Coq au vin. Does one have a preference...the classic v.s. Julia's? I know some of you make it

Marg CDN

Well-known member
regularly. I have made it only a few times and these times are becoming sooooo long ago.

Coq au Vin Julia Child Yield: 4 servings

4 slices thick cut bacon

3 lb. chicken breasts and legs, skin on (2 breasts & 2 drums)

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 tsp minced garlic

2 bay leaves

1 sprig fresh rosemary, minced

2 cups red wine

2 cups chicken broth

2 tbsp butter

3 tbsp flour

10 oz sliced mushrooms

¼ tsp pepper

½ tsp salt (or, to taste)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Fry the bacon over medium heat in a dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed pot. Drain, chop and set aside. Keep about 1 T. of the bacon grease in the pot.

Turn heat to high and place chicken, skin-side down in the pot. Sear chicken until golden brown on both sides, about eight minutes. Then, add the onions, garlic, bay leaves and rosemary. Continue sautéing until the onions begin to soften, about six minutes.

Add the chicken broth and red wine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, carefully remove the chicken from the pot and place in an oven-safe dish. Keep chicken warm in the oven while you work on the sauce.

Stir the flour and butter (butter should melt instantly in the pot) into the red wine sauce. Bring back up to a boil and stir constantly----sauce should be begin to thicken. Add mushrooms, chopped bacon, salt and pepper and continue cooking for 10-12 minutes. Keep in mind that the sauce will also thicken up a bit when it cools. Place chicken back in sauce and serve.

Classic Coq au Vin Bon Appétit | October 2002

Marinating the chicken in the wine mixture adds flavor. Starting two days ahead and rewarming the dish improves that flavor.

Marinating chicken

1 750-ml bottle French Burgundy or California Pinot Noir

1 large onion, sliced

2 celery stalks, sliced

1 large carrot, peeled, sliced

1 large garlic clove, peeled, flattened

1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 6-pound roasting chicken, backbone removed, cut into 8 pieces (2 drumsticks, 2 thighs, 2 wings with top quarter of adjoining breast, 2 breasts)

Cooking chicken

1 tablespoon olive oil Chopped fresh parsley

6 ounces thick-cut bacon slices, cut crosswise into strips

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

2 large shallots, chopped

2 large garlic cloves, chopped

4 large fresh thyme sprigs

4 large fresh parsley sprigs

2 small bay leaves

2 cups low-salt chicken broth

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter

1 pound assorted fresh wild mushrooms (such as crimini and stemmed shiitake)

20 1-inch-diameter pearl onions, or boiling onions, peeled

For marinating chicken:

Combine wine, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, and peppercorns in large pot. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 5 minutes. Cool completely; mix in oil. Place chicken pieces in large glass bowl. Pour wine mixture over chicken; stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 day and up to 2 days, turning chicken occasionally.

For cooking chicken:

Using tongs, transfer chicken pieces from marinade to paper towels to drain; pat dry. Strain marinade; reserve vegetables and liquid separately.

Heat oil in heavy large pot (wide enough to hold chicken in single layer) over medium-high heat. Add bacon and sauté until crisp and brown. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to small bowl. Add chicken, skin side down, to drippings in pot. Sauté until brown, about 8 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to large bowl. Add vegetables reserved from marinade to pot. Sauté until brown, about 10 minutes. Mix in flour; stir 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in reserved marinade liquid. Bring to boil, whisking frequently. Cook until sauce thickens, whisking occasionally, about 2 minutes. Mix in shallots, garlic, herb sprigs, and bay leaves, then broth. Return chicken to pot, arranging skin side up in single layer. Bring to simmer; reduce heat to medium-low. Cover pot and simmer chicken 30 minutes. Using tongs, turn chicken over. Cover and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes longer.

Meanwhile, melt 3 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms; sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to plate. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in same skillet. Add onions and sauté until beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Transfer onions to plate alongside mushrooms; reserve skillet.

Using tongs, transfer chicken to plate. Strain sauce from pot into reserved skillet, pressing on solids in strainer to extract all sauce; discard solids. Bring sauce to simmer, scraping up browned bits. Return sauce to pot. Add onions to pot and bring to simmer over medium heat. Cover and cook until onions are almost tender, about 8 minutes. Add mushrooms and bacon. Simmer uncovered until onions are very tender and sauce is slightly reduced, about 12 minutes. Tilt pot and spoon off excess fat from top of sauce. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Return chicken to sauce. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled.) Rewarm over low heat.

Arrange chicken on large rimmed platter. Spoon sauce and vegetables over. Sprinkle with parsley.

Combine wine, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, and peppercorns in large pot. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 5 minutes. Cool completely; mix in oil. Place chicken pieces in large glass bowl. Pour wine mixture over chicken; stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 day and up to 2 days, turning chicken occasionally.

 
I made Julia's to outstanding compliments. l did caramelize a bunch of onions first and used my own

uber-strength chicken stock. I mean, you could cut that sucker with a knife when it was cold. Very tasty.

 
I am intrigued...

LInk is the recipe we've used for years (decades) at our house..

But that marinating. It's like Sauerbraten or Bouef a la Mode!!!

Must needs try this method.

I have a pork loin roast thawing to roast this weekend along with all the accompanist for my annual October Bavarian dinner (Riesling sauerkraut, potato dumplings, Bavarian pretzels, green salad) but I have a potluck the week after and I will give this a try for that.

https://finerkitchens.com/swap/forum/index.php?action=display&forumid=1&msgid=261800

 
Good stock is the foundation of any good meal worth its bother...

For big dinners I start out a week ahead to make my stock with pounds of bones, meat scraps, and veg. It is simmered for days, strained, clarified until it is basically aspic and solid at room temp. It goes in nearly every dish for a German dinner, from the salad to soup to sauces, etc

It is the foundation to build the flavors on. The flimsy colored salt water in the cans need not apply at my house.

Side note: I was looking at an early 20th C Imperial Russian cookbook (also the source of the Russian Potato Casserole) and they went to extremes to build bold stocks, because like the Germans and other Central/Eastern Europeans, those stocks would also serve as the soup course for large meals with a garnish or two added. In one stock recipe that went on with pounds of meat, bones, and veg, after the inital batch had been simmered for hours and strained, another couple pounds of beef were chopped up and added to the already rich broth to simmer and "enrich" the stock.

Oh those 19th European palace kitchens, restraint and frugality were not their forte.

 
Okay, well maybe I'll just do a bit of messing with each method and come up with something

special. (never to recall again, what the heck I did)

Thank you both for your comments.

 
Buying most of the ingredients this weekend to make this for next...

and a question: What do you like to serve with this?

I was going to do my usual mashed potatoes, but would like to know what is traditional.

 
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