Janet Schneider Recipe Collection
Coq au Vin

4 slices of bacon
8 chicken thighs
1 onion
2 shallots
10 mushrooms quartered
pinch of salt
2 Tbs vegetable oil
2 Tbs flour
2 cups red wine
1 tsp herbes de provence
2 1/2 cups chicken broth

Coq au Vin

Prepare the Coq au Vin Bacon
So my version of this fabulous dish starts with some bacon. I have 4 slices cut in 1/4-in pieces. On medium heat we're going to crisp that up and reserve it. Then in the same pan, we're going to leave 1 tbsp of the bacon fat, and put in 10 mushrooms quartered. I like the brown ones. And a pinch of salt, which will help draw out the water and in about 10 minutes those will be nicely browned. Then we're going to reserve those.

Prepare the Chicken for Coq au Vin
I have 8 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin on. Salt and pepper both sides well. On med-high heat in 2 tbsp of vegetable oil, we're going to sear those skin side down until they are browned, about 10 minutes. I turned them over and cooked the other side for a couple minutes. Then reserve the chicken thighs.

Add the Vegetables for Coq au Vin
In the same pan, remove all the excess fat and put in 2 tbsp butter, 1 onion, large dice, and 2 sliced shallots. Give it a pinch of salt. We're going to saut? that until the shallots get nice and dark brown, which will help color the sauce. It's going to take about 5 minutes. When the shallots are brown, add 2 tbsp of flour.

Make the Roux for Coq au Vin
We're going to make a little roux in there and cook it for 2 minutes. When the flour is cooked add 2 cups of red wine. Coq au vin just means chicken cooked in wine. And a tsp of dried French herbs, that's herbes de Provence. And we're going to let that thicken up. It's only going to take about 5 minutes. By the way, one reason we really wanted to brown the shallots is so we can get this amazingly beautiful color for the sauce.

Cook the Coq au Vin
Then, in a Dutch oven, or something with a tight-fitting lid, because this is going to go in the oven, we're going to put the chicken at the bottom. Put the mushroom and onion mixture over the top, and add 2 1/2 cups chicken broth. And that's pretty much it. Cover it and we're going to put it in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour.

Serve the Coq au Vin
And when it's done it smells unbelievable, and it looks good too. Now you can serve it like this if you want, but the sauce is a little thin for my tastes. I like to take out the chicken and reduce the sauce for about 5 minutes on high boil. You can also skim some of the fat from the top. It just thickens up so beautifully.

I'm going to put the chicken in the serving platter and pour over the mushrooms, the bacon, the onions and the amazing wine sauce. And there you go, a classic French dish. Hopefully you're going to overcome two fears here: cooking French food, and cooking with wine, because it really easy and incredibly delicious. Please give this a try. Enjoy.

I made this once with friends out of the Julia Childs cookbook, but it seemed like a lot more steps. In France, I understand that it is made with a male chicken... bon appetite!

Recipe Contributed by A chef on About.com