Coq au Vin (Chicken Braised in Red Wine)

Chicken slowly braised in red wine with bacon, mushrooms and baby onions until the sauce is dark, glossy and rich.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 30 min
Cook: 1h 30m
Total: 2 hours
Vegetarian
❌
Nuts
❌
Serves
6 people
Difficulty
Easy

Ingredients

  • 1.8kg chicken thighs and drumsticks, bone in and skin on (about 8 pieces)
  • 2 tbsp plain flour, seasoned
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 200g smoked bacon lardons
  • 12 baby onions or small shallots, peeled
  • 250g chestnut mushrooms, halved
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 carrots, thickly sliced
  • 2 tbsp tomato purée
  • 750ml red wine (a Burgundy or other fruity red)
  • 300ml chicken stock
  • 3 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 25g unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 tbsp plain flour (for thickening)
  • Chopped fresh parsley, to serve
  • Salt and black pepper to taste

Method

  1. Toss the chicken in the seasoned flour. Heat the oil in a large casserole over a medium-high heat and brown the chicken in batches, skin-side down first, for 6 to 8 minutes per batch. Set aside.

  2. In the same pan fry the lardons and baby onions for 8 minutes until golden. Add the mushrooms and cook for 4 minutes, then lift everything out with a slotted spoon and set aside.

  3. Add the garlic, carrots and tomato purée to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in the wine, scraping up the base of the pan, and boil for 5 minutes until reduced by a third.

  4. Return the chicken to the pan with the stock, thyme and bay leaves. Cover and cook in an oven preheated to 160°C (140°C fan) for 45 minutes.

  5. Add the lardons, onions and mushrooms, then cook uncovered for a further 30 minutes until the chicken is very tender and the sauce is reduced.

  6. Mash the butter and 1 tbsp flour into a paste and whisk it into the sauce in small pieces over a low heat, simmering for 3 minutes to thicken. Remove the thyme stalks and bay leaves.

  7. Season to taste, scatter with parsley and serve with mashed potato or crusty bread.