Coq Au Vin
A traditional French stew, coq au vin is a rich red wine-braised chicken dish that’s easy enough for a weeknight meal, yet elegant and impressive for a dinner party or holiday meal. This recipe is so good I would serve it to chef Daniel Boulud without flinching. I often serve coq au vin with mashed or roasted potatoes, but here, I’ve opted for toast. Inspired by a recent trip to New Orleans—where classic restaurants like Galatoire’s serve many fish and crab dishes over toast to catch all of the drippings and gravy—I was reminded of how much I love the humble combination of gravy and toast. This is deeply satisfying rustic French farmhouse food at its best.
Watch Andrew make this recipe:
Coq Au Vin
Ingredients
- 1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces
- 3 cups red wine, I prefer Cotes du Rhone from Guigal
- 12 cloves garlic
- Bouquet garni of rosemary, bay, parsley and thyme
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 ribs celery, sliced
- 2 carrots, sliced
- 1 onion, halved
- 1 shallot, sliced
- Pepper
- Salt
- 10 ounces diced tomatoes
- 1 cup rich chicken stock
Optional finish:
- 1 shallot, micro diced
- 1 rib celery, micro diced
- 1 carrot, micro diced
- Toast, for serving
Instructions
Wash and dry the chicken pieces. Place the chicken, red wine, garlic and bouquet garni in a large zip top bag or covered non-reactive bowl and marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
Remove from the fridge, and strain into a large bowl, reserving the wine and solids.
Place the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken on both sides.
Add the reserved bouquet garni and garlic from the marinade. Next, add the celery, carrots, onion and shallot. Season with pepper and salt. Pour in the diced tomatoes and the reserved red wine from the marinade.
Bring to a boil, then lower heat to maintain a simmer and let reduce for about 10 minutes. Add the chicken stock, cover and simmer for 45 to 60 minutes, or until the chicken is tender.
Remove chicken to a platter. Turn the heat up slightly and cook until the sauce has reduced by half.
You could serve the coq au vin in a more rustic style with the large chunks of vegetables, adding the chicken pieces back into the sauce now to reheat, or you can strain the sauce. If you go with the latter, strain the sauce and pour it back into the pan. Add micro-diced shallot, celery and carrots. Season with salt and pepper. Place the reserved chicken pieces back in the sauce to reheat. Cook for about 10 minutes, then serve over toast.
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