The City Kitchen - Coq au Vin

Coq au Vin

Coq au Vin was a dish prepared by Caesar when battling the Gauls, who sent him a scrawny chicken as a message of defiance. Caesar cooked the chicken in wine and herbs and invited them to eat, thus demonstrating the overwhelming sophistication of the Romans, so the story goes.

Ingredients
Makes 8 servings

2	Chicken, cut into 8 pieces	2
4 oz	Butter, clarified	80 gm
8 oz	Bacon, batons	100 gm
10 oz	Mushroom, button	200 gm
12 oz	Onion. pearl	230 gm
1 clove	Garlic	1 clove
2 oz	Onion, finely diced	25 gm
4 cups	Wine, burgundy	1000 ml
1/4 cup	Flour	60 ml
2 oz	Glace de Viande	25 ml
1 oz	Parsley	20 gm
4 cups	Chicken stock	1000 ml
1/2 cup	Brandy or Cognac	125 ml
2 tsp	Tomato paste	15 ml
2	Bay leaf	2
2 sprigs	Thyme	2 sprigs
1 1/2 tbsp	Butter, softened	25 ml
1 tbsp	Flour	15 ml
to taste	Salt	to taste
to taste	Pepper	to taste
Method
1/ Cut each chicken into 8 pieces.
2/ Put the wine, bay leaves, thyme and salt and pepper into a bowl and add the chicken pieces. Cover and allow to marinate, preferably overnight.
3/ Blanch the bacon in boiling water, drain and pat dry and sauté until golden brown. Strain off and return fat to the sauté pan. Set the bacon aside.
4/ Add 1/4 of the butter and sauté the onions until brown. Remove onions and set aside.
5/ Add 1/4 of the butter, add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and sauté for 5 minutes. Remove onions and set aside.
6/ Remove the chicken from the marinade, drain and pat dry. Reserve the marinade.
7/ Season chicken pieces and sauté in the remaining butter until golden brown. Stir in the flour. Place in the braising pan and set aside.
8/ Strain off fat and deglaze the pan with brandy or cognac. Pour deglazing liquid over the chicken.
9/ Add the marinade, onions, mushrooms, bacon and tomato paste. Cook over moderate heat for 45 minutes or until the chickens are cooked through.
10/ If the sauce needs thickening, take out the chicken and vegetables and bring the sauce to a boil. Mix together the butter and flour to make a beurre manie and whisk into the sauce. Bring to a boil, stirring for 2 minutes until thickened. Add the parsley and return the chicken and vegetables to the sauce.

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