Coq au Vin

A classic French Coq au Vin. Here, chicken is braised in a rich & flavourful red wine sauce with bacon, mushrooms, baby onions & fresh herbs.

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This classic Coq au Vin is absolutely jam packed full of flavour & takes less than an hour & a half to make from scratch (plus an overnight marinade)!

To make this chicken stew, we’re going to be marinating chicken legs in red wine & fresh herbs then braising them in a rich, red wine & beef stock sauce thats full of bacon, mushrooms, baby onions & carrots. This is a proper hearty stew & goes great with some homemade sourdough, mashed potato, pasta or a green, leafy salad.

For more dinner inspiration, take a look at our ever growing collection of main course recipes. There’s lots to choose from here, including homemade pasta dishes, fried chicken, stews, pan fried fish & more!

What Is Coq au Vin?

Coq au Vin translates to “rooster in wine”.

Coq au Vin is a French chicken stew, where chicken (traditionally a whole bird, broken down) is braised in red wine with bacon, mushrooms, baby onions & fresh herbs. Typically a Pinot Noir or a Burgundy wine would be used for this dish but this varies depending on the region of France that you’re in.

Coq au Vin differs slightly to different stews, (beef for example) as chicken takes a lot less time to cook & become tender. This stew only needs 30 minutes or so whereas beef, pork or lamb stews will need several hours.

What You’ll Need

• Chicken – We’re using chicken legs for our coq au vin but thighs can be used instead (or half thighs, half legs).
• Red Wine – A good red wine like a Pinot Noir or Burgundy works best for this stew. Don’t worry about using an expensive one though!
• Bacon – I like to use smoked bacon here but unsmoked will work as well. Pancetta can also be used. It’s best to buy an uncut piece of bacon then cut it yourself, into chunky lardons.
• Vegetables – For this stew, you’ll need button mushrooms, carrots & pearl onions (or small shallots).
• Tomato Paste – You’ll need a tablespoon of tomato paste, which is used when we deglaze our pan.
• Plain Flour – Used to thicken our stew. Make sure to use plain flour!
• Beef Stock – Although this is a chicken stew, we’re going to be using beef stock for a richer flavour. You can either use homemade beef stock or a good quality stock cube/pot dissolved in hot water.
• Fresh Herbs – You’ll need 3 different herbs for this stew. Fresh rosemary, thyme & bay leaves.
• Butter – Stirring a small amount of butter into our coq au vin once it is cooked gives it a glossy finish.

How To Make Coq au Vin

The full, printable recipe card for this chicken stew can be found at the bottom of this post! Here’s a quick rundown of the recipe…

Red Wine Marinade

We’re making the marinade for our coq au vin the day before we cook the stew, to give our chicken as much flavour as possible! To make this, we place our chicken into a bowl then add in red wine, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves & black peppercorns. We cover the bowl with clingfilm then refrigerate.

Ingredient Prep – The Next Day

1. Drying The Chicken
   The next day, we take the chicken out of the wine then pat dry with kitchen paper (this is key to getting a really good sear!). Don’t throw away the wine & bay leaves though, we’ll need this to cook our stew.
2. Bacon Lardons
   Next, we cut our piece of bacon/pancetta into chunky lardons (around 1 cm thick) then set to one side.
3. Veg Prep
   Onto the veg prep. We need to cut the button mushrooms in half, peel the onions & peel and cut the carrots into a chunky dice.

Cooking The Stew

1. Frying The Bacon
   Onto the stew. First, we set a large, ovenproof pan over a medium-high heat then add in a splash of veg oil. Once hot, we add in the bacon lardons then fry until crispy. When our bacon is cooked, we use a slotted spoon to transfer it to a bowl, making sure to leave the bacon fat in the pan. We’re going to be adding the crispy bacon into the stew just before serving.
2. Searing The Chicken
   Next, we season the chicken with salt & pepper then sear in the hot bacon fat for 2-3 minutes on both sides, until golden brown. You might need to do this in batches, depending on the size of your pan. Once seared, we place the chicken onto a plate & set to one side.
3. Cooking The Mushrooms
   Next, we add the mushrooms into the pan & cook for 4-5 minutes, until soft & golden. Once cooked, we transfer the mushrooms to a bowl & set aside with the bacon (we’ll be adding the mushrooms into the stew at the end as well).
4. Frying The Veg
   To the pan, we add the diced carrots & baby onions then cook for 4-5 minutes until golden. We then stir in plain flour, tomato paste & chopped rosemary and thyme.
5. Deglazing
   Next, we pour the red wine (from the marinade) into the pan, stirring to deglaze & thicken then we add in beef stock, the reserved bay leaves & seared chicken.
6. Braising
   Now we bring the stew to a simmer then cover with a lid & cook in a 160°c/320°f oven until the chicken is cooked through, this will take around 30 minutes. The internal temperature of the meat should be at least 75°c/167°f.
7. To Finish
   Once our stew is cooked, we set the pan back over a low heat then stir in the fried bacon, mushrooms & a knob of butter. We give the sauce a taste, to check the seasoning, add in salt & pepper as needed then serve.

What To Serve With Coq au Vin

Coq au vin is pretty versatile when it comes to what to serve it with. I went with some buttered sourdough bread but this stew can also be served with potatoes (this could be mash, dauphinoise, chips or sautéed new potatoes!), a fresh leafy salad or simply some boiled & buttered veg.

Coq au Vin Tips & Tricks

• Marinade your chicken overnight, for the best flavour.
• Use a good red wine like a Pinot Noir or a Burgundy.
• Cook the stew low & slow, for extra tender meat.
• Use a good quality beef stock, to give the sauce the richest flavour.
• Add the fried bacon & mushrooms into the stew at the very end, so that they retain their texture.
• Cut the bacon into chunky lardons, so they don’t get lost in the sauce.
• Stir a small amount of butter into the stew once it is cooked, to give it a glossy finish.

Frequently Asked Questions

Cooking Coq au Vin In An Aga

With all of my recipes, I include cooking instructions for conventional ovens, fan ovens & also Agas. Here’s how to cook this recipe in an Aga…

Use the boiling plate to fry the bacon, chicken & veg. Cook the coq au vin in the baking oven, on a grid shelf placed on the floor. Place a cold plain shelf on the top shelf of the baking oven for the duration of the cook. Use the simmering plate to warm the stew through when you add in the bacon & mushrooms.

Equipment Used

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• Thermapen Digital Food Probe

More Main Course & Dinner Recipes To Try!

• Chicken Tikka Masala
• Smoked Pulled Pork
• Four Cheese Sriracha Mac & Cheese
• Slow Cooked Spaghetti Bolognese
• Twice Baked Rarebit Potatoes
• Shepherd’s Pie With Cheesy Garlic Mash

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