Coq au Vin classic braise (Print)

Tender chicken braised in red wine with mushrooms, bacon, and pearl onions for rich, deep flavor.

# Components:

→ Protein & Main

01 - 1 whole chicken (approximately 3.3 lbs), cut into 8 pieces
02 - 5.3 oz smoked bacon or pancetta, diced

→ Vegetables

03 - 7 oz pearl onions, peeled
04 - 9 oz cremini or button mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
05 - 2 medium carrots, sliced
06 - 2 garlic cloves, minced

→ Liquids

07 - 2.6 cups dry red wine (e.g., Burgundy or Pinot Noir)
08 - 1.1 cups chicken stock

→ Pantry & Herbs

09 - 2 tbsp tomato paste
10 - 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
11 - 2 tbsp olive oil
12 - 2 tbsp unsalted butter
13 - 2 bay leaves
14 - 4 sprigs fresh thyme
15 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

# Directions:

01 - Pat chicken pieces dry using paper towels and season evenly with salt and pepper.
02 - Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add diced bacon and cook until crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside.
03 - In the same pot, brown chicken pieces in batches over medium heat until golden on all sides. Remove and set aside.
04 - Add carrots, pearl onions, and minced garlic to the pot. Sauté until vegetables are lightly golden, about 5 minutes.
05 - Stir in tomato paste and flour, cooking for 1 minute to combine and develop flavor.
06 - Return chicken and bacon to pot. Pour in red wine and chicken stock. Add bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Scrape any browned bits from the bottom to incorporate flavor.
07 - Bring contents to a simmer. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook gently for 1 hour 30 minutes or until chicken is tender.
08 - While chicken simmers, heat 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté mushrooms until they turn brown, approximately 5 minutes. Set aside.
09 - Remove lid from the pot for the last 15 minutes of cooking to slightly reduce the sauce. Stir in sautéed mushrooms and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.
10 - Discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs before serving. Serve hot, optionally garnished with fresh parsley.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The wine and long braise turn ordinary chicken into something so tender it falls from the bone.
  • You get deep, savory flavors that taste like you've been cooking all day, but it's mostly hands-off time.
  • Bacon and mushrooms do the heavy lifting—they're like little flavor bombs scattered throughout.
02 -
  • Don't skip the browning step—it's the only time you use high heat, and it's what creates the flavor that makes people ask for seconds.
  • The sauce will look thin until you remove the lid in the final 15 minutes; that's normal and actually good, because slow reduction concentrates flavor better than rushing it.
  • Taste at the very end—salt and pepper behave differently after two hours of cooking, and the final seasoning is what makes everything sing.
03 -
  • The night before, brown your chicken and bacon, sauté your vegetables, and store them in the fridge—then the next day you just combine everything and let it braise while you do other things.
  • If your sauce looks too thin at the end, mix a little cornstarch with cold water and stir it in while the braise is simmering—it thickens immediately without changing the flavor.
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