Coq au Vin

Chicken braised in red wine. The chicken thighs and legs carry this dish better than the breast, which can dry out. Joint the bird yourself or ask the butcher for dark meat pieces.

Season the chicken pieces well. Brown them in batches in a mixture of butter and oil in a heavy casserole — skin-side down first, until deep golden. Remove and set aside.

Fry the lardons in the same pot. Add the pearl onions and cook until lightly coloured. Add the garlic. If using brandy, add it now and let it reduce for 30 seconds.

Dust the chicken lightly with flour and return it to the pot. Add the wine, stock, tomato purée, thyme, and bay. Bring to a simmer.

Cover and cook over a low heat or in an oven at 160°C for 45 minutes. Add the mushrooms for the last 20 minutes.

When the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has reduced to coat a spoon, taste and adjust seasoning. A knob of butter stirred in at the end gives the sauce a gloss.

Serve with mashed potato, crusty bread, or buttered egg noodles.

Method

Use dark meat only — thighs and drumsticks. Breast dries out under the long, moist heat of braising. Pat the chicken dry, season aggressively with salt and pepper. In a heavy casserole, heat the butter and oil until foaming, then brown the pieces skin-side down first until the skin turns deep mahogany and renders its fat into the pan. This takes 5–7 minutes. Turn and brown the other side for another 4 minutes. Don't crowd the pan; work in batches. Remove and set aside.

In the same fat, render the lardons over a medium heat until they've given up their fat and turned crisp at the edges — roughly 5 minutes. Add the pearl onions whole and let them take on colour, rolling them occasionally, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, crush it lightly into the pan, and let it become fragrant. If using brandy, pour it in now and scrape the base with a wooden spoon; let it reduce until the sharp alcohol smell clears — roughly 30 seconds.

Dust the chicken pieces with flour — this isn't a coating, just a light scatter that will thicken the sauce during cooking through meat-cookery emulsification. Return the chicken to the pot, skin-side up. Add the wine, stock, tomato purée, thyme sprigs, and bay leaves. The liquid should reach about three-quarters up the sides of the chicken. Bring to a bare simmer on the hob, then cover and transfer to a 160°C oven. Cook for 45 minutes. Add the mushrooms whole or halved (depending on size) and return to the oven for the final 20 minutes.

The chicken is ready when the thigh meat pulls easily from the bone and the sauce has reduced to a light coating consistency — it should glaze a spoon without pooling. Taste and season again; the wine will have mellowed, and you may need salt. Finish with a knob of cold butter whisked into the sauce off the heat, which gives it a silky sheen and mellows any remaining french-cuisine tannins from the wine.

Serve into wide bowls with the braising liquid spooned over, and crumbled lardons scattered on top. Buttered egg noodles or a simple mash absorbs the sauce better than bread.