french chicken stew

<strong>Julia Child's Coq Au Vin</strong> is undeniably the best. This recipe sticks very much to the original, only minorly changing the ingredients and cooking method to bring it in line with the times. While Coq au Vin (or chicken in wine) might sound fancy, it is really just a simple French chicken stew that anyone can master. Don't be intimidated, this recipe is very easy to follow.

✨ If you love this coq au vin recipe as much as I do, make sure to give it a 5-star review in the comments below!

Julia Child's Coq Vin

chicken thighs

chicken drumsticks

red wine

chicken stock

brandy

bacon,

carrots,

garlic cloves,

tomato paste

thyme leaves

mushrooms, thickly sliced

pearl onions, peeled

Beurre manie (see notes for the options)

Place the chicken thighs and drumsticks in a medium-sized bowl and pour the wine, chicken stock, and (if using) the brandy over the top. Prep the vegetables.

Add the bacon to a large skillet or braiser over medium-high heat. Cook until the bacon is crispy, about 8 minutes, then remove it from the pan with a slotted spoon.

Remove the chicken from the wine marinade (save the wine) and dry the chicken with paper towels. Working in 2 batches if needed, place the chicken in the pan, skin side down. Sear until it is golden on both sides (about 5 minutes each side) then remove the chicken from the pan. Pour all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon/chicken oil into a heatproof dish and set it aside.

Add the sliced onion and carrots to the pan and let them cook until the onion is golden brown, about 7-8 minutes. Add the garlic to the pan and let it cook for 1 minute.

Push the vegetables to the side of the pan and add the tomato paste. Cook the tomato paste until it is fragrant and begins to darken. Pour the reserved wine marinade into the pan, scraping the bottom to remove any stuck on bits.

Nestle the chicken into the pan and sprinkle the thyme over top. Cover the pot, turn the heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Pour 1 tablespoon of the reserved oil (or use olive oil) into a large skillet. Add the mushrooms and saute over medium-high heat until brown, about 10 minutes.

Add the pearl onions to the pot with the chicken and cook for 10 minutes more.

In a small bowl mix together your choice of beurre manie. Remove the chicken from the pan then add the beurre manie. Stir it into the sauce and let it thicken. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add the chicken back into the pan and top with the cooked bacon and mushrooms. Sprinkle with a little fresh thyme.

I love this recipe. As a novice cook who only started cooking recently, I've now cooked this twice. So delicious and not challenging to make. I'll definitely continue to make this!

Excellent insight on a great recipe. I marinated the chicken overnight in the wine. Also, I placed the whole covered dish in the oven for 20-30 minutes while I am cooking the mushrooms.

This was a bit of work, but remarkably easy and very delicious. We don’t eat pork, so I used turkey bacon. It worked well, but it is leaner than pork bacon, so I added a little butter and olive oil to the pan for the onions and carrots. It was superb otherwise. 

Today I made this recipe for the second time. I only made a few changes. After cooking the bacon and chicken I only had two tablespoons of the oil to sauté the onion and carrots. I used butter to sauté the mushrooms and a shallot. I can’t get pearl onions where I live in Mexico. Made the beurre with arrowroot and and some chicken broth. Used a nice Pinot Noir and cognac from France. Would definitely recommend this recipe.

Temperature is dropping in Nebraska... just dusted off my Dutch oven and knocked this recipe out of the park. Sooooo yummy!

OMG!! So good and so fun to make!! I blanched the bacon as Julia suggested - great idea, JC😊
Must say, though, that it does take longer to make, but so worth the wait. Thank you for sharing. This will be made over and over. 

This dish was “Lick-the-platter-clean” ah-mazing! Thanks for the great recipe. Can’t wait to make it again! 

Thank you so much for the delicious recipe! It was a cold day yesterday, and this was the perfect dinner. The kids gave it a thumbs up too! I will be making this again and again. :-)

Recipe video above. Coq au Vin is the well known French stew where chicken pieces are braised in a luscious, glossy red wine sauce with bacon, mushroom and onions. Like Beef Bourguignon, the beauty of this dish lies in its simplicity: remarkably few ingredients and simple process with results fit for a king – or queen! For the best results, start this 2 days before serving: 12 - 24 hour marinade for the chicken (essential), then rest the finished stew overnight to let the flavours develop even further (recommended but not essential).Recipe source: Another classic French recipe brought to you via Chef Jean-Baptiste Alexandre, our culinary collaborator for all things French. Because I like to do traditional recipes properly!

Coq au Vin

chicken thighs (, bone-in, skin

chicken drumsticks ((Note 1))

onions onions

bay leaf (, fresh (dry also ok))

thyme ((sub 1 tsp dried thyme))

vegetable oil ((or canola oil))

tsp pepper

/ 14 mushrooms

bacon

/ 4 tbsp unsalted butter

garlic (, finely minced (with knife))

tbsp flour (, plain / all purpose)

beef stock

((cooking/kosher

tsp black pepper

tbsp parsley (, chopped)

Mashed potato ((or tagliatelle))

Marinate chicken: Place the Chicken Marinade ingredients in a large glass or ceramic bowl or dish. Marinate overnight in the fridge (minimum 12 hours, maximum 24 hours).

Strain wine into a bowl. Reserve herbs and wine. Separate the chicken and onion.

Dry chicken: Spread chicken out on a try lined with paper towels, then pat dry with paper towels.

Reduce wine: Pour red wine into a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Simmer vigorously, skimming off any impurities that rise to the surface, until reduced by half. Set aside.

Marinate chicken:

Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan).

Season chicken: Sprinkle chicken with 3/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper.

Brown chicken: Heat 3 tbsp oil in a large, heavy-based, oven-proof pot over medium-high heat. Add chicken thighs skin side down and cook for 2 - 3 minutes until nicely browned (it will be darker than usual because of the red wine). Flip thighs and cook the other side for another minute to kiss it with a little colour. Remove to a tray. Pull at skin of drumsticks to cover flesh as best as possible, then brown (I do 3 to 4 sides, ~5 minutes in total). Remove and set aside.

Fry bacon: Remove any loose black burnt bits. Add a bit of extra oil if needed, then cook bacon for 3 minutes until golden. Add to tray with chicken.

Sauté mushrooms: Add mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, or until golden. Remove into a separate bowl.

Sauté onion: Add a bit of extra oil if needed, then cook onions for 5 minutes or until there are nice golden patches.

Butter and flour: Add butter into pot. Once melted, add garlic and cook for a further 1 minute. Add tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes. Add flour and cook for 2 minutes.

Add wine and stock: While stirring, slowly pour in beef stock – this helps the flour dissolve lump-free into the stock. Then add the reduced wine and mix until flour mixture is dissolved and mostly lump-free. (Note 8)

Add everything back in: Add chicken, bacon, mushroom, thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper into the pot, then stir.

Brown chicken and vegetables:

Oven 45 minutes: Bring to a simmer, then cover and transfer to oven for 45 minutes. Chicken will be very tender - but not &quot;falling apart&quot;. (Note 9)

Adjust salt: Remove from oven, taste sauce and add salt if needed.

Leave overnight (recommended, Note 11): If time permits, leave the stew overnight before serving because as with all stews, it gets better with time! Reheat gently on a low stove in a covered pot, ensuring that chicken is fully heated through. Add water if needed to loosen sauce.

Serve over mashed potato or tagliatelle, sprinkled with fresh parsley! For the ultimate experience, mop the plate clean with homemade brioche (surprisingly straight forward to make). See in post for side salad and dessert options.

SLOW-COOK:

A delicious classic French Chicken Stew in a succulent red wine broth, with cremini mushrooms, carrots and herbs. Gluten-free adaptable.

Coq Au Vin Recipe 

chicken

pancetta

crimini mushrooms,

onions

cognac

chicken stock or beef broth

dijon mustard

balsamic vinegar

thyme

thyme,

bay leaves

salt, season to taste

pepper

all-purpose flour (or use tapioca starch

butter

fresh parsley, chopped

Dry the chicken with paper towels or a washable kitchen cloth. Season generously with salt and pepper. Set aside.  Preheat the oven to 350F.

Cook the chopped pancetta or bacon over medium heat, until brown and starting to crisp. Remove bacon, drain any excess grease. 

In a large dutch oven, brown the chicken in a single layer, in a tablespoon of the bacon fat, over medium-high heat, until the skins are golden brown and crispy about 5-8 minutes per side. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon or tongs, from the pot and set aside. Drain and save the oil, leaving just enough to cook the mushrooms.

Saute the mushrooms over medium heat, and stir until lightly softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. Saute onions over medium heat, adding more of the drained oil if needed, until tender and roasty and starting to brown 5-8 minutes, remove and set aside with the mushrooms. The pan may start to get crusty with stuck little bits but these will all add flavor and lift off as the liquid gets added.

Add garlic and saute for a minute. Now add 1/2 of the bacon and all of the chicken pieces back in the pot along with the red wine, cognac, chicken broth, tomato paste, dijon, balsamic vinegar, fresh and dried thyme, bay leaves, carrots, salt, and pepper. Cover and bake for 30 minutes at 350F degrees. The stew should be bubbly and carrots tender.

In a bowl mix together softened butter and flour until a smooth paste is formed. Remove the stew from the oven and set the pot on a burner to simmer. Add mushrooms and onions. Push the chicken and veggies to one side and use a whisk to incorporate the flour mixture into the stock then stir around the chicken redistributing the ingredients evenly in the pan. Simmer on low heat, for 8- 10 minutes until thickened and luscious. Garnish with the remaining bacon and fresh parsley.

Sounds soooo good—I’ll be trying it soon!

This was restaurant quality. Took me almost 2 hours from start of prep to table. But that’s because I’m slow and I like to pre absolutely everything before I start cooking. I’m not too good at doing some prep while other stuff in on the stove. But I followed the recipe exactly, and it tasted delicious. I also made the Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes from the blog to serve with, and a side of asparagus too. I’m telling ya, we were saying this taste like something from one of those fancy steakhouse places. It’d be great and easy dish to make for a group. This recipe would easily serve 4 adults.

This was simply delicious!  I substituted dry port for the cognac/brandy but otherwise followed as written.  Frozen baby onions worked well and saved me from having to peel.  😀

Delicious. Definitely a dish to make on the weekend.

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Top 3 french chicken stew recipes from across the web

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Coq au Vin

Coq Au Vin Recipe

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