food

Coq Au Vin 2019

When in doubt, cook it in wine. Who knew that marinating your chicken in red wine could make it so juicy and flavourful? Throw in some carrots, mushrooms, and onions, and you've got yourself a winner.

food

Coq Au Vin 2019

When in doubt, cook it in wine. Who knew that marinating your chicken in red wine could make it so juicy and flavourful? Throw in some carrots, mushrooms, and onions, and you've got yourself a winner.

Supplies

  • 1 bottle red wine
  • 1 tsp black peppercorns, lightly crushed
  • 1 bouquet garni (parsley stalks, bay leaves, thyme and rosemary tied together)
  • 4 garlic cloves, peeled, left whole
  • 1.5 kg chicken, cut into 10 pieces
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 200g smoked streaky bacon, diced
  • 2 medium carrots, cut into 1cm slices
  • 2 celery sticks, cut into 1cm slices
  • 20 baby onions, peeled but left whole
  • 1 1/2 tbsp plain flour
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 400g small button mushrooms, cleaned
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Steps

  1. Bring the red wine to the boil and let it bubble away for 5 minutes, then take off the heat and leave to cool completely.
  2. In a bowl, mix the chicken pieces, peppercorns, bouquet garni and garlic cloves together and pour the cooled red wine over them.
  3. Cover with cling film, refrigerate and leave to marinate for 8 hours.
  4. Place a colander over a large bowl drain the marinade off the chicken, separate the chicken from the herbs and garlic cloves then pat the chicken dry with kitchen paper. When the chicken is dry, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and place into a frying pan set over a medium heat, cooking skin side down until golden then turning and sealing on all sides. You made need to do this is batches.
  5. With a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
  6. Add the bacon to a large, heavy bottomed cast iron casserole dish, with a lid, and cook until golden and crisp then transfer to the plate with the chicken on - setting aside again.
  7. Add the vegetables and the reserved garlic to the casserole and cook for about 5 minutes until lightly coloured.
  8. Preheat oven to 170 C / 150 C fan.
  9. Spoon all but about 1 tablespoon of the fat from the casserole, add the flour and stir into the vegetables for a few seconds then begin to stir in the wine marinade little by little; doing it in stages like this will create a sauce and prevent lumps forming.
  10. Bring to the boil and add the chicken pieces, bacon and reserved herbs and return to the boil. Cover with a lid and cook in the pre-heated oven for 30 minutes.
  11. Over a medium heat, in a medium non-stick frying pan, heat the olive oil and cook the button mushrooms for 4 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper then mix into the coq au vin, sprinkle with the parsley and serve piping hot, straight from the casserole with buttery mashed potatoes.