Coq au Vin Blanc

By corlear

When I was a teenager, coq au vin was one of the first fancy and foreign-sounding dishes I learned ot cook. Since, I have made beaucoup de coqs au vin, but now I react to the famous dish with more dismay than delight. I guess I’ve sampled too many indifferent or dubious coqs au vin in Burgundy served up as plats du jour and have grown to dislike the way the red cooking wine stains the chicken meat an unpalatable brownish gray.

Switch the cooking wine from red to white, but add a good bottle of red Burgundy rather than white as a sipping accompaniment, and suddenly you have one happy coq au vin camper. It is not really a sacrilege, as there are plenty of lesser known Burgundian recipes that call for stewing a chicken in white wine. In fact, the one here is adapted from the recipe brochure distributed at the charming Moutarde Grey Poupon boutique in Dijon.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
• 3 whole chicken breasts (3 to 3 1/2 pounds total), split in half
• Sea or coarse salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 shallots, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon ground marjoram
• 3/4 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 2 cups white Burgundy table wine, or other chardonnay
• 1/2 pound baby carrots, peeled
• 24 pearl onions, peeled
• 1 can (13 ounces) artichoke hearts, drained
• 1/3 cup imported Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons brandy
• 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup snipped fresh chives or minced fresh parsley

Details

Servings 6

Preparation

Step 1

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter and the oil in a very large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken breasts, skin side down, and sauté until nicely browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Season the chicken with salt and pepper while it cooks. Turn over and brown the undersides as well. Once browned, move the chicken breasts to a platter.

2. Add the garlic and shallots to the skillet and sauté until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the thyme and the marjoram and cook 1 minute more. Pour in the chicken stock and wine, stirring to scrape up any browned bits that may be clinging to the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken to the pot, cover, and braise over medium heat, basting occasionally with the pan juices, until the meat is nearly tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Add the carrots, onions, and artichokes, tucking them in and around the chicken pieces, and continue cooking, covered, until the vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes more.

3. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken and vegetables to a platter and keep warm. Whisk the mustard and brandy into the liquid remaining in the skillet and bring to a boil. Using your fingers or a fork, knead the remaining 1 tablespoon butter into the flour until thoroughly combined to make a beurre manié. Whisk the beurre manié slowly, half-teaspoon by half-teaspoon, into the sauce to slightly thicken it. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if necessary. Return the chicken and vegetables to the pot and stir to coat with the sauce. Sprinkle with the chives or parsley and serve at once.