Coq au Vin is a classic French stew that literally translates to "Rooster and Wine". While rooster can be hard to get ahold of on this side of the Atlantic, a good free-range chicken makes for a suitable substitute. It's not complicated to make, but the key to a great Coq au Vin lies in the details.
Cooking inspiration comes in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes a stroll through a verdant farmers market on a warm spring day sets the gears of creativity in motion. Other times, it's a six pound bag of Costco chicken, a half-full bottle of Côtes du Rhône, and some odds-and-ends lurking in the dark recesses of my fridge. A rummage through the deli drawer revealed a loosely wrapped package containing the remains of slab of pancetta, and the vegetable drawer coughed up some button mushrooms that had seen better days. It didn't take an English -> French dictionary to figure out I had the makings for Coq au Vin.
Yes, technically the Coq in Coq au Vin means "rooster", but the last time I checked, my local grocer wasn't in the business of selling tough old cocks. If you want to be a purist though, by all means, go bag yourself a rooster. The tough connective tissue breaks down while cooking, and the well-exercised meat is definitely more flavorful than a chicken that's spent it's whole life cooped up.
The other half of the name, au Vin, literally means "in wine" and I honestly can't think of a better marriage of ingredients, especially with a little bacon, onions and mushrooms thrown into the mix!
Despite vast regional difference in ingredients I more or less stuck to a "classic" coq au vin, but I introduced some different techniques and my own sequence to try and maximize the flavour and minimize the work. I used the bacon as the fat to fry the chicken and mirepoix in, all of which create a very thick layer of delicious brown fond at the bottom of the pan. The cognac deglazes the pan and adds it's own smokey flavour and then the chicken braises in a 50/50 mixture of wine and stock. When the chicken is done, mushrooms and sweet cipollini onions are added along with a roux (made with the bacon/chicken fat) to finish the sauce.
This yields fall-off-the-bone tender chicken, with perfectly cooked mushrooms and onions smothered in a rich sauce with depth that you just wouldn't expect in a chicken dish. I love having coq au vin over a bed of creamy mashed yukon gold potatoes, but it's just as good served as a stew with a crusty baguette.
📖 Recipe
Units
Ingredients
- 140 grams pancetta or lardons (cut into batons)
- 8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 large onion (chopped)
- 1 rib celery (chopped)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 tablespoon Cognac (Bourbon will do in a pinch)
- 2 cups dry red wine
- 2 cups low sodium chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 225 grams button mushrooms (trimmed and halved)
- 225 grams cipollini onions (or pearl , trimmed and peeled)
- flat-leaf parsley (chopped for garnish)
Instructions
- In a large chef's pan or dutch oven, fry the lardons over medium heat until most of the fat has rendered out (but not until it's crisp). Transfer the lardons to a bowl with a slotted spoon.
- Generously salt and pepper the chicken thighs and place in the hot pan, skin side down. Leave undisturbed for 6-7 minutes or until skin is golden brown, then flip the chicken over, allowing it to brown lightly on the second side. Transfer the chicken to the bowl with the lardons.
- You should now have a nice thick coating of brown "fond". This is what gives the dish much of it's depth. Remove 2 tablespoons of fat from the pan and set it aside in a small bowl. Add the chopped onion, celery and garlic and sauté until soft, scrapping the fond off the bottom of the pan so it doesn't burn.
- Hit the pan with a generous splash of Cognac to deglaze the pan. Allow most of the liquid to evaporate, then add the red wine, chicken stock, bay leaf, thyme, and tomato paste. Return the lardons and chicken to the pan and turn several times to make sure each piece is well coated and submerged in the liquid. Cover with the lid slightly askew (so steam can escape) and simmer over medium low heat until the chicken is tender 35-45 minutes.
- Add the flour to the fat you've reserved and stir until there are no lumps. When the chicken is tender, transfer to a plate and tent with foil. Add the mushrooms and cipollini onions to the pan and turn up the heat to medium, simmering uncovered for about 15 minutes or until the onions are cooked and the sauce has reduced a bit. Add a few tablespoons of sauce to the fat/flour mixture and stir to make a slurry. Add the slurry to the sauce in the pan one spoonful at a time, mixing well after each addition to make sure there are no lumps. I don't like my sauce too thick, so I stopped about ⅔ of the way through, but if you like a very thick sauce, you can add all the roux. Salt and pepper to taste, then return the chicken to to pot to reheat and coat with the sauce.
- Garnish with the parsley, and then serve the coq au vin over mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or as a stew with a crusty baguette. I also like to sprinkle a little finishing salt like Fleur de Sel on top.
John says
Just made it, it was fantastic. Will make again.
Marc Matsumoto says
Happy to hear you enjoyed it John, thanks for taking the time to let me know!
John Hamblin says
I became frustrated with the pop-up advertisements whilst trying to get to the recipe.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi John, sorry to hear you feel that way, but in order to provide this site as a free resource for you, I have to sell ads on the site.
Elvira says
I just made this and its amazing, I did a few changes like spinkle the flour in and I also added the mushrooms and onions shortly after I added the chicken, I love your recipes Marc, thank you very much, Im about to make the mac and cheese balls , one of my kids bought some Kraft Mac and cheese, so Im going to try the balls, will let you know how I go x
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Elvira, I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed this! Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and let me know. I hope you like the Mac and Cheese balls!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Cassondra, glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Cassondra Harder says
Made this tonight and loved it. I used a pressure cooker to stew and it came out very tender
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Elizabeth, so in the original french dish, you use the whole rooster (including the breasts) and you could certainly include them here, I just prefer the thighs because they don't get dried out. Since you're using roosters, the even the breast meat may benefit from the longer cooking time breaking down connective tissues, so you should try it out.
Elizabeth says
This looks awesome. I actually do have a couple of young roosters I need to get rid of fairly soon. I'm wanting to go to a self sustaining flock of strictly buff orpingtons and so the mutt roos have to go.. Do you have any advice on what to do with the breast meat?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Diane, if you double the recipe you're probably going to need to brown the chicken in batches regardless of what size dutch oven you use, but a 5-8 quart should be just fine. As for shape, a round one is always going to heat more evenly on the stove (shape doesn't matter in the oven), so in this case I'd recommend a round one. I use an oval one because I only have one, and I use it with whole roasts sometimes.
Diane says
What size dutch oven would you use if you double the recipe? Is oval or round best?
Marc Matsumoto says
Wow that sounds awesome! Glad to hear you enjoyed:-)
Troof says
Brilliant! Much quicker and simpler than a traditional recipe. I love the detail of the slurry at the end. Before doing this I often battled with getting my sauces to thicken quickly without too much flour. We made this last night with local chanterelles and deglazed with local apple brandy akin to Calvados. Our wine was a local Pinot Noir. It was one of the best things I have ever made, and it was fun to be able to use a lot of local ingredients. Bravo chef!
Marc Matsumoto says
For the browning I would recommend it as the meat will get tough if you you don't have the layer of skin protecting it. You could always remove the skins before serving if you don't want them.
Tramaine Wilkinson says
Is it necessary that we keep the skin on the thighs?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Jen, it won't be as full flavored, but it won't be a disaster if you skip the mushrooms.
Jen says
This looks so delicious and I would love to try it, however can I skip the mushrooms?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Aimee, the cognac is there for flavor, so you can just leave it out. Hope you like it!
Aimee says
This looks so good, but I don't have any cognac or bourbon on hand. Can I sub for more wine? Or could I just leave that part out? Thanks, can't wait to make this for dinner!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Karen, if you can find some other kind of small onion that should work, otherwise you could just slice up some regular onions and add them in towards the end.
Karen says
I can't find cipollini or pearl onions anywhere around where I live currently (China), is there a way to substitute that? Should I just add another onion?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Shell, you could do that, but it will significantly alter the dish in a couple of ways. The first is that breast meat doesn't have much fat or connective tissue which will make it very dry when cooked for this amount of time, this is tough to get around because the sauce and the meat need to be cooked together for this amount of time to bring together the flavors. The second issue is that because the meat has less fat, you're not going to be able to recover 2 tablespoons of fat for the flour, so you'll need to melt some butter to make up the different. The last issue is that because they are boneless, they won't release as much flavor into the sauce.
Shell says
I can't wait to try this recipe, it sounds incredible! I was wondering if you could sub 4 bone in chicken breasts for the thighs? I have everything to make it except for the thighs and didn't want to run to the store if I didn't need to. Thank you.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi SMC, the best way would be get part of the way through step 5 (i.e. make the sauce but keep the chicken separate) and then add the chicken when you reheat. However you could just make it all the way to the end and reheat it when your guests arrive.
SMC says
This recipe sounds amazing. Did anyone make-ahead or does anyone have tips for make-ahead/re-heating? We have a small crew coming Friday night and I don't want to choose a dish that will have me fussing in the kitchen. A half-hour before guests arrive, could I get myself well into Step 5? ...Cover the sauce for that hour until I'm ready to combine with and warm the chicken again (just before I am ready to serve)?
Marc Matsumoto says
Glad you enjoyed, and great suggestions! I've updated the post.
Ben says
Made this last night and it was super good! Just one suggestion - step 3 should say "Add the chopped onions, celery,..." and step 5 "Add the mushrooms and cipollini mushrooms" to avoid confusion since there are two types of onions being used. Thank you for this (no)recipe!
Yaoli Pu says
This was so delicious! Actually surprisingly looked like the pictures (which doesn't always happen to me when I follow a recipe). Made a nice pre-Valentine's day meal! Thank you for your wonderful recipes.
Jen says
Made this recipe last night and it was an amazing success. Will keep this in my arsenal of recipes. Always impressive and not terribly hard to make. Btw bourbon is a better choice for me anyway instead of cognac. Thanks!
Marc Matsumoto says
Mmm great idea using leeks!
PS says
Fixed this last night for our weekly Sunday night wine and dine with friends and family. It was a hit. Reminds me of beef bourgoignon. The sauce was delectable. I used 2 leeks and 1 small onion and it worked great. I love the flavor of leeks.
H.J. says
This was the 2nd recipe I tried last weekend (besides the ravioli) .. my family wants to know my secret 😉 Thanks Marc . Your food is just so good, I keep coming back for more ...
Marilia says
Bookmarked! Another recipe I cant wait to try.
dr gene says
I've been making coq au vin for years. This is now my go to. I used the remaining sauce on a cheese omelet next morning. Lovely!
cedarglen says
Thanks. This is a wonderful winter dish and a real favorite in my house. With minor tweeking, the leftovers will freeze for a few weeks. Comfort food at it s best, IMO. I make it *almost* the same way, and end up with about 30% less fat. I don't think that the flavor suffers at all. Great Post!!
Creamcheesewonton says
Can't wait to try this. Just got my first delivery of CSA chicken thighs and wanted to make something special. Thanks for the recipe!
julienmedina says
love the step by step photos! i really want to try this now!
Gina (Gluten-free Gourmand) says
Oh, wow. I have never made coq au vin before. Now I have no excuse. This will be a must-try!
Gina (Gluten-free Gourmand) says
Oh, wow. I have never made coq au vin before. Now I have no excuse. This will be a must-try!
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
Drool-worthy!!!
Genie says
Gorgeous deep colour. There is something very rustic and wonderful about whole mushrooms.
sharon says
Your dish looks delicious.......been wanting to cook this and you have inspired me to do so.
angela says
I love to see retro dishes and this is put together so beautifully.
angela says
I love to see retro dishes and this is put together so beautifully.
Marc Matsumoto says
Yep
Yuki says
Would I be able to sub the Cognac with Bourbon?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hard to give specific advice without knowing why you want to omit the bacon (is it the nitrates? Do you not eat pork? Are you trying to cut back on fat? Do you not like the smoked flavor? etc.), but there are lots of alternatives, or it could be omited altogether.
Heather says
Is there any way to accomplish this dish sans bacon?
Culinspiration says
Wow, looks great. I love your technique. This is one of my favorite dishes, and I have a similar recipe on my blog. Next time I make this, I have to remember to get some brandy.
Culinspiration says
Wow, looks great. I love your technique. This is one of my favorite dishes, and I have a similar recipe on my blog. Next time I make this, I have to remember to get some brandy.
Kevin (Closet Cooking) says
That looks do rich and good!
Kevin (Closet Cooking) says
That looks do rich and good!
Stacey Snacks says
Marcphoto,
Always great pics, and this coq au vin looks like the perfect winter comfort meal.
Stacey Snacks says
Marcphoto,
Always great pics, and this coq au vin looks like the perfect winter comfort meal.
manggy says
That is a TOUGH dish to pretty up but you did a wonderful job! Now all that's left for me is to actually finally try this dish, haha! 🙂
manggy says
That is a TOUGH dish to pretty up but you did a wonderful job! Now all that's left for me is to actually finally try this dish, haha! 🙂
The Duo Dishes says
The color of that coq au vin is amazing. You can tell it's full of flavor. This may sound crazy, but we've had someone's very non-traditional coq au vin with bok choy, white wine and green grapes. In fact, we don't even know if it should've been called coq au vin at all, but we just went with the flow.
Marc Matsumoto says
I'm a little worried about the Google searches that will be coming in off that one;-)
Peter says
Marc, excellent coq au vin...I make a similar one, use white wine is all..but I would drink red would this!
The Duo Dishes says
The color of that coq au vin is amazing. You can tell it's full of flavor. This may sound crazy, but we've had someone's very non-traditional coq au vin with bok choy, white wine and green grapes. In fact, we don't even know if it should've been called coq au vin at all, but we just went with the flow.
Syrie says
Marc this looks wonderful and looks much better than my recipe which takes 7 hours to make!
diva says
holy smokes does this look good or what?! the sauce is dreamy. it must taste just heavenly...i'm kinda dying to eat this now.x
Peter says
Marc, excellent coq au vin...I make a similar one, use white wine is all..but I would drink red would this!
Hayley says
Your pictures are something else. I'll have to make this for my Dad, he would absolutely love this!
Syrie says
Marc this looks wonderful and looks much better than my recipe which takes 7 hours to make!
diva says
holy smokes does this look good or what?! the sauce is dreamy. it must taste just heavenly...i'm kinda dying to eat this now.x
pigpigscorner says
WOw looks fantastic! The gravy looks so thick and yummy!
Hayley says
Your pictures are something else. I'll have to make this for my Dad, he would absolutely love this!
pigpigscorner says
WOw looks fantastic! The gravy looks so thick and yummy!
Meeta says
I've been thinking of making coq au vin this weekend. i love how thick the gravy looks! d'lish!
Nina says
This looks so delicious and I like the addition of the Armanac. As you say, complex but interesting flavors.
Laura @ Hungry and Frozen says
"Whole Foods wasn’t carrying tough old cocks"
*snort* Scuse me while I retrieve my mind from the gutter. This looks and sounds amazingly delicious. Almost makes me wish it was winter here in NZ so I could make it!!
Zenchef says
Love it! Perfect for this freezing weather.
Meeta says
I've been thinking of making coq au vin this weekend. i love how thick the gravy looks! d'lish!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
LOL @ no tough old cocks! That looks sublime, pure food porn. Say no more.
Nina says
This looks so delicious and I like the addition of the Armanac. As you say, complex but interesting flavors.
Laura @ Hungry and Frozen says
"Whole Foods wasn’t carrying tough old cocks"
*snort* Scuse me while I retrieve my mind from the gutter. This looks and sounds amazingly delicious. Almost makes me wish it was winter here in NZ so I could make it!!
Zenchef says
Love it! Perfect for this freezing weather.
Karen says
Looks just delicious. I made this a few months ago and now I'm wanting it again!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
LOL @ no tough old cocks! That looks sublime, pure food porn. Say no more.
Colloquial Cook says
My recipe is a tad more gorish - it uses the blood of the freshly slaughtered bird. I guess that's not a very American thing to do 🙂
Giff says
I love Coq au vin -- gorgeous picture you took!
Peter G says
I love stews and casseroles but sometimes I can't get them to be hearty enough. This looks amazing and thanks again for sharing your philosophies and techniques Marc!
Karen says
Looks just delicious. I made this a few months ago and now I'm wanting it again!
Colloquial Cook says
My recipe is a tad more gorish - it uses the blood of the freshly slaughtered bird. I guess that's not a very American thing to do 🙂
Rosa says
It looks really scrumptious!
Cheers,
Rosa
Joan Nova says
I looked at the photo and said "wow that looks so rich" and then I looked at the ingredients and understood why. I hope you left some wine to drink with it.
lisaiscooking says
I've never made coq au vin, but I want to. Your sauce looks fantastic, and I love the big chunks of mushrooms!
Elra says
I haven't try to make it for that reason. But, I heard that you can get the roaster from the Chinese market. I am going to look for it.
Cheers,
Elra
Natasha aka 5 Star Foodie says
I love this coq au vin with cognac and red wine! delicious!
Giff says
I love Coq au vin -- gorgeous picture you took!
Peter G says
I love stews and casseroles but sometimes I can't get them to be hearty enough. This looks amazing and thanks again for sharing your philosophies and techniques Marc!
Rosa says
It looks really scrumptious!
Cheers,
Rosa
Joan Nova says
I looked at the photo and said "wow that looks so rich" and then I looked at the ingredients and understood why. I hope you left some wine to drink with it.
lisaiscooking says
I've never made coq au vin, but I want to. Your sauce looks fantastic, and I love the big chunks of mushrooms!
Elra says
I haven't try to make it for that reason. But, I heard that you can get the roaster from the Chinese market. I am going to look for it.
Cheers,
Elra
Natasha aka 5 Star Foodie says
I love this coq au vin with cognac and red wine! delicious!