Why It’s on the Menu
This is the main event. Chicken thighs braise slowly in red Burgundy with pancetta, pearl onions, and mushrooms until the sauce turns glossy and deep. It's the French classic everyone thinks they know, made richer with porcini, beef broth, and a cognac flambé. It’s an amalgamation of recipes from two all-time greats, Ina Garten and Julia Child. Serve it with the rosé and reds of the night. The full plan is in the Wine Night post.
The Recipe: Coq au Vin
Serves 8 · about 1½ hours hands-on, about 3 hours total
You’ll need:
The braise
½ ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1 cup hot water
6 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat and patted dry
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 bottles red Burgundy (750 milliliters each)
4 cups beef broth
12 ounces pancetta, cut into ¼-inch pieces
13 to 14 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
2 large carrots, roughly chopped
2 large onions, roughly chopped
4 medium shallots, peeled and quartered
8 cloves garlic, skin on and smashed
½ cup cognac
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 bunch Italian parsley, stems only (save the leaves for serving)
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon tomato paste
The garnish and sauce
1 (14-ounce) bag frozen pearl onions, thawed and drained in a strainer
1 pound cremini mushrooms, halved if medium, quartered if large
3 to 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ cup parsley leaves (from the same bunch), minced
Do this:
Soak the porcini in the hot water for 30 minutes. Lift them out, squeeze extra liquid back into the dish, chop them, and set them aside. Strain the soaking liquid through a coffee filter or paper towel into a large, heavy saucepan to catch any grit.
Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper and set it aside. Add the wine and beef broth to the porcini liquid in the saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-high and simmer until the liquid has reduced to about 8 cups, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from heat.
Meanwhile, cook the pancetta in a large Dutch oven (the bigger, the better) over medium heat until the fat has rendered and the pancetta is golden, 5 to 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer it to a paper towel-lined plate.
Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the pancetta fat. Add the carrots, onions, shallots, and garlic, and cook until lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to the reduced wine with as little of the fat as possible, then pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pot.
Return the Dutch oven to medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons of butter. When it melts, add the chicken in batches so the pot isn’t crowded, and cook until well browned all over, turning and rotating in the pan every 4 to 5 minutes until all pieces are nicely browned. Transfer the browned chicken to a plate and let it rest while you finish the rest of the pieces. When finished, pour off all fat from the pot.
Return all the chicken to the pot and take the pot off the heat. Pour in the cognac and carefully light it with a long match or lighter. When the flames die out, transfer the chicken back to the plate.
Return the pot to the heat, add the wine and vegetable mixture, and bring to a boil, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon. Tie the parsley and bay leaves together and add to the pot. Add the thyme and tomato paste, stir until paste is dissolved. Add chicken and any accumulated juices from the plate. Return to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer gently, partially covered, until the chicken is tender, about 60 minutes. Turn the chicken once halfway through, moving pieces from the top to bottom and vice versa if it is crowded.
While the chicken cooks, melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over low heat. Add the pearl onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and almost cooked through, 8 to 12 minutes.
Increase the heat to medium. Add the cremini and the chopped porcini, season with salt, and cover. Cook until the mushrooms release their liquid, about 5 minutes. Uncover, increase the heat to high, and cook until the liquid evaporates and the onions and mushrooms are golden brown, 5 minutes more. When finished, remove from heat.
When the chicken is done, carefully transfer it to a large serving platter so the pieces stay intact. Cover it with foil to keep warm. Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a large measuring cup or bowl, pressing on the solids to get out as much liquid as possible. You should have 3 to 4 cups. Return the sauce to the pot and skim off as much fat as you can.
Measure out 1 tablespoon each of butter and flour for every cup of sauce (3 to 4 tablespoons of each), and mash them together into a smooth paste.
Bring the sauce to a boil and whisk in the butter-flour paste until smooth and thickened. Add the pancetta, onions, and mushrooms, and season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low, nestle the chicken back into the sauce along with any juices from the platter, and simmer very gently until everything is heated through, about 5 minutes.
Using tongs, gently return the chicken to the platter. Spoon the sauce, mushrooms, and onions over the top, sprinkle with the chopped parsley, and serve immediately.
Printable recipe card below.
Notes
Make ahead: Coq au vin is better the next day. Finish it through step 7, cool it, and refrigerate it overnight in the pot. The fat will harden on top and lift right off. Refrigerate the cooked pancetta and the chopped porcini separately, since you’ll need them in steps 9 and 12. Reheat the coq au vin gently, then do steps 8 through 13 the day of the dinner.
The cooking wine: You don’t need an expensive bottle. A good, simple Bourgogne Rouge, around $25 to $35, gives the sauce its depth; save the special bottles for the glasses. To spend less, a French Pinot Noir from the Pays d’Oc, around $10 to $15, works in the pot.
Flambé safety: Turn off the range hood fan before lighting the cognac, keep the lid nearby, and stand back. The flames go out on their own in under a minute.
On the table: Serve it with the garlic mashed potatoes and a simple green salad from the Wine Night menu and crusty French bread to catch every bit of sauce.
Leftovers: I pack the leftovers (if there are any) with the mashed potatoes in individual servings and freeze them for an easy winter lunch.
Host the night. Pour the world.