Coq au Vin

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Forget everything you know about coq au vin — Ina Garten’s version of the classic French stew is perfect for a fall weeknight dinner.

Ina Garten's Coq au Vin
Photo:

Food & Wine / Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Priscilla Montiel

Active Time:
45 mins
Total Time:
1 hr 45 mins
Servings:
6

“Over the years I’ve tried many times to make a good coq au vin, the renowned French chicken stew with red wine, but with disappointing results,” says Ina Garten. “My television producer Olivia Grove one day told me, ‘Well, it’s just beef bourguignon with chicken,’ and I thought, ‘So it is!’ With that in mind, I adapted my old recipe for beef and came up with an easy chicken version that’s such a satisfying winter dinner. Usually the chicken cooks for hours and is dry and stringy, but I found that after only thirty to forty minutes in the oven, the chicken is perfectly cooked and still tender and juicy.”

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Ingredients

  • Good olive oil

  • 8 ounces good bacon or pancetta, diced

  • 2 (3- to 4-pound) chickens, each cut into 8 serving pieces

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 pound carrots, cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces

  • 2 yellow onions, sliced

  • 2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 cloves)

  • 1/4 cup Cognac or good brandy

  • 1 (750-ml) bottle good dry red wine such as Burgundy

  • 2 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade

  • 1 bunch fresh thyme sprigs

  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided

  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

  • 1 pound frozen small whole onions

  • 1 pound porcini or cremini mushrooms, stems removed and thickly sliced

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove the bacon to a plate with a slotted spoon.

  2. Meanwhile, pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Liberally sprinkle the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. After the bacon is removed, add a few of the chicken pieces in a single layer and brown for about 5 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Remove the chicken pieces to the plate with the bacon and continue to add the chicken in batches until all the chicken is browned. Set aside.

  3. Add the carrots, onions, 1 tablespoon salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper to the pot and cook over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac, stand back!, and carefully ignite with a match to burn off the alcohol. Put the bacon, chicken, and any juices that collect on the plate into the pot. Add the wine, chicken stock, and thyme sprigs and bring to a boil. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and place in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just no longer pink. Remove from the oven and place on top of the stove.

  4. Mash 2 tablespoons of the butter and the flour together in a small bowl and stir the paste into the stew. Add the frozen onions. In a medium sauté pan, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and cook the mushrooms over medium-low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until browned. Add to the stew. Bring the stew to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes. Season to taste. Serve hot.

BE READY WHEN THE LUCK HAPPENS: A Memoir by Ina Garten. Published by Crown, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright © 2024 by Ina Garten.

Courtesy of In Garten

Excerpted from BE READY WHEN THE LUCK HAPPENS by Ina Garten. Published by Crown, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright © 2024 by Ina Garten.

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