Coq au Vin (French Red Wine Braised Chicken with Mushrooms)

Name: Coq au Vin (French Red Wine Braised Chicken with Mushrooms)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 90 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: Chicken pieces 1 whole; Red wine 500 ml; Bacon lardons 150 g; Shallots (or pearl onions) 200 g; Button mushrooms 200 g; Tomato paste 2 tbsp; Chicken stock 300 ml; Garlic 4 clove; Fresh thyme 3 piece; Olive oil 2 tbsp; Salt 1 tsp; Black pepper 0.5 tsp

Quick answer

Total time: 90 min
Level: Medium
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients: 12

About this dish

Simmered gently in red wine, chicken pieces take on the wine's fruit and tannin, ending in a dark, concentrated sauce.

The flavor foundation is laid at the start, when the chicken is browned in batches to leave a brown crust on the pan that the wine then dissolves. Bacon lardons, shallots, and garlic build on that base. Better wine gives a deeper sauce, and the dish improves if made a day ahead and reheated.

Ingredients

servings

IngredientAmount

Chicken pieces1 whole

Shallots (or pearl onions)

Garlic4 clove

Fresh thyme3 piece

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Instructions

6 steps

1

Pat the chicken pieces dry, then season with 1 tsp salt and 0.5 tsp pepper.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat and brown the chicken in batches until golden on all sides, avoiding crowding so the surface sears instead of steaming.
2

Lift the chicken out and keep the pan on medium heat.

Cook 150 g bacon lardons until the fat renders and the edges crisp, then add 200 g shallots and 4 garlic cloves and cook until the shallots look translucent at the edges.
3

Pour in 500 ml red wine and scrape up the browned fond from the bottom of the pan.

Boil for 3 to 5 minutes until the harsh alcohol aroma softens, then stir in 300 ml chicken stock and 2 tablespoons tomato paste.
4

Return the chicken to the pan and arrange it so the sauce comes about halfway up the pieces.

Add 3 sprigs fresh thyme, cover, and keep at a gentle low simmer for 30 minutes, adjusting the heat if the liquid boils hard.
5

Add 200 g button mushrooms after the first 15 minutes of the 30-minute simmer, pressing them gently into the sauce.

Adding them earlier can make them collapse, so cook only until they are tender but still hold their shape.
6

When the chicken is tender, lift it out and keep it warm.

Simmer the sauce over medium heat until it coats the back of a spoon, taste and adjust the seasoning, then spoon it over the chicken to serve.