Coq au Vin

I have heard of this recipe but never tried it. Fanfare and fanciness are not a big part of my cooking. And while I use recipes, they are rarely followed twice.

Coq au Vin (french for Chicken in Wine, pronounce kinda like "coo-coa vaun") was a medium on the time and labor intensity. Also, I don't drink and had to ask my MIL to pick up some red wine for the dish. She chose Fat Bastard red wine, which has a great label.

4 slices of bacon
Whole Chicken- cut into pieces or 4 chick breasts- remove skin
3 TB parsley- fresh, rinsed, dried and chopped
5 cloves of Shallots- sliced thinly
1 small container of mushrooms- recipe called for Crimini- I used Mini Bellas
2 cloves of garlic- pressed
1 1/2 c chicken broth
1 1/2 c red wine
4 tsps flour
salt and pepper


Preheat oven. Add bacon to a skillet, fry til crisp. Remove to plate lined with paper towel. Season chicken with salt and pepper and half or parsley. Add to pan of hot grease. Cook 6 minutes on each side. Remove to baking dish and place in oven to finish cooking.

Add chopped mushrooms and shallots to hot bacon/chicken juice skillet. Saute until just tender. Add pressed garlic to pan, toss for 10 seconds. Add wine and 1 1/4 cups of chicken broth and 1 TB parsley. Bring to a boil. Reduce.

Meanwhile, place flour in a small bowl, add the rest of broth and stir to incorporate and remove lumps. Set aside. Roughly chop bacon. Check that chicken is cooked through.

Add flour mix to reduced sauce. Let thicken for 3-4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Arrange chicken on a platter and add sauce (or be lazy and add sauce to chicken in baking dish). Serve.

Really a very rich, dark sauce. My husband gave it a rating of one of my top five dishes to date. Served with Creamy lemon, herb rice (recipe to come), sauteed asparagus and sourdough bread and brie.

Right after I made this (and my husband gobbled it up) we saw Alton Brown making his version. It was cool to hear the history and science behind this dish. Of course, watching him made me realize I didn't use the "Cock" in Coq-au-Vin (used a lame ol' hen) or the special pork or the overnight thing but what the hell I am a "stupides d'Amérique".