French · Burgundy and Auvergne
Coq au Vin
Chicken braised in red wine with lardons, mushrooms, and pearl onions. The lesser sibling of Beef Bourguignon — but in its original form (a rooster, coq, aged and tough, requiring hours in wine to yield) this was not a lesser dish. The modern version uses younger chicken, which requires delicacy — the wine braising time is shorter, and the risk of drying out the white meat is real.
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I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
1.4kg
chicken
cut into 8 pieces (breasts halved, thighs and legs separated)
Your own market
200g
pearl onions
peeled
Your own market
200g
button mushrooms
halved
Your own market
150g
lardons
or thick-cut bacon, cubed
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2 tbsp
tomato paste
Your own market
30g
unsalted butter
Your own market
30ml
extra-virgin olive oil
Your own market
500ml
red Burgundy wine
Pinot Noir
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
250ml
chicken stock
Your own market
2
carrots
cut into batons
Your own market
4
garlic cloves
minced
Your own market
2
bay leaves
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
3
fresh thyme sprigs
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 tbsp
black peppercorns
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Coarse sea salt
Your own market
Tellicherry black pepper
Your own market
Parsley
chopped, for garnish
Your own market
II
The Method
1
Render lardons in a large, heavy pot over medium heat until crisp, drain on paper towels, and set aside.
2
Pat chicken dry; brown skin-side down in rendered fat and oil over medium-high heat (3–4 minutes per side), then remove and set aside.
From the canon — The application of low heat to solid animal fat (pork belly skin, duck skin, chicken skin, lard, beef suet) to melt and separate the pure fat from the connec… Rendered Fat: Slow Heat and the Rendered Result →
3
Soften pearl onions and mushrooms briefly in pot; remove and reserve, then stir in tomato paste and cook 2 minutes.
4
Add garlic and cook 1 minute; deglaze with wine, scraping browned bits, and reduce by one-third.
5
Return chicken and lardons to pot, add stock, bay leaves, thyme, and peppercorns; bring to simmer, cover, and braise 45 minutes.
6
Add carrots, pearl onions, and mushrooms; simmer uncovered 15 minutes until chicken is fully cooked through and vegetables are tender.
7
Discard bay leaves and thyme; season carefully with salt and Tellicherry pepper.
8
Serve from the pot or transfer to a shallow dish, garnished with chopped parsley.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Where it lives or dies. The moment where coq au vin lives or dies is the sauce at the very end — after braising, remove all the chicken, strain the sauce, and reduce by half in a clean pan until deeply concentrated. Taste: it should be intensely savoury, slightly sweet from the wine reduction, with depth from the cognac. Add the beurre manie in small pieces, whisking constantly. Return chicken and garnishes. The sauce should cling to the chicken, not pool under it.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Sparkling wine
From British Columbia
Wine
Without alcohol
GT's Synergy Organic Kombucha — Gingerade
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Non-alcoholic
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The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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