Coq au Vin prep question....

Epicurean Exploits - Food and Recipes
1

So I’m consulting Alton Brown’s recipe and also stumbled across one from a French cookbook I picked up in Paris.

Alton calls for 2-2.5 hours in the oven at 325F while the cookbook says 45 minutes sauteed over medium heat (on the range)…

So which is it lol - I’ve been marinating the chicken for over 24 hours now, so it shouldn’t dry out.

Any reccos?

2

Stick with Alton. He is right 99% of the time. I am sure as with most thing there are a number of ways to creat the same dish. But this one will be tried and true.

3

Jacques Pepin uses the stove top in a heavy, coated, cast iron pot.

4

I just made this a couple of weeks ago but used the New Best Recipe book- I browned in on the stove top then finished in the oven so the skin isn’t toally mushy.

5

You could do it either way but bear in mind that unless the chicken is totally submerged in the liquid (braising), that is gonna be some tough dried out bird in 2.5 hours at 325. The advantage of a slow braise is that the flavor of the wine tends to soak in better.

I make coq au vin and various offshoots at least every 2 weeks. I brown it in my le creuset (a must have for any serious cook imo) and then brown the bacon, aromatics or veggies in the left over oil and cracklings. Then deglaze with the stock and wine, then add the chicken back in and finish in a hot oven for 45 minutes to an hour or so.

At the end, pull out the meet and veg then I thicken the sauce before serving.

A few tips…
A smaller chicken (we call them fryers) are better than the big roasters.
When prepping the chicken and cutting the wings, include a nice hunk of breast meat with the wing to make it worthwhile.
Pancetta or similarly funky bacon really adds a depth of flavor to the sauce.
We often use a rhone blend instead of burgundy and serve the same wine with the meal.

6

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I don’t see where this would make any difference.