Coq Au Vin

By Janet-2

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 to 3 pounds cut-up frying chicken, skin on and thoroughly dried
• 6 pieces of lardon
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup cognac
• 2 cups red wine (Pinot Noir, Burgundy, Cabernet Sauvignon or Port)
• 2 cups homemade chicken stock or low-sodium chicken stock or broth
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic, mashed or minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• pearl onions, 6
• carrots, 2, chopped up
• garlic, 2 cloves
• mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• Parsley sprigs

Preparation

Step 1

Dry chicken thoroughly in a towel. Season chicken with salt and pepper; set aside.



In a large heavy frying pan, casserole dish, or electric skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil until moderately hot. Chop up the lardon in 1"x 1/2" chunks. Saute lardons in olive oil until lightly browned.

Remove lardons to a side dish. Place chicken pieces into the hot oil (not crowding pan), and brown on all sides. Return lardons to the pan, cover pan, and cook slowly for 10 minutes, turning chicken once.

After browning the chicken, uncover pan, pour in the cognac. Flambé by igniting with a lighted match. Let flame a minute, swirling pan by its handle to burn off alcohol; extinguish with pan cover.

Add onions, carrots, and garlic and saute.

Pour the red wine into the pan and add just enough chicken broth to completely cover the chicken pieces. Stir in tomato paste, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme. Bring the liquid to a simmer, then cover pan, and simmer slowly for about 30 minutes or until the chicken meat is tender when pierced with a fork or an instant-read meat thermometer registers an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.

When the chicken is done cooking, remove from the pan to a platter, leaving the cooking liquid in the pan. Increase heat to high and boil the cooking liquid rapidly until approximately 2 cups of liquid remains.

While the liquid is boiling, in a small bowl, blend the 3 tablespoons flour and 2 tablespoons softened butter into a smooth paste; beat the flour/butter mixture into the approximately 2 cups hot cooking liquid with a whisk.

Simmer and stir for a minute or two until the sauce has thickened (the result will be a sauce thick enough to lightly coat a spoon - just thick enough to coat the chicken and vegetables lightly). If sauce is too thin, boil down rapidly to concentrate; if sauce is too thick, thin out with additional spoonfuls of chicken stock. Taste the final sauce, adding more salt and pepper if necessary.

Pour sauce over the chicken and vegetables. Add sprigs of parsley.