Coq Au Vin

Ah, yes. Time for Coq au Vin. 

Meaning "chicken with wine," this is a famous French dish that was popularized in America by Julia Child. This culinary school staple involves rendered bacon, chicken, and vegetables poached in wine and topped with caramelized sweet onions and mushrooms. 

Recipe here. Check out our versions below and be sure to give it a shot.

Dan's Version

C'est délicieux! What isn't there to love about this dish? It contains the holy trinity (onions, celery and carrots), wine, pearl onions, and did I mention bacon? 

Slow cooking chicken has the remarkable benefit of keeping the poultry moist, but by browning it beforehand, it also has a crunchy exterior. Just make sure to adequately season your poultry before browning.  

Here are my recommendations when making this dish:

1.) If you feel you are missing out on some starch, add some potatoes to the dish.

2.) Do not over-brown your chicken. Remember it still needs to cook in the wine, and you do not want it to dry out.

3.) Pearl onions are a unique type of onion. Do not fear eating a whole onion, they are surprisingly mild and add a level of sweetness to the dish. 

4.) Keep checking on the Coq au vin. Do not allow it to over reduce. 

5.) Finally, use a dry wine. A Riesling should be just fine. Stay away from Canadian and German wines which tend to be sweeter and have lower alcohol content.  

Mo's Version

Wonderful dish and great way to learn about basic cooking at home. Give it a try and you'll see why it is a staple in French cuisine.

My favorite part about the recipe was learning about the flour slurry. This is when you mix flour and water and add it to your stew so it can thicken. Next time I have a stew or soup that would benefit from a thicker consistency I'll be using this method.

Tips:

-Disagree with Dan. Brown the chicken! Chicken skin usually gets a bad reputation because it is often rubbery and not cooked well. Just keep it on medium heat until the skin is crispy. This will be delicious.

-When cooking bacon also keep it on medium heat. This will prevent it from burning and let it render nicely.

-I individually cut and peeled the boiler onions. This took a long time. Feel free to use frozen pearl onions.

-Serve on top of butter noodles if you want to stick to tradition. 

Bon Appétit!