Coq au vin is a classic French slow-cooked dish in which the chicken is left to marinate in red wine, herbs and garlic, giving it a deep, rounded flavour.
Coq au vin is built around fried bacon, mushrooms, shallots and carrots, which together with the marinated chicken legs, red wine and stock make a rich, full-flavoured sauce.
The chicken needs to simmer over the gentlest heat for about 45 minutes – it is important that the heat is very low, so the legs turn tender and juicy without drying out.
Once the dish has simmered and the chicken is tender, the sauce is lightly thickened to give it the right consistency.
Serve coq au vin with creamy mashed potatoes to round off a comforting, satisfying meal.
Can you skip the marinating?
Although you can skip the marinating, I recommend marinating the chicken for a deeper flavour.
The chicken legs soak up the red wine and herbs, which gives the finished dish a wonderfully intense flavour.
If time allows, let the chicken marinate for at least 2 hours, or better still, overnight. That extra step makes a big difference to the end result.
That said, the dish also tastes wonderful without marinating – no doubt about it.
Coq au vin
Ingredients
- 4 whole chicken legs (thigh and drumstick)
- 500 ml red wine
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced
- 3 sprigs rosemary
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 200 g shallots
- 200 g mushrooms
- 250 g bacon, cut into large cubes
- 2 large carrots, sliced
- 200 ml water
- 1 chicken stock cube
- Cornflour + a little water
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Oil
To serve
- Mashed potatoes – click here for the recipe
- Finely chopped parsley
Method
Marinate the chicken
- This step can be skipped if you are short of time – but marinating the chicken in red wine, a bouquet garni and a little garlic adds a great deal of depth to the meat.
- Place the chicken legs in a dish, tie the herbs and bay leaves together into a bouquet garni and add it to the dish along with 2 sliced garlic cloves, then pour over the red wine.
- Cover the dish with cling film and refrigerate the chicken for at least 2 hours – and preferably overnight.
Coq au vin
- Peel the shallots and halve or quarter them.
- Halve or quarter the mushrooms too if they are large – otherwise leave them whole.
- Heat a splash of oil in a sauté pan and lightly brown the shallots. Set them aside.
- Brown the mushrooms in the same pan, then set them aside.
- Finally, fry the bacon until crisp and golden and set it aside.
- Season the skin side of the chicken legs with salt and freshly ground pepper and fry them skin side down until the skin is well browned.Season the underside with salt and freshly ground pepper, turn the legs over and brown for a further 3-4 minutes.Set the legs aside.
- Put the mushrooms, shallots, bacon, carrots and the remaining garlic into the pan and toss together for a couple of minutes.
- Place the chicken legs on top of the vegetables along with the bouquet garni and pour over the red wine. Let it reduce for 5 minutes.
- Pour in the stock (the water with the stock cube dissolved in it), cover with a lid and let the chicken simmer over the gentlest heat for about 40-50 minutes – depending on the size of the legs.
- Lift the legs out of the sauce and thicken the sauce with a little cornflour mixed with water. Season the sauce to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Before serving, you can stir a handful of chopped parsley into the sauce if you like.Return the legs to the sauce if the pan is going to the table – or plate up with mashed potatoes, chicken and plenty of sauce and vegetables.
Nutrition
Premium
Smager retten meget af rødvin ved servering?
Hej Anne
Du kan i hvert fald smage rødvinen – så ja, det vil jeg sige 🙂
Warm wishes, Dianna
Hej
Jeg skal lave retten til 20 Pers.
Kan jeg lave retten dagen før?
Eller kan jeg lave det næsten færdig dagen før, og så vente med at lade retten simre 40-50 min på selve dagen?
Hej Pia
Det kan du sagtens gøre ja. Jeg ville lave retten helt færdig, og så bare opvarme den forsigtigt, så kødet ikke bliver tørt 🙂
Warm wishes, Dianna
Mangler der ikke hvormange perleløg der skal i?
Hej Thomas
Der er ikke perleløg i – kun skalotteløg:)
Warm wishes, Dianna
Halvtreds vindruer i før servering løfter.
Mørke øko
Hej Jens
Det skal absolut prøves, lyder som et lækkert frisk tilføjelse 🙂
Warm wishes, Dianna
Kan det simre i en støbejerns gryde i ovnen?
Hej Eva
Ja det tænker jeg sagtens den kan, pas på ikke at give den for meget:)
Warm wishes, Dianna
Super, Med hamekylling++
Jeg og mine drenge foretrækker at give saucen halve Vindruer inden servering.
Hej Jens
Tusind tak for din skønne feedback. Og god idé med druer inden servering, det vil jeg absolut prøve 🙂
Warm wishes, Dianna
Tror du ikke godt retten vil kunne fungere med fasan i stedet for kylling?
Hej Line
Det tænker jeg absolut 🙂
Har også en skøn opskrift på grydestegt fasan, den skal du prøve 🙂
Warm wishes, Dianna
Hej 🙂
Jeg forstår ikke helt om marinaden til kyllingen “går fra” ingredienserne til selve coq au vin? Altså marinerer jeg kyllingen i 5 dl rødvin og så hælder det videre over i coq au vin? Eller er det udover? Og i så fald, hvad er måleforholdene?
Dbh. Signe
Hej Signe
Du skal bruge det rødvin som kyllingen har marineret i 🙂
Warm wishes, Dianna
Skøn opskrift
Denne ret har, er, og vil altid være min hofret.. Denne version er absolut brugbar men unghane er at foretrække.. Der er lidt justeringer men i den grad værd at byde dig selv og dine gæster..
Hejsa
Hvor er det godt at høre, tusind tak for feedback 🙂
Warm wishes, Dianna
Smager fantastisk