Coq au Vin

5 from 3 votes

Coq au Vin is a classic French dish of chicken cooked in red wine with onions, carrots, garlic, mushrooms and fresh herbs added. Traditionally, it was a way to cook tough chicken. For my version, I use skinless bone-in chicken thighs for an amazing restaurant quality dish that is elegant enough to serve at a dinner party, but equally worthy of week night dinners.

Prep Time15

Cook Time3 20

Total Time3 35

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: French

Servings: servings

Calories: 441kcal

Ingredients

Chicken

2 Tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 large onion, roughly chopped (about 2 cups)
1 large carrot, chopped (about ½ cup)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups red wine (See Tip 1)
3 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon dried thyme
10 sprigs fresh parsley
8 skinless bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed of fat
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pearl Onions

18 to 20 pearl onions, peeled (See Tip 2)
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
½ cup low sodium chicken broth

Mushrooms

1 Tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces mushrooms cleaned and sliced
1 Tablespoon Cognac

Instructions

Chicken

Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in Dutch oven set over medium heat. When hot, add the onions and carrots. Sauté, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Add garlic; sauté for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add flour; salt, thyme and pepper; stir to combine. Add wine, chicken broth, tomato paste and parsley tied in a bundle. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cover and transfer to a 325° F oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
While wine sauce is cooking, pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels. Sprinkle both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium heat. When hot, add chicken thighs in batches, making sure not to crowd them. Brown chicken thighs on both sides 3 to 4 minutes per side; drain on paper towels.
Remove wine sauce from oven; pour mixture into wire strainer set over a large bowl. Press with back of spoon to extract as much wine sauce as possible. Return strained wine sauce to Dutch oven.
Add browned chicken thighs to wine sauce. Cover Dutch oven and return to 325°F oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Pearl Onions

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add pearl onions and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium low. Cook, stirring occasionally until done, about 20 minutes. When onions are done, remove the cover. Increase heat to high and cook until chicken broth is evaporated, several minutes Set aside.

Mushrooms

Cook sliced mushrooms in same pan as used for the chicken over high heat, until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Add Cognac and continue cooking until all liquid is evaporated. Set aside. .

Finishing the Coq au Vin

Remove Dutch oven from oven; add cooked mushrooms and cooked pearl onions. Stir to combine. If necessary, thicken sauce with mixture of chicken broth and cornstarch. If desired, garnish with chopped parsley. Yield: 6 servings.

Notes

I like to use a Merlot for the red wine, but you can use whatever red wine you like. However, don't use a wine that you wouldn't otherwise drink.
To peel the pearl onions, boil for 30 seconds. Then rinse in cold water.

Nutrition