Coq au Vin III
Nearly all coq au vin recipes other than those altered for low-fat diets start with lardons, or their more available substitutes, unsmoked bacon or pancetta. The lardons are cooked, and the rendered fat used for browning the other ingredients, and (with the addition of the flour) to form the roux which thickens the sauce. Generally, a full bottle of red wine is used, and brandy may be added. Porcini mushrooms, while not particularly authentic, are good in this dish. This is a difficult dish, but you've got to try it. The asafoetida is a novelty, but it does add pungency.
1.5 kg (about 3.5 lbs) chicken, jointed (or drumsticks, thighs, breasts); get the giblets, and the blood if you can; season beforehand; marrow is important
Oil
Black peppercorns
4 carrots, cut in thick lengths
1 whole onion
8 thick slices pancetta, cut into strips less than width of little finger
1 strip of pork belly fat
1 onion, chopped
250 g button mushrooms, whole
1 clove garlic, sliced
2 measures of brandy
1 bottle red burgundy wine (or côte du Rhône/Morgon)
1 cup vegetable stock
4 cloves garlic, crushed
5 sprigs thyme (2 tsp)
5 bay leaves
Butter
Selection of wild mushrooms, sliced (dried is okay; use the soaking liquor)
12 small fresh pickling onions, peeled and whole
2 stalks celery, roughly diced
½ tsp ground asafoetida
Salt
Parsley
For chicken stock, sear the giblets in a bit of oil in a pan, and simmer in water with the whole onion, 1 carrot and some peppercorns. You should have 1 cup.
In the skillet, fry pancetta and pork belly fat with butter until golden brown. Remove pancetta.
To the skillet, add the seasoned chicken pieces skin side down and fry until honey-coloured, then flip. This is vital for the flavour; the skillet must be left sticky. There won't be enough room to do it in one go, so take it in turns. Remove, leaving the pork belly behind, snipped into pieces.
To the skillet, add the chopped onion and the button mushrooms; fry for 5 minutes, then add the sliced garlic and immediately flame off one of the measures of brandy.
5 minutes
To the skillet add the chicken pieces and pancetta, then pour over all the wine, chicken stock, and vegetable stock. Bring to the boil, then add garlic and herbs. Reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes. Turn the chicken pieces twice.
45 minutes
Remove the chicken pieces to the pyrex lid and pour the skillet sauce into the jug; put the jug in the freezer for 30 minutes and then remove the fat. At this stage, it is recommended that you refrigerate the whole dish overnight.
30 minutes
In the skillet, add some butter along with the wild mushrooms; then pickling onions, remaining carrots, and celery; fry until the mushrooms brown. Stir in the asafoetida and flame off the second measure of brandy.
Add the jug ingredients to the skillet sauce, along with another crushed clove of garlic, and push the veg to the edge of the skillet; reduce the sauce in the skillet until glossy (about 15 minutes). It may need some flour stirred in, but it shouldn't be thick.
15 minutes
Pour half the sauce into the pyrex bowl, then place the chicken pieces in, and pour the rest of the sauce on top; put the covered pyrex bowl in an oven on 170 °C for 90 minutes.
90 minutes
Sprinkle parsley over each portion, and serve with asparagus/green beans, and steamed potatoes/flat noodles/rice/orzo/colcannon.
- •If you're doing breasts off the bone, sear on skin side only and do not put back into the dish until the oven stage—otherwise they will toughen up.