Coq au vin is a classic French chicken dish that in English means “rooster cooked in wine.” Lore suggests that, eons ago, it got that name because slowly cooking an older, farmyard rooster in wine proved to be a tasty way to tenderize the tougher meat.
These days, though, coq au vin is most often made with bone-in pieces of a younger, readably available, frying chicken. You can buy the chicken whole and cut it into pieces yourself, or purchase already cut bone-in pieces of chicken.
But, for a version of coq au vin that you can eat with a fork, I used boneless skinless chicken breast and thighs.
To make it, cubes of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs were coated in flour, browned in oil and set in a 13-x nine-inch casserole. A red wine/stock mixture, rich with mushrooms, bacon, onions, garlic and herbs de Provence, was then made in the skillet I browned the chicken in.
When that mixture was simmering, it was poured over the chicken. The chicken was then covered with foil and baked in the oven until tender and deliciously flavoured by the wine/stock mixture.
My recipe for this boneless chicken coq au vin serves four to six, depending on your appetite and whether or not you serve an appetizer and dessert with the dish.
I served the chicken with buttered carrots sticks and green beans and rice pilaf enhanced with chopped shallots and parsley. You’ll find a recipe for rice below.
The boneless chicken coq au vin is something you could make many hours in advance, cool, refrigerate and reheat and serve later. If you do that, you may wish to add a bit more stock to the casserole when reheating it.
If serving a larger group, you could double the recipe and make it in a larger casserole, adding a few more minutes to the baking time, as you’ll be cooking a larger of volume of ingredients.
Boneless Chicken Coq au Vin
This version of coq au vin replaces the bone-in chicken pieces normally used to make the dish with cubes of boneless chicken breast and thighs. While those cubes of chicken cook, they absorb the wine-flavoured mushroom mixture surrounding them.
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 80 to 90 minutes
Makes: four to six servings
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt, plus some to taste
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 450 grams total weight), cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes (see Note)
4 boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 375 grams total weight), cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
3 Tbsp olive oil, plus more as needed
3 slices bacon, cut into small cubes
1/2 lb. small to medium white or brown mushrooms, each quartered
1 small onion, diced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 tsp herbes de Provence (see Note)
3/4 cup red wine
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• chopped fresh parsley, to taste
Place the flour on a wide, sided plate and season it with the 1/2 tsp salt and black pepper, to taste. Add the chicken and toss to coat each piece with flour.
Heat the 3 Tbsp oil in a large skillet set over medium, medium-high heat. Brown the chicken, in batches, a few minutes on each side, and then transfer to 13- x nine-inch casserole. Add more oil to the skillet during the browning process, if needed.
When chicken has all been browned, add the bacon to the skillet and cook until the fat has been rendered out of it. Drain all but 1 Tbsp of that bacon fat from the skillet. Now add the mushrooms, onions, herbes de Provence and garlic to the skillet and cook until mushrooms are softened, about five minutes. While that occurs, preheat the oven to 350 F.
When mushrooms have softened, add the wine to the skillet, bring to a simmer, and reduce to about a half cup. Mix in the stock and return to a simmer. Taste and season with salt and pepper, as needed, and then pour this mixture over the chicken. Tightly cover the chicken coq au vin with foil, and then bake in the middle of the oven 45 to 50 minutes, or until chicken is quite tender. Serve chicken right from the casserole, or transfer to a more fanciful serving dish. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Note 1: Herbes de Provence, a French-style herb blend, is available in the bottled herb and spice aisle of many grocery stores. If you can’t find it or wish to use dried herbs you already have on hand, use a one teaspoon mix of them, combining ones you would find in herbes de Provence, such as thyme, marjoram, rosemary, savory, basil, oregano and/or tarragon.
Eric’s options: If you would prefer to only used boneless, skinless chicken breast in this recipe, replace the chicken thighs with two more boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
Rice Pilaf with Shallots and Parsley
A rice side dish, flecked with shallots and bright green parsley, you can serve with coq au vin and other saucy casseroles or stews.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: about 20 minutes
Makes: four to six servings
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots (see Note)
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 1/4 cups long grain white rice
1 3/4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/4 cup chopped freshly parsley
Heat the oil in a medium pot set over medium, medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook until softened, about two minutes. Mix in the rice and cook and stir for one to two minutes. Add the stock, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Cover the rice, turn the heat to its lowest setting, and cook 13 to 15 minutes, or until it’s tender. Fluff the rice with a fork, mix in the parsley, and it’s ready to serve.
Note: Two medium shallots should yield the 1/2 cup of chopped shallots needed here.
Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
