What do you do when you want to add a little French refinement to your family dinner but don’t have time to make a classic French dish like bœuf bourguignon or coq au vin? Tonight, I cooked a dish that tastes nearly as good as classic coq au vin but was finished in just an hour.
Why Coq Au Vin?
We leave for Paris in five days, at the time I write this, and so tonight I’m making a French meal for dinner. I’ve always idealized French cooking, but I had never had coq au vin until just a few years ago.
It was my honeymoon, and when our flight to Mexico got cancelled, we were stuck in L.A. for a day with my in-laws. Most people might have groaned about spending their honeymoon with their in-laws instead of some beach resort, but I won the lottery when it came to in-laws.
We found a little French bistro in Santa Monica, my father-in-law ordered a fantastic bottle of champagne (that we still buy for special occasions), and I had escargot. My snails were delicious (let’s be honest, I just love butter) and my husband ordered a chicken dish I’d never heard of before.
It was amazing. I’ve always wanted to remake it, but never had the space.
Tonight in honor of going to France in five days and in honor of my loving husband who is taking me to Paris for two months, I’m doing a take on coq au vin.
The History of Coq Au Vin
Coq au vin was originally peasant food in the countryside of France. Tough old roosters (Coq which is where we get the word cock) can be rubbery, so cooking the bird in wine helped break the muscle tissue down and made it tender. I didn’t have a rooster, and you need a cut of meat that will stand up to cooking for a long time. I’m using thighs and drumsticks.
This dish seems to be made typically made with egg noodles, but I’m not keen on egg noodles, so I made roasted potatoes to go with, as well as kale.
Also, if you don’t have mushrooms on hand, that’s fine. I didn’t make it with mushrooms the first time, and I forgot them this time. 🙂
Coq au Vin: the Quick and Easy Way
I adapted a Coq au Reisling recipe from the Food and Wine website, but since I don’t have a Riesling on hand and you can’t find crème fraîche in the South to save your life—I made a few substitutions and voila, it becomes coq au chardonnay. But if you’d like, you can still find the original recipe in the link above.
The proper way to make coq au vin is a bit more complicated, but this one tastes delicious and you can make it in just over an hour.
Ingredients
4 lbs. of chicken pieces (bone in, very important)
1 yellow onion chopped
1 carrot
1 celery rib
2 shallots (about 1/2 cupish chopped)
1 1/2 cups of Chardonnay
1 1/2 cups of chicken stock
4 sprigs of thyme
1/2 cup of sour cream
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Liberally salt (kosher salt is best) chicken and brown the chicken pieces (medium high heat), skin still on. (The key to browning is not moving it around a lot, just let the chicken sit). You can do this in batches if need be.
- Set chicken pieces on plate (do not need to be cooked all the way through). Leave fat in pan.
- Add onions, shallots, celery and carrots to pan and brown till soft (still on medium high).
- Add wine and thyme, make sure to scrape up brown bits (they’re the best part) and simmer for a bit (maybe a minute).
- Add chicken stock.
- Add chicken back in and bring back to boil.
- Put chicken pan, with lid on, in preheated oven for about one hour.
- Have a glass of that chardonnay (you’ve earned it).
- Pull chicken out, put pieces on plate and strain liquid through a fine sieve. Discard onion/celery/carrot bits (unless you’re like my dad, in which case you should put them as a garnish on your plate).
- Bring sauce back to a boil and reduce to about 1 1/2 cups.
- Whisk in sour cream and lemon juice (very important to whisk in, otherwise it looks clumpy and like the cream has curdled).
- Re-add chicken and serve.
*Again, the original recipe calls for mushrooms, I forgot to make them the first time and the second time I sautéed them and didn’t realize I didn’t add them till we’d finished dinner. But typically, they can be added when you re-add the chicken.
What about you? When did you first experience a French meal?
You don't need a culinary degree to make sophisticated food. I want to improve your food education. Sometimes I travel and wear new clothes, and I'll tell you about that, too.
Congrats on your first blog post!! In honor of it I may try out this recipe next week… 🙂
ahh thanks friend!:)
Impressive recipe. I love coq au vin but the long marinate time always intimidates me. I think I’ll try this.
thanks Harold. Let me know how it turns out!:)
This looks and smells amazing. I can smell it through the website. I’m not even joking. Can I come to Paris with you?
PLEASE COME TO PARIS.
I’ve always been impressed by your ability to improv a recipe and produce delicious results. I’m sure this is no exception. Can’t wait to try some of your originals 🙂
you flatter me mrs. m. thanks friend:)
five words that you will thank me for later. david lebovitz and dorie greenspan.
🙂 this looks delicious, and i can’t wait to read along on your adventures in the city of lights.
around the french table is actually one of the ones that helped inspire me towards Paris! you are so right…and I’ll have to look up this lebovitz guy:)
I am so excited to read all your blogs (and try all your recipes!).
thanks heather!:) you’re so kind!
Wish I was there to eat with you! Great blog!!
me too!
Talpal! How wonderful!
thanks friend!
Very Julie and Julia ! I thought this recipe would be really hard and difficult. Not any more, I can’t wait to try it.
thanks becky:) woohoo!
I think you’ve probably already read her books, but a friend recommended this author to me, and you both seem to be passionate about food and fellowship…Shauna Niequist. Bread and Wine is her most recent book. And I will try this recipe out on a 6 year old and a 3 year old. I’m sure the 30-somethings will love it.
Sarah – haha, let me know how the kiddos like it.
I’ve actually never read any of her books, but she went to Joe’s alma mater and I’ve only heard rave reviews. I will check it out, thanks for the rec.
Ça a l’air délicieux! We’ll try it soon. Can’t wait to read more food posts in the future, especially from France. Do you read David Lebovitz? I think you’d like his blog.
and by “we” I mean my wife and I… not the “royal we.”
Jon – I have not read David Lebovitz but you’re now the second person to mention him, I’m going to check him out asap!
Love it! Maybe Phil and I will give this a go. Wish I was going to Paris, too…
do it! and it’s actually pretty cheap!
Love this and you! I can’t wait to read about all of your parisian adventures! If half the items in this recipe weren’t really hard to find around here I would totally be making it this week…someday when I’m stateside I’ll try it out. Or even better, you can make it for me!
thanks friendy!:) ahh the beauty of cooking abroad, right?:) next girls weekend! love you!!
I loved this recipe! I can’t wait to try it myself. Of course I’d love for you to cook it for me again:)
of course you would
So I made this for supper tonight!!!!!!!!!! Instead I used this crazy bottle of moscato. And i added chunks of carrots that we just ate…. the family LICKED the plates and pan clean….. LOVE IT!!!!
did you really???? Was it a cheap bottle of moscato your husband picked up and has been sitting in the basement? Those make the best coq au vin!