Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Coq au vin

Since Ken is arriving home today after a couple of weeks in the US, I thought I'd make something French for him. I'm sure he's been enjoying seafood, barbeque, and hamburgers at home in North Carolina. So, as a change, I made my version of the classic French coq au vin (chicken in red wine).

The sauteed pork, onions, carrots and garlic, along with armagnac and red wine.

Rather than use an old coq (rooster, the traditional ingredient), I used haut de cuisse (thighs), with bone in and skin on. First I sauteed some smoked lardons (bacon) and followed that with diced carrots, garlic, and some whole small onions. I seasoned with pepper, and added tarragon and thyme (I didn't add salt because the bacon is salty -- I'll correct if necessary once it's finished). Then I browned the chicken. When the chicken was golden, I removed it from the pan, put the vegetables back in, and sprinkled some flour on them to give the sauce a little body.

Browned chicken thighs. As an alternative, the chicken can be marinated in the wine with the vegetables overnight before it's browned.

Next, with the vegetables back out of the pan, I de-glazed with some armagnac. I put all of the ingredients into an oven dish along with some bay leaves and black pepper, then poured in a bottle of our local red. That went into the oven to cook slowly for a few hours. It spent the night in the refrigerator and will be reheated this afternoon -- dishes like this are often better the next day. At that point I'll add some mushrooms that I sauteed this morning.

Nearly finished, after three hours in a slow oven. There's a layer of clear fat to be skimmed off the top, but you get the idea.

Ken may be too jet-lagged and tired to eat. But maybe not.

11 comments:

  1. Looks really yummy -- a great welcome home meal!

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  2. I can tell how much you missed your hubby! :)

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  3. Maybe not ;)
    Looks great. Lovely way to welcome him home. I imagine that Callie and Bertie will be pleased to see him, too :)

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  4. That looks absolutely delicious...Ken is very lucky to have such a good meal awaiting his homecoming.

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  5. Oh la la! And what's for dessert, may I ask?

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  6. Yes, I agree Walt. The next day all the flavors really brighten up most meals. And, you pointed out that one can remove the fat from the sauce the second day! Looking good. Hope Ken and you have an enjoyable meal together. I'm sure you'll have lots to share with each other!

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  7. "Poulet a l'Armagnac" is a great welcome home dish. Hope jet lag is not too brutal!

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  8. Looks delicious.
    A perfect welcome home.

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  9. Walt,

    Haven't made coq a vin in years (too many), will definitely have to now. Thanks!

    Ron

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  10. My mouth is watering. At the same time I'm missing my NC barbecue as well.

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  11. Would you believe this is on my bucket list? For some reason unknown to me I want to have this before I die -and I want to make it too. I have several recipe clippings including Julia Child's version. Someday........

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