Coq au Vin Blanc – Slow Cooked Chicken in White Wine
Coq au Vin Blanc – Slow Cooked Chicken in White Wine
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Indulgent French Recipe perfect for Special Occasions!
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Coq au Vin Blanc is a much loved french recipe of chicken cooked in white wine. It’s rich, bold and indulgent. The perfect show stopper dish to impress guests or indulge your family on a special occasion.
Celebrating French Food
This month we are celebrating a different cuisine every week at Chilli & Life. Last week we celebrated Nigerian culture due to my heritage and this week it is all about French cuisine.
I’ve been living in France for nearly 6 months now and I have no regrets! Its a great country and the food is simply divine. It is favoured and eaten all over the world for good reason and even though little to no spice is used they make up for it in butter!
Today is the first of 3 recipes I will post this week with a Food for Thought post dropping on Sunday!
What is Coq au Vin Blanc?
A delicious French recipe of a whole chicken cut into manageable parts and slow cooked in white wine, chicken stock, musrooms and carrots. It is traditionally cooked in a cast iron cocotte like Le creuset or Staub.
It can be cooked on the stove or in the oven producing equally delicious results.
In France the meal is usually made for special occasions as it is indulgent and calorific. It is popular for Sunday meals or New Years Eve celebrations.
What Do I Need?
The ingredients are basic and can be bought at your local supermarket.
- A Whole Chicken – For this recipe whole chicken is best as it will be cooked low and slow and a lot of the flavour comes from the bones of the chicken. Buy a good quality organic free range chicken at your butcher and get them to cut it into legs, thighs, wings, and breast. You can save the rest of the pieces to make Homemade Chicken Stock.
- Lardons – Add some smoky porky flavour to your stew with lardons.
- White Wine – Use a nice dry white wine like chardonay or sauvignon blanc.
- Chicken Stock – It’s always best to use Homemade Chicken Stock for recipes like this but you can also use store bought or a chicken stock cube or pot like Knorr or Kallo.
- Mushrooms – Chestnut mushrooms are best as they have just the right flavour and umami to flavour the sauce.
- Carrots – The sweetness of carrots flavours the chicken and sauce beautifully.
- Shallots – You can use brown onions or shallots that you dice finely to melt into the sauce.
- Bouquet Garni – A classic French herb mix of thyme, rosemary and bay leaf.
Tips & Tricks –
- The better quality your chicken the better tasting your dish will be. You want a chicken that has had some kind of life and will not fall apart after a hour of cooking leaving you with a watery mess.
- Using Homemade Chicken Stock will really elevate your dish and provide more flavour than a stock pot. Click the link for my super easy recipe.
- Cut the carrots into horizontal thick slices so they stay in shape while cooking.
- Cut the mushrooms into medium to thick slices with the stem in tact. This will help them withstand the long slow cooking process.
- Taste as you go and season as necessary. I like to use salt, pepper and a little bit of cayenne pepper and paprika to add a little underlying kick.
- Leave the skin on the chicken for added flavour. It will not be crispy but it is seriously good and melt in the mouth.
Coq au Vin Blanc Serving Suggestions –
Coq au Vin Blanc is a hearty main best paired with some heavy crabs to mop up the rich sauce. I love pairing with potatoes for the best combination.
Try it with a creamy Pomme Puree for soaking up the sauce.
Indulge yourself even more and pair with Dauphinoise Potatoes, for a creamy cheesy combination!
It can also be enjoyed with some crusty fresh bread or Fluffy White Rice!
Coq au Vin Blanc
Equipment
- 1 Cocotte or Cast Iron Pot
- Sharp knife
- Chopping board
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken cut in pieces
- 200 g lardons
- 50 g unsalted butter
- 1 large shallot
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 stalk celery
- 400 g mushrooms
- 4 carrots
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 50 ml cognac or brandy
- 400 ml dry white wine
- 400 ml chicken stock
- 1 bouquet garni
- 1 tsp salt and pepper
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ¼ tsp paprika
Instructions
- Season the chicken with salt, pepper and a little cayenne pepper if you want a little spice.
- Slice the mushrooms thickly and the carrots into horizontal 2 inch rounds. Dice the celery. Dice the shallots and onions and set everything aside into separate bowls.
- Heat your cast iron pot on medium high for about 5 minutes and then add the olive oil. Add the chicken pieces skin side down into the pan – careful not to overcrowd the pot. Cook in batches if your pot is not big enough to cook all at once.
- Fry the chicken for 3-5 minutes each side until browned and crisp. Once done remove from the pan and set aside on a plate to collect the juices.
- Now scrape any really burnt bits from the pot and add a little oil if needed before adding the pancetta or lardons to fry. Fry these until the fat has almost completely rendered and then turn off the heat and remove to the same plate as the chicken.
- Place the pot back on the heat and fry the onions, shallots and garlic in the pancetta fat left behind. Fry for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant and translucent. Add the garlic a minute or 2 after the onions as garlic cooks a lot faster and you don't want it to burn.
- Turn the heat to medium and add the sliced carrots, celery and mushrooms to the pan and sauté for about 5 minutes. Then add the flour and stir to cook for about 3 minutes.
- Add the cognac or brandy to deglaze your pan. Use a wooden spoon to remove all that stuck on flavour from the bottom of your pot. This process should take about 3-5 minutes.
- Next pour in the wine, stock, seasonings and bouquet garni and stir. Add the pancetta and mix everything before placing the chicken pieces back into the pot using tongs. Be sure to pour all the juices that remain in the dish. Cover the pot and leave on high to come to the boil.
- After about 5-7 minutes your stew should be boiling. Lift the lid stir a little and turn the heat down to low. Set a timer for 1 hour and leave to cook with the lid on.
- After one hour check your stew it should be coming along nicely and starting to thicken up and change colour. Recover and leave to cook for a further 30 minutes – this will depend on your pot and the type of chicken you used.
- After 15-30 minutes check your chicken and try the sauce. If the chicken is tender and the sauce has thickened and tastes amazing then its ready.
Notes
- Use good quality whole chicken for the best flavour.
- Turn down the heat if necessary when sautéing the onions and vegetables.
- Once the pot comes to a boil at step 10 you can turn off the heat and put in a pre-heated oven at 160°C to cook for 1 hour 30 minutes.
- If the sauce is not thick enough at the end but the chicken is ready, remove the chicken from the pot to a plate and turn the heat up to high and add a beurre manie while whisking until your desired thickness is achieved.
Did you try this Coq au Vin Blanc Recipe?
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m here to help! If you loved this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment and rating below! Let me know how it turned out for you and share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at @chilliandlife and hashtag it #chilliandlife ! I’ll be sure to share it!
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