Coq au Vin is a classic French one-pot dish, originally made with rooster, but most modern recipes use ordinary chicken. But simply put, it is chicken cooked in wine. It requires a bit of preparation but at the end you put the ingredients into a casserole pan, cover and cook in the oven for 45 minutes.
My Coq au Vin turned a bit purple, not red, because I used Merlot instead of Burgundy wine to marinate. Purple is fun, there are not a lot of purple dishes out there and the flavor with Merlot is so delicious. Technically a traditional coq au vin is made with a Pinot Noir from Burgundy. Merlot is a dark blue-colored wine grape variety mainly used in Bordeaux wines. It’s possible to use Cabernet Sauvignon or other full-bodied red wine as well, but each wine will affect the taste of the dish greatly.
If you don’t have a Dutch Oven (casserole dish/pan) yet, I can highly recommend you invest into buying one. It makes your life so much easier in the kitchen, you can use it on the stovetop and transfer it to the oven for dishes that require long cooking time in the oven. It seals all the moisture and flavors inside, which results into extremely flavorful and juicy meat dishes. The most used design is black enameled steel pan, which was introduced in 1891 by a well-known Dutch manufacturer of cookware. I know it is expensive, and that is because a large amount of quality cast iron is needed to make them, and the enamel coating also needs to be high quality. It is worth paying attention to promotions, you can always find a good offer.
One 1,4 kg chicken will be enough for 4 persons, but if you have active sporty children, buy 2 extra chicken legs. Do not worry if you have leftovers, it’s very delicious next day, if not better. Coq au Vin’s preparation is very similar to beef bourguignon. Chicken is seasoned with salt, pepper, thyme, parsley and bay leaf and slowly simmered in wine until tender.
The chicken and vegetables can be made ahead, only the mushrooms needs to be freshly prepared with the bacon before serving. Coq au Vin is very delicious with fresh bread, just dip it into the wine sauce and enjoy!
