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French · Alsace

Coq au Riesling

Coq au Riesling is Alsace’s luminous answer to Burgundy’s sombre Coq au Vin: a chicken braised in dry Riesling wine with cream, mushrooms, and shallots, producing a sauce of extraordinary refinement — golden, fragrant, simultaneously rich and bright. Where the Burgundian version draws depth from red wine and lardons, the Alsatian version draws elegance from the Riesling’s natural acidity, floral aromatics, and the finishing velvet of crème fraîche. The chicken (traditionally a free-range poularde, not a rooster) is jointed into 8 pieces, seasoned, and seared to deep gold in a combination of butter and goose fat (graisse d’oie, the preferred cooking fat of Alsace). The pieces are removed and shallots sweated in the same pan until translucent, followed by 200g of sliced button mushrooms sautéed until golden. A generous glass of Marc de Gewurztraminer or Cognac is added and flambéed, then a full bottle of dry Alsatian Riesling (Grand Cru is wasteful; a good village wine is perfect) is poured in with a bouquet garni of thyme, bay, and a few juniper berries — the juniper being a distinctly Alsatian aromatic that bridges the Germanic and French culinary traditions. The chicken is returned, the pot covered, and braised gently at 160°C for 45-55 minutes until the thighs register 75°C. The chicken is removed and the braising liquid strained, then reduced by half. The critical finishing: 200ml of crème fraîche (not double cream — the acidity of crème fraîche is essential to balance the wine’s richness) is whisked in and the sauce reduced to napping consistency. Some versions include a liaison of egg yolks whisked with cream, added off the heat, for a more classical texture. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon and taste of Riesling first, cream second, with the juniper a ghostly presence in the background. Traditionally served over spätzle or with steamed potatoes.

‹Swipe for the next dish›
ServesFour portions
Total1 hour 30 minutes
Sourced2of 13 in BC
Cook
‹ Previous · Consommé Classique — Crystal-Clear Clarified Broth|Next · Coq au Vin d'Auvergne (au Saint-Pourçain) ›
I

The Market List

The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.

1 (about 1.8 kg)
free-range poularde
jointed into 8 pieces
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
30 g
unsalted butter
Your own market
30 g
goose fat (graisse d'oie)
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
4
shallots
finely sliced
Your own market
200 g
button mushrooms
sliced
Your own market
60 ml
Marc de Gewurztraminer or Cognac
for flambéing
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
750 ml
dry Alsatian Riesling
village wine; not Grand Cru, not off-dry
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
200 ml
crème fraîche
not double cream
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Bouquet garni
2
sprigs fresh thyme
Origin · FrancePurely Artisan Foods · San Diego →
2
bay leaves
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
6
juniper berries
lightly crushed
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Optional liaison
2
egg yolks
whisked with a ladleful of hot sauce before incorporation
Your own market
To serve
400 g
spätzle
or steamed potatoes
Origin · GermanyLekker · Vancouver →

Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.

II

The Method

1
Season all 8 chicken pieces with salt and pepper. In a wide braising pot, heat the butter and goose fat together over medium-high heat until the foam subsides. Lay the pieces skin-side down without crowding and sear to a deep, even gold on all sides. The skin must be fully coloured before the pieces are removed and set aside.
From the canon — Braising is the transformation of tough, collagen-rich cuts of meat into tender, deeply flavoured preparations through prolonged cooking in a small amount of… Braising (Braiser) →
2
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the shallots to the same pot and sweat in the residual fat, stirring occasionally, until fully translucent and soft with no colour. Add the sliced mushrooms and raise the heat to sauté them until golden and any released liquid has evaporated.
3
Add the Marc de Gewurztraminer or Cognac and immediately flambé, tilting the pot or using a match. Allow the flames to die out completely. The alcohol must be burned off at this stage; a raw spirit harshness in the finished sauce indicates the flambé was omitted or insufficient.
4
Pour in the full 750 ml of Riesling, then add the bouquet garni of thyme, bay, and juniper berries. Return the leg and thigh pieces to the pot. Cover and braise gently at 160 °C for 30–40 minutes, then add the breast pieces and continue for a further 15 minutes, until the thighs register 75 °C on an instant-read thermometer. The breast pieces must not overcook.
5
Lift out all chicken pieces and keep warm. Strain the braising liquid through a fine sieve into a wide saucepan, pressing the solids. Discard the bouquet garni. Reduce the strained liquid over high heat by half; the colour deepens to a pale amber and the aroma concentrates to Riesling first, juniper a ghostly presence behind.
6
This is where the dish lives or dies: whisk in the 200 ml of crème fraîche — not double cream, whose absence of acidity would collapse the balance against the wine — and continue to reduce over medium heat until the sauce coats the back of a spoon cleanly and holds a clear line drawn through it. Taste: Riesling must be the dominant note, cream the second, juniper a background presence. If using the egg yolk liaison, temper the yolks with a ladleful of the hot sauce, then whisk into the pot off the heat; do not allow the sauce to boil again.
7
Return the chicken pieces to the sauce to warm through without simmering. Serve immediately over spätzle or steamed potatoes, the sauce spooned generously over each portion.
III

Quality Hierarchy

01
Reserve — A certified Label Rouge or Bresse poularde, jointed to order; a named Alsace Riesling Grand Cru used only for deglazing aromatics; imported Alsatian graisse d'oie; artisan spätzle.
02
Estate — A well-raised free-range chicken from a known farm; a good Alsace Riesling village-appellation wine; goose fat from a reputable charcutier; fresh spätzle made to order.
03
Market — A standard free-range chicken; any dry (not off-dry) Alsatian Riesling; commercially available goose fat; dried spätzle of good provenance.
04
House — A standard supermarket chicken; a dry non-Alsatian Riesling; butter alone in place of goose fat; steamed waxy potatoes in place of spätzle.
IV

Sensory Tests

◇Sight. Chicken skin is deep, even gold before braising begins; no pale or steamed patches.
◇Smell. After flambé, the sharp alcohol note is entirely absent; only the fragrance of the spirit's base remains.
◇Sight. Reduced braising liquid turns pale amber; sauce coats the back of a spoon and holds a clean line.
◇Touch. Thigh joint yields without resistance and registers 75 °C at the thickest point.
◇Where it lives or dies. The sauce must be finished with crème fraîche — not double cream — and reduced to true napping consistency: its acidity against the Riesling is the dish's structural axis, and no quantity of reduction can restore that balance once it is lost.
Pillar V
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
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VI

What to Pour

The pairing
Mugnier Musigny Grand Cru
Domaine J.-F. Mugnier · Chambolle-Musigny
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Wine
From British Columbia
Fort Berens Riesling
Fort Berens Estate Winery · Lillooet
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Wine
Without alcohol
GT's Synergy Organic Kombucha — Gingerade
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Non-alcoholic

Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →

The whole pairing
Pillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
Sourced through Provenance

The hands behind the plate.

Purely Artisan Foods
San Diego · sprigs fresh thyme
→
Lekker
Vancouver · spätzle
→
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