«All
Featured Cookings
French Cuisine: Coq au Vin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coq
au Vin (French: "rooster in wine") is a French
fricassee of rooster cooked with wine, lardons, mushrooms, and
optionally garlic. Older roosters are traditionally used because
they contain a lot of connective tissue, which creates a richer
broth when cooked.
Many regions of France have variants of coq au vin using the
local wine, such as coq au vin jaune (Jura), coq au Riesling
(Alsace), coq au Champagne, and so on. The most extravagant
version is coq au Chambertin, but this generally involves Chambertin
more in name than in practice.
History
Various legends trace coq au vin to ancient Gaul and Julius
Caesar, but the food is not documented until the early 20th
century; it no doubt also existed as a rustic country dish long
before that.
Preparation
Standard recipes call for a coq (chicken), wine (often a full
bottle or two), often brandy, lardons (salt pork), button mushrooms,
and often garlic. Recipes with vin jaune usually specify morels
instead of white mushrooms. The preparation is similar in many
respects to Beef Bourguignon. The lardons are cut as thin strips
and then par-boiled to remove excess salt. They are then sauteed
to render out the fat. Additional oil is added if needed in
order to brown the chicken pieces. A mirepoix of diced carrots,
onions, and celery is added along with minced garlic and allowed
to briefly cook. Then the wine and stock are added to cover.
The traditional seasonings are salt, pepper, thyme, and bay
leaf (usually in the form of a bouquet garni). Mushroom stems
and pieces will often be added at the beginning of the dish
in order to contribute to the flavor of the sauce. Near the
end of the preparation, the sauce may be strained to remove
the cooked vegetables. The sauce is then returned to the chicken
and the whole mushrooms and sometimes pearl onions are added
for the last fifteen minutes of cooking.
The juices are thickened either by making
a small roux at the beginning of cooking, or by adding blood
at the end (technically a soup or stew known as civet in France).
Coq au Vin Recipe
INGREDIENTS
Ideally a rooster, or 1 or 2 chickens
(1.5kg, 3.5 lb), cut into 8 pieces or more
1/2 bottle of full-body Burgundy red wine (or Cotes du Rhone)
6 bacon slices (5 oz), diced
0.5 lb (250g) button mushrooms
A dozen small white onions
2-3 cloves of garlic, mashed
2 carrots, peeled and quartered
Sunflower oil, unsalted butter
Bouquet of herbs: 2 sprigs of thyme and 1 bay leaf, tied all
together with string
Parsley
Salt and pepper
If cooking the same day, add:
1/4 cup of cognac or brandy
For: 6 servings
PREPARATION
1. A day in advance, clean and cut the rooster/chicken in 8
pieces or more. Pour half a bottle of red Burgundy wine over.
2. Add the small white onions, the quartered
peeled carrots and the herbs. Cover and put in the fridge.
3. The next day, remove and drain the chicken
and vegetables. Put the wine aside for later use.
4. Brown the chicken pieces with oil in
a skillet. Remove the chicken. Using the same skillet, add garlic
to the vegetables and heat for a couple of minutes.
5. Put the chicken and the vegetables in
a large sauce pan. Pour the wine and add salt and pepper.
6. Bring to a boil at moderate heat.
7. Cover and cook at low heat for 1 or
2 hours.
8. Heat bacon, onion and mushrooms in a
skillet until brown (10 minutes).
9. When the chicken is ready, add bacon,
onion and mushrooms in the pan, cook and stir for 2 or 3 minutes.
Taste and correct the seasoning.
10. Add parsley to the chicken when finish.
Prepare rice or potatoes to serve with Coq au vin.
Alternate version for cooking the
same day
In step 5, do not pour the wine in the pan now. Pour instead
cognac or brandy over the chicken. Ignite the spirit with a
match. Be extra careful the heat is off and your face away.
Shake the pan for a few seconds. You can now pour the wine in
the pan and follow the recipe as indicated.
Wine suggestion
Red Burgundy wine, or Cotes du Rhone red, Morgon.
Buy book:
The Country Cooking of France
By Anne Willan and France Ruffenach
Chronicle Books, 2007
$30.00 Hardcover
ISBN-10: 0811846466
