Coq au Vin is flavorful, filling and makes for a great special occasion entrée

Is your social calendar booked up this holiday season? Ours seems to be crazy. Perhaps we are making up for a year off. Hosting parties this time of year can be such fun, and it can also send one over the edge if you pick too complicated of a menu. Might I suggest Coq au Vin?

This delicious French chicken dish is flavorful, filling and makes for a great special occasion entrée. This particular recipe is from New York Times Cooking online. I love that it uses only dark meat. People are passionate about whether they are team white meat or team dark meat, but you will never see me reach for the white. The dark meat is where you’ll find the best flavor, in my humble opinion.

While the recipe might appear long, it’s not complicated. You do need time, perhaps some extra wine to sip while it cooks and some friends to enjoy it. I like to serve it alongside a fresh green salad with a Dijon vinaigrette. And don’t forget to pick up your French wines. Whitney Stratton, senior wine buyer at Jacob Liquor, suggests the 2018 Tardiu-Laurent, Vieilles Vignes- Gigondas, France (priced at $40.99) or the 2020 Jean-Paul Brun, Terres Dorees – Cote de Brouily, France (priced at $22.99).

It’s hard to believe that the holidays are so near. Hope you’re able to take some moments in during the hurry scurry of the season. Sometimes even a quick coffee and scone with a friend can feel like a vacation. Or a shared Coq au Vin dinner together.

Coq au Vin

3 pounds chicken legs and thighs

2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, more as needed

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more to taste

3 cups hearty red wine, preferably from Burgundy

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

4 ounces lardons, pancetta or bacon, diced into ¼-inch pieces

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed

1 large onion, diced

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

8 ounces white or brown mushrooms, halved if large, and sliced (about 4 cups)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

2 tablespoon brandy

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

8 ounces peeled pearl onions (about 12 to 15 onions)

Pinch of sugar

2 slices white bread, cut into triangles, crusts removed

¼ cup chopped parsley, more for serving

Season chicken with 2 ¼ teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. In a large bowl, combine chicken, wine, bay leaf and thyme. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours, or even better, overnight.

In a large Dutch oven or a heavy-bottomed pot with a tightfitting lid, cook lardons over medium-low heat until fat has rendered, and lardons are golden and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer lardons to a paper-towel-lined plate, leaving rendered fat in pot.

Remove chicken from wine, reserving the marinade. Pat chicken pieces with paper towels until very dry. Heat lardon fat over medium heat until it’s just about to smoke. Working in batches if necessary, add chicken in a single layer and cook until well browned, 3 to 5 minutes per side. (Add oil if the pot looks a little dry.) Transfer chicken to a plate as it browns.

Add diced onion, carrot, half the mushrooms and the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt to pot. Cook until vegetables are lightly browned, about 8 minutes, stirring up any brown bits from the pot, and adjusting heat if necessary to prevent burning.

Stir in garlic and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute, then stir in flour and cook for another minute. Remove from heat, push vegetables to one side of the pot, pour brandy into empty side, and ignite with a match. (If you’re too nervous to ignite it, just cook brandy down for 1 minute.) Once the flame dies down, add reserved marinade, bring to a boil, and reduce halfway (to about 1 ½ cups), about 12 minutes. Skim off any large pockets of foam that form on the surface.

Add chicken, any accumulated juices and half the cooked lardons to the pot. Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 hour, turning halfway through. Uncover pot and simmer for 15 minutes to thicken . Taste and add salt and pepper, if necessary.

Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon butter and 2 tablespoons oil in a nonstick or other large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pearl onions, a pinch of sugar and salt to taste. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes, shaking skillet often to move onions around. Uncover, push onions to one side of skillet, add remaining mushrooms and raise heat to medium-high. Continue to cook until browned, stirring mushrooms frequently, and gently tossing onions occasionally, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove onions and mushrooms from skillet, and wipe it out.

In the same skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat until bubbling. Add bread and toast on all sides until golden, about 2 minutes per side. Remove from skillet and sprinkle with salt.

To serve, dip croutons in wine sauce, then coat in parsley. Add pearl onions, mushrooms and remaining half of the cooked lardons to the pot. Baste with wine sauce, sprinkle with parsley and serve with croutons on top.

*NY Times Cooking, Melissa Clark

This story was originally published December 15, 2021 at 3:53 AM.