Coq Au Vin

Coq au Vin is a classic French dish that combines tender chicken, flavorful bacon, mushrooms, and onions, all simmered in a rich red wine sauce. This recipe is the epitome of comfort food, with its hearty ingredients and complex flavors. The chicken is first browned and then slowly cooked in a combination of red wine, cognac, and herbs, creating a luscious sauce that coats the tender meat. Served with brown-braised onions and sautéed mushrooms, Coq au Vin is a dish that truly showcases the artistry of French cuisine. Here’s how to make it:

INGREDIENTS:

• A heavy, 10-inch, fireproof casserole
• A 3-to 4-ounce chunk of bacon
• 2 1/2 to 3 pounds cut-up frying chicken
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups young, full-bodied red wine such as Burgundy, Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone or Chianti
• 1/4 cup cognac
• 1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 to 2 cups brown chicken stock, brown stock or canned beef bouillon
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• 2 cloves mashed garlic
• 12 to 24 brown-braised onions (recipe follows)
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 pound sautéed mushrooms (recipe follows)
• 2 tablespoons softened butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• Sprigs of fresh parsley

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Remove the rind of and cut the bacon into lardons (rectangles 1/4-inch across and 1 inch long). Simmer for 10 minutes in 2 quarts of water. Rinse in cold water. Dry.
2. Sauté the bacon slowly in hot butter until it is very lightly browned. Remove to a side dish.
3. Dry the chicken thoroughly. Brown it in the hot fat in the casserole.
4. Season the chicken. Return the bacon to the casserole with the chicken. Cover and cook slowly for 10 minutes, turning the chicken once.
5. Uncover, and pour in the cognac. Averting your face, ignite the cognac with a lighted match. Shake the casserole back and forth for several seconds until the flames subside.
6. Pour the wine into the casserole. Add just enough stock or bouillon to cover the chicken. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic, and herbs. Bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer slowly for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and its juices run a clear yellow when the meat is pricked with a fork. Remove the chicken to a side dish.
7. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms (recipe follows).
8. Simmer the chicken cooking liquid in the casserole for a minute or two, skimming off the fat. Then raise the heat and boil rapidly, reducing the liquid to about 2 1/4 cups. Correct seasoning. Remove from heat and discard bay leaf.
9. Blend the butter and flour together into a smooth paste (buerre manie). Beat the paste into the hot liquid with a wire whip. Bring to the simmer, stirring, and simmer for a minute or two. The sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon lightly.
10. Arrange the chicken in the casserole, place the mushrooms and onions around it, and baste with the sauce. If this dish is not to be served immediately, film the top of the sauce with stock or dot with small pieces of butter. Set aside uncovered. It can now wait indefinitely.
11. Shortly before serving, bring to the simmer, basting the chicken with the sauce. Cover and simmer slowly for 4 to 5 minutes, until the chicken is hot enough.
12. Serve from the casserole or arrange on a hot platter. Decorate with sprigs of fresh parsley.

Oignons Glacés à Brun [Brown-braised Onions]:

1. For 18 to 24 peeled white onions about 1 inch in diameter:
2. 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
3. 1 1/2 tablespoons oil
4. A 9-to 10-inch enameled skillet
5. 1/2 cup of brown stock, canned beef bouillon, dry white wine, red wine, or water
6. Salt and pepper to taste
7. A medium herb bouquet: 3 parsley springs, 1/2 bay leaf, and 1/4 teaspoon thyme tied in cheesecloth
8. When the butter and oil are bubbling in the skillet, add the onions and sauté over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, rolling the onions about so they will brown as evenly as possible. Be careful not to break their skins. You cannot expect to brown them uniformly.
9. Pour in the liquid, season to taste, and add the herb bouquet. Cover and simmer slowly for 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but retain their shape, and the liquid has evaporated. Remove the herb bouquet. Serve them as they are.

Champignons Sautés Au Beurre [Sautéed Mushrooms]:

1. A 10-inch enameled skillet
2. 2 tablespoons butter
3. 1 tablespoon oil
4. 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, washed, well dried, left whole if small, sliced or quartered if large
5. 1 to 2 tablespoons minced shallots or green onions (optional)
6. Salt and pepper
7. Place the skillet over high heat with the butter and oil. As soon as you see the butter foam has begun to subside, indicating that it is hot enough, add the mushrooms. Toss and shake the pan for 4 to 5 minutes. During their sauté, the mushrooms will at first absorb the fat. In 2 to 3 minutes, the fat will reappear on their surface, and the mushrooms will begin to brown. As soon as they have browned lightly, remove from heat.
8. Toss the shallots or green onions with the mushrooms. Sauté over moderate heat for 2 minutes.
9. Sautéed mushrooms may be cooked in advance, set aside, then reheated when needed. Season to taste just before serving.