The Global Kitchen: Coq Au Vin from France

 I have loved the look and idea of this dish for years. I tried it once, but it was a bit heavy on the wine. I wanted to try it again and I found a recipe that is yummy. 

A bit of history first. Coq Au Vin means chicken with wine. It is a French dish with chicken braised with wine, bacon, mushrooms, and garlic. It is typically used with a red Burgandy wine. The dish can be traced to ancient Gaul and Julius Ceasar but was not documented until the early 20th century. It is thought to have been a rustic dish long before that. It has become a popular dish since Julia Child made it and added it to her cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking. It has become one of her signature dishes and increased the popularity of the dish in the United States. 

Usual seasonings used in Coq Au Vin are salt, pepper, thyme, parsley, and bay leaf. 

I used a recipe from my new cookbook Half Baked Harvest and made a few adjustments for my taste. 

The Ingredients:

3-4 slices of bacon, chopped

4 TBSP olive oil

1 sweet onion diced

4 garlic cloves, minced or grated

1 small russet potato, cut into 1/2 in pieces

2 medium carrots, cut into 1/2 in pieces

2 TBSP tomato paste

1 1/2 lbs of chicken

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

2 C sliced cremini mushrooms

2 C red wine

2 C chicken broth

2 bay leaves

4 springs of fresh thyme

The Recipe:

In a large Dutch oven, cook the bacon over med hi heat until crisp. 

Add 2 TBSP olive oil, the onion, garlic, potato, and carrots and cook until softened. 

Stir in the tomato paste.

Push the veggies to the edges and add remaining olive oil to middle and add chicken seasoned with

    salt and pepper and sear until browned on each side. 

Stir in the mushrooms and cook another 1-2 minutes until softened. 

Slowly pour in the red wine and the chicken stock.

Add the bay leaves, thyme, and season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. 

Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes or until the sauce has reduced by 1/3.

To serve, remove and discard the bay leaves and thyme.

My alterations:

I used garlic powder instead of garlic gloves. 

I used boneless skinless chicken thighs and seasoned them also with Herbes de Provence seasoning.

I used mushroom based better than bouillon instead of mushrooms (I am not a fan of the texture).

I used dried thyme and ground bay leaves instead of fresh (these did not need to be removed).

I also cooked this in my slow cooker, I braised everything together until the chicken was seared then I

    slow cooked for 4 hours, for the last 30 minutes I took the lid off to thicken the sauce.

For a side, I made some wild rice in my rice cooker and added some of the mushroom-based bouillon with chicken stock.