I hate to sacrifice flavor and culinary exploration on account of difficult recipes and ingredients I can’t pronounce. I suppose if I had no kids and was in need of cooking therapy, I might cook through Julia’s cookbook in purist fashion as others have. However, as neither are the case, I’m once again simplifying a traditional recipe for all that is comforting and divine in French cooking…minus the fuss.
First off: Coq Au Vin means chicken with wine. It’s pronounced kohk-oh-vahn. Okay, now there’s nothing we can’t pronounce.
Here are the basics:
Prep all your ingredients: garlic, mushrooms, bacon, and dredge chicken strips in a ziploc bag:
Fry up some bacon. {Bacon may be my husband’s love language.}
Brown the dredged chicken.
Deglaze with red wine.
Add everything back in, and simmer to perfection.
If you want to do it the traditional way, see Julia.
or, you could take it easy tonight, and make:
Simplified Coq Au Vin
5 slices of bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 lbs. boneless chicken strips
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 cups frozen pearl onions, or 1 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
2 cups sliced white mushrooms
1 1/2 red wine
1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup flour
1 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. cayenne powder
handful of chopped parsley
Combine flour and all dry spices in a gallon ziploc bag. Place chicken strips into flour mixture, seal bag, and coat evenly.
In a heavy enameled cast iron dutch oven, fry up bacon until crisp. Remove bacon pieces and reserve. Discard all but 2 tablespoons bacon grease. In the same pan, brown the pieces of chicken on both sides. Remove from pan, and set aside. Melt butter in same pan. Saute onions and mushrooms in pan. Deglaze pan with wine and chicken stock, scraping any bits from the bottom of the pan. Add bacon and browned chicken back into pan. Simmer on medium for 30 minutes or until chicken is done and sauce is thickened. Ad parsley. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve over wide egg noodles or mashed potatoes.
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Sounds perfect for dinner tonight! Thanks for making it simple. Were Caity still at home we just might try the Julia version. Did you know she is getting to take a couple of cooking classes from a French chef?
Hope all is well for you all. Blessings!
Linda, Caity and I are birds of a feather. I’d experiment all day with culinary endeavors, but alas, I have laundry waiting.
This looks like just the thing for dinner tonight. Now I have a reason to hit up TJ’s for some two buck chuck!
Jen, I did use some sweet red wine too when I made it because that’s what I had on hand. Taste and improvise!
This was yummy even as leftovers! Going to try it myself soon…
will be making this tomorrow.:)
O M G! This sounds AMAZING! I am totally making this next week. Already made the grocery list.
I’m all about meals that simmer right now… so perfect for the winter months! Beef stew is wonderful but won’t this be a nice change.
One quick question… when do you use the olive oil?
Oops! The olive oil is used with the reserved bacon grease, to brown the chicken. I didn’t want to do the whole batch in bacon grease! Oh…and it’s supposed to be 1 1/2 CUPS red wine. Use may want to use more. Sorry I’m not so precise. It’s a taste and tinker kind of kitchen I run!
Didn’t you also make this in the crock pot recently? Did it turn out as well, or would you recommend the dutch oven?
Suz, I like to make it in the dutch over in the wintertime because it’s so warm and rustic…and I like it a bit better with the extra steps in the process…however, for taste and simplicity, my SIL crock pot version is every bit as good, if not better: http://thechoulife.com/2011/09/09/crockpot-coq-au-vin/