Coq Au Vin

This is what we had for supper Saturday night before Carolina trounced Duke. Coq au Vin is traditionally made with red wine -- and a fair amount of bacon.

My mother used to make this but I don't have her recipe so  I kind of combined several.

I don't have a lot of counter space 

and the various components of the dish were  stacked here and there.

I used two of our chickens -- there were eight of us and I love leftovers.

 

We also had roasted asparagus, new potatoes, and a green salad. My friend Susan brought an amazing Key Lime cheesecake...

Coq Au Vin

Ingredients

• I/2 pound thick-sliced bacon or hog jowl, cut into one inch by quarter inch pieces
• 20 pearl onions, blanched and peeled, or 1 large yellow onion, sliced
• 1 chicken, disjointed, or 3 lbs chicken thighs and legs, with skin
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups dry red wine (pinot noir, burgundy, or cabernet, or merlot)
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 inch piece of celery
• Several fresh thyme sprigs
• Several fresh parsley sprigs
• 1/2 lb button mushrooms, trimmed and cut in half
• 1/2 cup brandy
• 2 Tbsp butter
• Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Method

1 Blanch the bacon to remove some of its saltiness. Drop the bacon into a saucepan of cold water, covered by a couple of inches. Bring to a boil, simmer for 5 minutes, drain. Rinse in cold water, pat dry with paper towels.

2 Brown bacon on medium high heat in a dutch oven  big enough to hold the chicken, about 10 minutes. Remove the cooked bacon, set aside. Keep the bacon fat in the pan.  Brown onions, remove. Working in batches if necessary, add chicken, skin side down. Brown the chicken well, on all sides, about 10 minutes. Halfway through the browning, add the garlic and sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. 


3 Add the chicken stock, wine, and herbs. ( I made the celery and herbs into a bouquet garni, wrapping them with string as in the picture above.) Add back the bacon and onions.. Lower heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, or until chicken is tender and cooked through. Remove chicken and onions to a separate platter. Remove the bay leaves, herb sprigs, garlic, and discard.

4 Add mushrooms and brandy to the remaining liquid and turn the heat to high. Boil quickly and reduce the liquid by three fourths until it becomes thick and saucy. Lower the heat, stir in the butter. Return the chicken and onions to the pan to reheat and coat with sauce. Adjust seasoning. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Serves 4-6.