Coq au Vin sounds fancy but the dish can actually be made rather simply. The chicken is seared, then braised in a rich red wine sauce with bacon, mushrooms and beautiful pearl onions that infuses it with so much flavor, you will say, "mmmmm" with every bite.
Elevated to a French Culinary superstar recipe by the likes of Julia Child and Jacques Pépin, Coq au Vin is the kind of dish to solicit "ooohs and ahhs" when brought to the table. The dish is not actually all that difficult to make. This recipe takes you through, step by step, how to make a delicious Coq au Vin, made simple.
Coq au Vin is the quintessential French comfort dish. It is a comforting & cozy yet impressive dish that is a favorite for Sunday lunch with the family or a Saturday night dinner party with friends.
Coq au Vin cooking class
Do you want to learn to make Coq au Vin with Le Chef and I walking you through every step? Become a French cooking pro with our the recording of our cooking class. The class is full of Chef's cooking tips and snippets of French language and lifestyle.
Class includes:
- 1.5 hour cooking demonstration
- Q&A
- A downloadable Checklist of French Riviera Cooking Pantry Essentials
- Lifetime replay so that you can go back and watch the class anytime
Frequently Asked Questions:
The direct translation of Coq au Vin is Rooster in Wine Sauce.
Coq au Vin is made with chicken. In Burgundy, France, the tradition was to make this dish with male Chicken (the rooster) because the slow braising technique works well on tough meats. Today, Coq au Vin is made with chicken and is incredibly tender.
Coq au vin is a rich, savory stew of chicken pieces simmered for hours in a red wine sauce. The sautéed bacon, mushrooms, carrots and pearl onions create for layers of flavor that melt in your mouth. Absolutely delicious!
Braising is a dual cooking technique that works very well for large, or tough cuts of meat. First you sear the meat at a high heat to seal in the juices and then you add liquid and bake for an extended amount of time. The meat is not fully immersed in the liquid as it would be a stew.
Ingredients
Coq au Vin (serves four to six)
1 5 lb Whole Chicken or 5 lbs of combined Chicken Thighs, breast and legs, skin on
½ cup chopped bacon or lardons
16 oz mushrooms (any kind will do, button mushroom are the classic, but a wild mushroom mix is wonderful)
8 oz white pearl onions, left whole
3 cups red wine (Pinot Noir is the traditional choice - the dish originates from Burgundy)
1 cup of veal demi-glace. If you can't find veal demi-glace use chicken stock.
1 stick of butter
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp sugar
4 cloves of garlic, sliced
3 carrots, diced (about 1 cup)
3 branches of celery, diced (about one cup)
Bouqet Garni
2 sprigs each of thyme and rosemary
2 bay leaves
1 star anise
(wrap in cheese cloth if you don't wan't the pieces of rosemary to separate in the sauce)
¾ cup of flat leaf parsley, chopped, for garnish
Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a Dutch oven on medium high, heat the olive oil.
If you are starting with a whole chicken, break the chicken into pieces. Start by dislocating the legs (twist and they will pop out easily) and then remove the wings. Slice the breast meat away into two filets, leaving the skin on.
*Very important* Pat the skin dry with a paper towel. This will help it to get a nice sear.
Sear chicken pieces skin down over medium high heat until dark brown pieces stick to the bottom of the pan. You will likely need to do this in two batches. You don't want to crowd the chicken or it won't sear properly.
Remove the chicken and set aside on a plate.
Bring the heat down to medium, add the onions, garlic, butter, sugar and bacon. Sautée, scrapping the bottom of the pan with a spoon to get all the flavorful bits of chicken into the mixture.
Once the onions are translucent, add in the chopped carrots and celery. Stir.
Then add in the mushrooms and stir gently until they soften.
Deglaze the pan with the veal demi-glace (or chicken stock) and scrape the bottom with a spoon (this is where all the flavor comes from!)
Add the bouqet garni and all of the wine. Bring back to a simmer.
Braising the Coq au Vin
Set chicken pieces back in the Dutch oven on top of the vegetable garnish. Cook in oven, uncovered for two hours. (Why uncovered? The sauce reduces better!)
*If you are serving the dish with mashed potatoes - you will want to begin the mashed potatoes while the Coq au Vin is in the oven.
Check the chicken every half hour or so. Carefully move the pieces around so that each piece of chicken is covered with the sauce.
There should be a generous amount of liquid left in the pot, surrounding the chicken.
After the 2 hours are up, remove from the oven. Discard the bouqet garni.
Allow to rest for at least a half hour before serving. This dish is also amazing the next day if you are preparing in advance.
Serving the Coq Au Vin
You can choose to individually plate each serving, but I love bringing this impressive dish in a platter to the table and serving family style.
After the dish has rested, remove the Chicken Pieces from the dutch oven and place on a serving platter.
Put the sauce back on the stove top over medium for 5 minutes to allow the sauce to further reduce.
Chefs tip! If the sauce is too liquid make a "pomade" with 2 tbsps of softened butter and 1 tbsp of flour in a bowl. Mix well together and then add to the simmering sauce, whisking rapidly until the sauce thickens. Make sure to constantly whisk so that you don't get clumps.
Ladle the sauce over the chicken pieces on the platter.
Sprinkle with the parsley and serve immediately.
I like to serve this dish with Le Chef's mashed potatoes. The creamiest mashed potatoes you have ever tasted!
Please leave a comment and a star rating if you make this dish. I LOVE to hear from you!
Wine to serve with Coq au Vin
The recipe originates in Burgundy, France so it would have traditionally been made, and served with the luscious and robust Pinot Noir wines of the regions. Look for a Pinot Noir that is rich and full bodied yet still fruity to pair with this dish. Beaujolais wine also pairs beautifully.
Other Le Chef's Wife Recipes you will enjoy
La Daube Provençale made simple
One pot cheesy chicken and orzo
Mediterranean Branzino Filet Recipe with Vierge Sauce
Roasted Duck Magret with Apples and Squash
About Le Chef's Wife
Bonjour! I am Anina Belle. I translate the fancy cooking of my Michelin-star trained French Chef Husband, Le Chef, into easy to make dishes that busy people with no culinary training (like me!) can make at home. We have two young kids (5 and 2) and I have a full time job in hospitality in addition to this blog. I strongly believe that even busy people deserve to eat well at home.
I share our home cooking on Instagram, pinterest and tiktok. Sign up for my newsletter to be the first to receive my new recipes and have advance access to cooking classes. I look forward to cooking with you!
Bon Appétit!
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Coq au Vin made simple
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Category: Mains
- Method: braised
- Cuisine: French
Description
An iconic French Dish. Chicken that is seared, then braised in a rich red wine sauce that infuses it with so much flavor, you will say, "mmmmm" with every bite. Pearl onions, bacon and mushrooms add a level of flavor complexity, you won't believe you made this dish yourself!
Ingredients
- 1 5 lb Whole Chicken or 5 lbs of combined Chicken Thighs, breast and legs, skin on
- ½ cup chopped bacon or lardons
16 oz mushrooms (any kind will do, button mushroom are the classic, but a wild mushroom mix is wonderful)
8 oz white pearl onions, left whole
3 cups red wine (Pinot Noir is the traditional choice - the dish originates from Burgundy)
1 cup of veal demi-glace. If you can't find veal demi-glace use chicken stock.
1 stick of butter
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp sugar
4 cloves of garlic, sliced
3 carrots, diced (about 1 cup) - 3 branches of celery, diced (about one cup)
- 2 sprigs each thyme and rosemary, finely chopped
2 bay leaves
1 star anise - ¾ cup of flat leaf parsley, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- In a Dutch oven on medium high, heat the olive oil.
- If you are starting with a whole chicken, break the chicken into pieces. Start by dislocating the legs (twist and they will pop out easily) and then remove the wings. Slice the breast meat away into two filets, leaving the skin on.
- *Very important* Pat the skin dry with a paper towel. This will help it to get a nice sear.
- Sear chicken pieces skin down over medium high heat until dark brown pieces stick to the bottom of the pan. You will likely need to do this in two batches. You don't want to crowd the chicken or it won't sear properly.
- Remove the chicken and set aside on a plate.
- Bring the heat down to medium, add the onions, bacon, garlic, butter and the sugar. Sautée, scrapping the bottom of the pan with a spoon to get all the flavorful bits of chicken into the mixture.
- Once the onions are translucent, add in the chopped carrots and celery. Stir.
- Then add in the mushrooms and stir gently until they soften.
- Deglaze the pan with the veal demi-glace (or chicken stock) and scrape the bottom with a spoon (this is where all the flavor comes from!)
- Add the bouqet garni and all of the wine. Bring back to a simmer.
- Set chicken pieces back in the Dutch oven on top of the vegetable garnish. Cook in oven, uncovered for two hours.
- (If you are serving the dish with mashed potatoes - you will want to begin the mashed potatoes while the Coq au Vin is in the oven)
- Check the chicken every half hour or so. Carefully move the pieces around so that each piece of chicken is covered with the sauce.
- There should be a generous amount of liquid left in the pot, surrounding the chicken.
- After the 2 hours are up, remove from the oven. Discard the bouqet garni.
- Allow to rest for at least a half hour before serving. This dish is also amazing the next day if you are preparing in advance.
- Serving the Coq Au Vin
- You can choose to individually plate each serving, but I love bringing this impressive dish in a platter to the table and serving family style.
- After the dish has rested, remove the Chicken Pieces from the dutch oven and place on a serving platter.
- Put the sauce back on the stove top over medium for 5 minutes to allow the sauce to further reduce.
- Ladle the sauce over the chicken pieces on the platter.
- Sprinkle with the parsley and serve immediately.
- I like to serve this dish with Le Chef's mashed potatoes. The creamiest mashed potatoes you have ever tasted!
Notes
Chefs tip! If the sauce is too liquid make a "pomade" with 2 tbsps of softened butter and 1 tbsp of flour in a bowl. Mix well together and then add to the simmering sauce, whisking rapidly until the sauce thickens. Make sure to constantly whisk so that you don't get clumps.
Maureen says
Your recipes are always sheer perfection! Thank you so much for sharing them as I know they’re time consuming to post. I wish I still lived in DC to take some classes with you- it would be great fun! Wishing you continued success- bon appetit!
Suzanne says
Perfect dish for company! It slowly cooks in the oven while you hsve apéro with your guests 🙂