Coq au vin
Classic French chicken braised in red wine with bacon, mushrooms and pearl onions — great for a cosy dinner party.
Coq au vin is the kind of French dish that makes you feel like you’ve earned dinner. It’s essentially chicken slowly braised in red wine with bacon, mushrooms and little pearl onions — comforting, rich and surprisingly simple.
Make it for a small dinner party or a weekend supper; the long-ish cook time is passive braising, and the flavours only get better if you make it a day ahead. Serve with mashed potato, buttered noodles or crusty bread to mop up the glorious jus.
Ingredients
- 1.4 kg bone-in chicken thighs and legs
- 750 ml dry red wine — use a decent drinking wine
- 400 ml chicken stock — low-salt
- 150 g streaky bacon — cut into lardons
- 300 g chestnut mushrooms — halved if large
- 200 g pearl onions — peeled
- 2 carrots — medium, peeled and cut into 1 cm slices
- 1 brown onion — large, halved and thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves — crushed
- 25 g plain flour — for dusting
- 15 ml tomato purée
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 30 g butter
- 30 ml olive oil
- 15 g flatleaf parsley — chopped, to finish
- salt — to taste
- black pepper — freshly ground, to taste
Equipment
- ovenproof casserole (5–6 litres, with lid)
- fine-mesh sieve
Instructions
Put the chicken pieces in a large bowl or lidded container. Add the dry red wine, half the sliced brown onion, fresh thyme sprigs, bay leaves and crushed garlic cloves. Cover and chill to marinate for 6 hours.
Preheat the oven to 160°C fan/180°C conventional. Remove the chicken from the marinade and strain the liquid into a jug, reserving the solids. Pat the chicken dry thoroughly with kitchen paper.
Season the chicken with salt and black pepper, then toss lightly in the plain flour so each piece has a thin coating. Shake off any excess flour.
Heat the olive oil and half the butter in an ovenproof casserole over a medium–high hob. Add the streaky bacon and fry until golden and crisp, about 6–8 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Increase the heat to high and brown the chicken in batches in the bacon fat, about 5 minutes per side, until deeply coloured. Don’t overcrowd the pan; transfer each batch to a plate as it’s ready.
Reduce the heat to medium, add the remaining butter, the reserved sliced brown onion, carrots and pearl onions and sauté until softened, about 12–15 minutes. Add the crushed garlic cloves and chestnut mushrooms and cook a further 2–3 minutes until the mushrooms are browned.
Stir in the tomato purée, then pour in the reserved wine marinade and the chicken stock. Scrape any browned bits from the base of the casserole. Return the bacon and chicken to the pot, add the fresh thyme sprigs and bay leaves and bring to a gentle simmer for 10 minutes on the hob to marry the flavours.
Cover the casserole and transfer to the preheated oven. Braise for 1 hour 30 minutes at 160°C fan/180°C conventional, until the chicken is tender and the sauce has reduced to a glossy jus.
Carefully lift out the chicken and keep warm. Skim and discard excess fat from the surface, then reduce the sauce on the hob uncovered for 5 minutes if it needs thickening. Adjust seasoning with salt and black pepper and return the chicken to the sauce.
Rest the dish for 10 minutes before serving so the juices settle. Scatter the chopped flatleaf parsley over the top to finish.
Tips
- If you can, marinate the chicken in wine overnight — it deepens the flavour. At minimum 6 hours is very useful.
- Pat the chicken completely dry before browning; moisture is the enemy of a good Maillard crust.
- Brown the mushrooms separately if your pan is crowded — they’ll colour better and won’t stew.
- If the sauce is too thin after braising, lift out the chicken and simmer the sauce uncovered until it coats the back of a spoon.
- This keeps and often improves for 24–48 hours; reheat gently on the hob and finish with a splash of stock if the sauce tightens.
Substitutions
streaky bacon → smoked pancetta, same quantity
Stays closedry red wine → equal quantity of non-alcoholic red wine or additional chicken stock (use extra 150 ml stock)
Noticeably differentchestnut mushrooms → portobello or field mushrooms, same quantity
Stays closebone-in chicken thighs and legs → a mix of thighs and bone-in breasts for quicker cooking (reduce oven time by ~20 minutes)
Noticeably different
Nutrition
Per serving · estimated
- 612
- Calories
- 42 g
- Protein
- 12 g
- Carbs
- 44 g
- Fat
- 3 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
- Sugar
- 750 mg
- Sodium
FAQ
Can I make coq au vin ahead?
Yes — it flavours up beautifully. Cool, refrigerate and reheat gently the next day. Bring to a gentle simmer on the hob, adding a splash of stock if the sauce has tightened.
Do I have to use a good wine?
Cook with a wine you’d happily drink. Very cheap wine can make the sauce bitter; using the same bottle you serve is a safe bet.
How do I know the chicken is cooked?
The meat should be tender and pull from the bone easily. If you use a probe, aim for at least 75°C in the thickest part of the thigh.
Can I use boneless chicken?
You can, but bone-in pieces give more flavour and are less likely to dry out during the long braise.
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