December 21, 2023

Make Ahead Coq au Vin

Coq au Vin is a classic French dish that is perfect for a cozy night in. The combination of tender chicken, rich sauce, and savory vegetables make for a warm and satisfying meal. The aroma of the dish as it cooks will fill your home with the most incredible scent. I usually serve it over egg noodles or gluten free egg noodles, but it can also be served with mashed potato, crusty bread, or all by itself. Whether you’re sharing it at a dinner party with friends and family or enjoying it on your own, Coq au Vin is a wonderful way to warm up. This is seriously delicious comfort food.

Ina Garten has a modified version of the traditional classic French Coq au Vin recipe. The original recipe for Coq au Vin was a lengthy and elaborate process that involved marinating the chicken overnight in wine, bacon, and vegetables before slowly simmering it in a rich sauce with mushrooms, onions, and bacon.

Ina Garten’s version simplifies the recipe, making it more accessible for home cooks. Her modifications include using bone-in chicken pieces instead of a whole chicken. She also cooks the dish in the oven instead of on the stovetop. It’s essentially the same recipe as her beef bourgionion, so you know it’s going to be amazing!

I follow Ina’s recipe with a few slight additional modifications that I find simplifies the process for my needs. First of all, I prefer boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breast to bone in chicken. I also toss in the pearl onions earlier in the process. This ensures that they have enough time to cook and become tender.

I also find that cooking the entire recipe for even longer than she recommends will allow the flavors to meld together even further and ensure that the chicken becomes extremely tender and falls apart easily. Preparing this dish around lunchtime for a evening dinner party allows it to spend most of the afternoon at a low heat developing an amazing flavor and frees me up to do the rest of my dinner party prep!

Coq Au Vin is sure to be a hit at your next dinner party or family gathering. This dish is hearty and flavorful, and it’s perfect for a cold winter’s night or a special occasion. Bon appétit!

Coq au vin

Ina Garten's coq au vin is sheer perfection. This version makes a few simple adjustments to simplify things a bit by using boneless, skinless chicken thighs as well as a few other shortcuts.

The dish can be made in the early afternoon, and sit in a low oven for a couple of hours prior to serving. It's a great meal to serve for company as it can be made ahead, prior to your guests arrival. You can even prepare this dish a full day in advance and reheat prior to serving.

This recipe serves 6-8 people

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Course Main Course

Cuisine French

Servings 8 people

Equipment

Dutch Oven or other covered pan that can go from stovetop to oven

Ingredients

8 ounces pancetta or bacon, diced
3 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 lb carrots, sliced into rounds
1 large onion, sliced
1 ½ tbsp minced garlic
½ cup Congac or brandy optional
1 bottle (750 ml) red burgundy / pinot noir wine
2 cups chicken stock/broth
15-20 fresh thyme sprigs
1 lb frozen small (pearl) onions
4 tbsp unsalted butter, divided (2 T for mushrooms and 2 T to use at the end with flour for thickening)
1 lb mushrooms, stems removed and thickly sliced
3 tbsp all purpose flour (gluten free if desired)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add diced bacon and cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned.
While the bacon is cooking, lay our your chicken thighs on paper towels and pat them dry. Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the chicken thighs. This really seasons the meat, so apply liberally.
Carefully scoop the bacon to a plate or a large bowl (if making a double batch) with a slotted spoon, leaving the bacon drippings behind.
After removing the bacon, brown the chicken pieces in batches in a single layer for about 5 minutes, turning so they brown evenly on all sides. Remove the chicken to the plate/bowl with the bacon and continue to brown until all the chicken is done. Set aside.
Add the chopped carrots, diced onions, 4 teaspoons salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper to the pan 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 and put the bacon, chicken, and any juices that collected on the plate/bowl into the pot.
Add the wine, chicken stock, frozen pearl onions, and thyme and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes.
Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and place in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just not pink.
While the chicken is in the oven, sauté the mushrooms with 2 Tablespoons of butter in a sauté pan over medium low heat for 5-10 minutes or until browned.
Remove from the oven and place on top of the stove. Add sautéed mushrooms.
Mash 2 tablespoon of butter and the flour together in a small bowl and stir into the stew. Bring the stew to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes. Season to taste.
You can, in theory, serve the stew at this point. I prefer to place the stew back in the oven for another 1-2 hours to allow all of those flavors to develop even further.
You can also make this a day ahead and reheat when ready to serve. It makes a wonderful "make-ahead" meal.