-potatoes/
Coq Au Vin
Classic French Chicken Braised in red wine with vegetables
Ingredients
- Good olive oil
- 8 oz diced pancetta, or bacon
- 4 lbs. bone in skin on chicken breasts or thighs (you can do a mix)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound carrots cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
- 2 yellow onions diced
- 2 cloves chopped garlic
- 1/4 cup Cognac or good brandy
- 1/2 750-ml bottle good dry red wine such as Burgundy (I used pinot noir)
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 bunch fresh thyme sprigs
- 2 Tbsp butter at room temperature, divided
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 8 oz frozen small whole onions
- 8 oz porcini or cremini mushrooms stems removed and thickly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the pancetta (or bacon) and cook fo 7 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove to a plate with a slotted spoon.
- Meanwhile, pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Liberally sprinkle the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. After the bacon is removed, add a few of the chicken pieces in a single layer and brown for about 5 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Remove the chicken pieces to the plate with the bacon and continue to add the chicken in batches until all the chicken is browned. Set aside.
- Add the carrots, onions, 1 tablespoon salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper to the pot and cook over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac carefully. Put the pancetta, chicken, and any juices that collect on the plate into the pot. Add the wine, chicken stock, and thyme sprigs and bring to a boil. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and place in the oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked. Remove from the oven and place on top of the stove.
- Mash 2 tablespoons of the butter and the flour together in a small bowl and stir the paste into the stew. Add the frozen onions. In a medium sauté pan, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and cook the mushrooms over medium-low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until browned. Add to the stew. Bring the stew to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes. Season to taste. Serve hot.
Notes
This is from the Barefoot Contessa, written in her Back to Basics cookbook. I adapted a few things, including simply using bone in skin on chicken breasts and thighs, vs cutting up a whole chicken.
