Coq Au Vin

Seriously out of this world!! And this picture doesn't do it justice.


Serves: 6(ish)
Cooking time: 3 hours, give or take

Coq Au Vin, adapted from Smitten Kitchen via Julia Child. A Julie/Liza collaboration.

2 slices of bacon, cut into 1/4" strips.
2 tablespoons butter
1 5 lb. whole chicken, cut into parts
1/3 c brandy
1 bottle of red wine, minus a glass (we used Merlot... because the bottle looked French. And we'll let you decide what do with that extra glass.)
3-4 c chicken stock
1 T tomato paste
2 cloves mashed garlic
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
3/4 lb mushrooms, quartered
1 bag of white pearl onions (8 oz? I can't remember), blanched and peeled
3 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons softened butter
Sprigs of fresh parsley
Fresh thyme

Place bacon in heavy cast iron pot or dutch oven and cook, letting the fat render. Note-- we needed to add some oil to help the fat crisp up! Stubborn bacon.

Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper. Sear chicken in batches (skin side down first), letting a golden crust develop. Set chicken aside.

Add mushrooms and onions to pot and let them caramelize! Season with salt and pepper, and don't stir too often. Don't be afraid to add a little extra fat (chicken, bacon, oil, butter... pick your poison) if the pan seems to dry. Add tomato paste, garlic, and bay leaf and toast until fragrant. Pour in brandy, scraping all of the browned bits off the bottom of the pan (you may need additional brandy for this, depending on how well your caramelizing went!).

Return the chicken to the pot. Add the red wine and enough stock to completely cover the chicken. Let simmer for 30 minutes or so, or until the chicken is cooked through. Meanwhile, mix the butter and flour into a paste. Remove a cup or two of hot liquid and whisk the butter/flour paste into it. Pour this back into the pot, and simmer an additional 10 minutes. Finish with thyme and parsley!

Beautiful prep!


This chicken could have been browner... but we are impatient.


Julie peeling those blanched pearl onions.


Don't you just want to eat that right now!!


Mmmmm, de-glazing.


The whole shebang simmering.


Julie and I started this project around 5:30. It was perfect-- we were able to do it leisurely and it was ready exACTly when we were starting to get hungry, about an hour and a half later. I can't rave about this enough. It was so savory, so rich, so, so, so, EVERYTHING. We served it with a little salad, but I think some nice creamy potatoes would be good too-- you can't let all that sauce go to waste!! Also-- next time I may increase the mushrooms and onions. Though we have a lot of chicken left, we already ate the veggies, my personal favorite part!

Everyone, MAKE THIS! Especially since Winter seems to have come back this week. This will make you cozy AND happy AND full!