Coq au vin
Chicken in red wine with bacon, pearl onions, and mushrooms, the ultimate Burgundian braise.
- Preparation
- 35 min
- Cook/bake time
- 1 hr 10 min
- Total
- 13 hr 45 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Calories
- 939 kcal
- Servings
- 4
- Prep
- 35 min
- Cooking & baking
- 1 hr 10 min
- Resting
- 12 hr
Only 1 hr 45 min of that is hands-on – the rest takes care of itself.
Chicken in red wine with bacon, pearl onions, and mushrooms, the ultimate Burgundian braise. Originally, it was a recipe for an old rooster whose tough meat needed hours of braising in wine; today, legs are used, and the garnish has become more important than the poultry. It is cooked separately and added only at the end.
Why this works
The deep, almost black color of the sauce does not come from the wine alone, but from the interplay of three processes. First, the overnight marinade: the acidity of the wine loosens the connective tissue on the surface of the meat and colors it through. Second, the hard sear, which creates roasted flavors that are released from the bottom of the pot when deglazing. Third, the long reduction, during which the anthocyanins of the red wine react with iron from the meat juices and darken. The garnish of bacon, pearl onions, and mushrooms is deliberately fried separately and added only at the end because each of these three ingredients releases water: if cooked in the braising pot, they would dilute the sauce and disintegrate into gray, soft pieces themselves, instead of providing bite and contrast.
Step-by-step instructions
- 1
Marinate overnight
Place the chicken pieces with onion, carrot, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme in the red wine and chill everything for twelve hours. The acidity loosens the connective tissue on the surface and colors the meat through; without this step, the Coq au vin remains pale and flat.
- 2
Dry and sear
Remove the meat, pat it thoroughly dry, and save the marinade. Sear the pieces in olive oil in batches until dark all over. Patting dry is mandatory: wet meat steams instead of browning, and the roasted flavors are half the sauce here.
- 3
Assemble and braise
Briefly roast the tomato paste and flour in the pot, pour in the strained marinade and the stock, and scrape the fond from the bottom. Return the meat and let everything braise covered over low heat for 60 minutes.
- 4
Fry garnish separately
Meanwhile, render the bacon, sear the mushrooms hard in it, and set them aside. Glaze the pearl onions in butter with a splash of water until they are soft and lightly browned. Cooked separately, all three retain their bite and color.
- 5
Combine
Fold in the bacon, mushrooms, and pearl onions and let everything steep for five minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If the sauce is too thin, remove the meat and reduce it uncovered; the dish is better the next day anyway.
Our best tips
- A wine you would also drink. The sauce consists of three-quarters of it, and a cooking wine from a carton tastes exactly as it smells in the end.
- Never braise the garnish along with it. Bacon, mushrooms, and pearl onions release water and would dilute the sauce; fried separately, they are the contrast that makes the dish.
- Significantly better on the second day. Coq au vin is a classic make-ahead dish; the sauce becomes rounder and the meat continues to absorb flavor.
Tasty variations
Coq au vin jaune
Replace red wine with Vin jaune from the Jura and use cream instead of flour to thicken. A light, much rarer regional variation.
With chicken breast
Possible, but only with a 25-minute braising time. Breast meat has hardly any connective tissue and becomes dry and stringy at 60 minutes.
Nutrition facts
| Calories | 939 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 52 g |
| Carbohydrates | 18 g |
| – of which sugar | 8 g |
| Fat | 56 g |
| Fiber | 3 g |
Where the 939 kcal come from
per serving
Calculated from the ingredients – how we do it
We add up reference values for every ingredient and divide by the number of servings. These assumptions are baked in:
- Reference values per 100 g – for the raw ingredient, exactly as listed.
- Tinned goods count at drained weight, bone-in meat at purchase weight: you eat about 70 per cent of a chicken thigh and leave the rest.
- Water evaporates as you cook. The energy stays in the pot, the weight does not – so the figure is per serving, not per 100 g of finished dish.
- Anything listed without a quantity – “salt and pepper” – is not counted.
A guide value, not a lab measurement: no two onions weigh the same, and fat content varies from pack to pack.
Frequently asked questions
Which wine belongs in Coq au vin?
A robust, dry red wine from Burgundy or a Pinot Noir. It makes up three-quarters of the sauce; a wine you wouldn't drink makes a sauce you wouldn't want to eat.
How many calories does Coq au vin have?
Around 940 kcal per serving, without a side dish. Chicken legs with skin and the bacon contribute the largest part; with skinless legs, the value drops to around 780 kcal.
Do I have to marinate overnight?
It is very worthwhile. The acidity of the wine loosens the surface and colors the meat through. If you don't have the time, extend the braising time by twenty minutes instead; it cannot be completely replaced.
Can I freeze it?
Yes, for up to three months. It is best to freeze without the garnish and fry the bacon, mushrooms, and pearl onions fresh when reheating; they lose their bite when frozen.
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