Coq au Vin
Serves: 8
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cooking Time: Two hours
Wine Pairing: This is a simple, hearty meal, so there’s no need to break out a First Growth. Try any Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur, or any number of wines from the Saint-Emilion appelations. Of course, if you can find one of the Fagard’s wines, you’ll reproduce Florence’s recipe to a T.
Coq au Vin is clearly a French recipe, but narrowing down what region it comes from is more than a challenge. It’s often associated with Burgundy, but each region of France has its own way of preparing this easy, savory, chicken stew.
Our Bordeaux-version Coq au Vin recipe comes from Florence Fagard, owner of Châteaus Cornemps and Bois Redon. If you’ve been to Bordeaux with us, you’ve likely enjoyed an extravagant feast with the Fagards.
Click here for a printable version of the recipe.
Ingredients:
- 1 41/2 lb. (2kg) Chicken
- 5 1/2 oz. (150g) lardons or bacon
- 1 bottle of Bordeaux — The Fagard’s Château La Jorine is a good choice
- 2 oz. Cognac or brandy
- 3 1/2 Tbs. (50g) butter
- 1/4 cup (30g) flour
- 1/2 lb. (250g) mushrooms
- 2 onions
- 3 shallots
- 1 clove of garlic
- Bouquet garni (1 bay leaf, parsley, thyme)
- 1 Tbs. tomato concentrate
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Divide the chicken into parts, like you would for fried chicken: legs, wings, etc.
Dice the lardons or bacon.
Dice the onions and shallots, crush the garlic, and sauté them in the butter until they’re translucent.
Add the chicken and half of the lardons (bacon) and brown for a few minutes.
Sprinkle with flour and leave for a moment on a high flame.
Pour the Cognac over the top and flambé to burn off the alcohol.
Add the wine, tomato concentrate, salt, pepper and bouquet garni. Cover and simmer for about two hours.
While the chicken is cooking, blanch the remaining lardons (bacon) for several minutes in boiling water.
Drain and cook in a small pan with the mushrooms for 10 minutes.
Add the lardons (bacon) to the chicken about 45 minutes before serving.
At serving time, remove the bouquet garni from the sauce. Place the pieces of chicken in a serving plate, and add the mushrooms.
Adjust the seasoning of the sauce and pour it over the top.
This Coq au Vin is delicious with rice or mashed potatoes.
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