Classic Coq Au Vin with Red Wine
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This is a recipe that will transport you from your dinner table to a casual neighborhood bistro. It’s the classic recipe for Julia Child’s coq au vin, a simple and homey French-style stew of braised fall-apart tender chicken in a rich, tangy red wine sauce. Serve this delectable chicken with noodles, polenta or roasted potatoes for the ultimate cozy dinner.
I have strong feelings about coq au vin, for good reason. It’s hard to argue with melt-in-your mouth tender chicken, especially when it’s sauced-up with a velvety red wine sauce and flavorful pan juices. And those sweet caramelized onions and earthy mushrooms!
This is a dish that feels just like an autumn walk, when leaves are falling off the trees and the smell of woodsmoke is in the air. I love that mood! The whole dish cooks on the stovetop. If you have an enameled Dutch oven, you’ll find it’s a great pan to use for this dish.
While I was testing and perfecting this recipe, I had Julia Child by my side the whole time, in the form of her cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
According to Julia Child, in France crisp-skinned chicken with red wine is a type of fricassee. I was a little surprised that Julia’s recipe doesn’t include carrots or celery. Her recipe is really very basic, focusing the layers of flavor on chicken, mushrooms, sweet onions and red wine sauce.
Key ingredients
- Chicken: You have a choice: While a whole cut-up chicken is traditional in coq au vin, I’ve cooked this many times using just chicken thighs and legs, or a combination of chicken parts I have on hand.
- Pancetta or bacon: Either one of these cured pork products are good to use. They’re the key to adding a layer of deep flavor to the dish. Just sure to use an unsmoked bacon so it doesn’t overwhelm the other ingredients.
- Brown mushrooms: Cremini mushrooms add a rustic touch, but good everyday white button mushrooms are readily available and I’ll bet my spatula they’re what Julia used when she created her recipe in the 1960’s.
- Baby onions or shallots: Depending on the season, I know it can be difficult to track down “baby” (pearl onions) in markets. Luckily, shallots do the job equally well.
Recipe overview:
While coq au vin is not at all hard to make, it does involve a few steps and takes about an hour to cook. Save this recipe to make on a weekend or on a day when you have a bit more time than half an hour to make dinner at home.
1. Dice the pancetta or bacon into 1/2-inch pieces. 2. Cook it until crisp in a skillet, then sear the chicken in the fat.
3. Pour the wine into the pan, which will loosen the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer, then add chicken broth, tomato paste, and herbs. 
4. Put the seared chicken back in the pan. Cover the pan and simmer gently until the meat is falling-apart tender, which usually takes 40-45 minutes.
5. The secret to the lush texture of the wine sauce is a paste of flour and softened butter (beurre manié). 
6. Remove the chicken from the pan, then stir in the flour-butter paste. Cook a few minutes, until you see the sauce start to thicken. 
7. Add the chicken back to the pan along with the mushrooms and onions. Sprinkle with parsley and serve it up warm!
Best red wines for coq au vin
The rule of thumb for cooking with wine — especially when it’s a major component of the recipe — is to use wine you already enjoy drinking.
- For coq au vin, I recommend using a soft, hearty red wine made with grape varieties like syrah, pinot noir, zinfandel or sangiovese. I don’t think Cabernet Sauvignon is the best choice for this dish, because it often contains more tannins that are more noticeable in the reduced sauce.
- California Pinot Noir, Syrah, Zinfandel, Merlot
- French Cotes du Rhone, Burgundy (pinot noir), Syrah
- Italian Chianti, Barbera D’Asti, Montepulciano
Complete the plate
- The tender chicken and rich sauce are perfect with egg noodles or wide pasta like pappardelle, or try another Julia recipe for buttery potato galette or garlic roasted potatoes.
Classic Coq Au Vin with Red Wine
Ingredients
- 3 pounds bone-in chicken parts (6-8 pieces), breasts, legs and thighs or a combination
- 2-½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 3 ounces chopped pancetta or unsmoked bacon
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups dry, full-bodied red wine, such as Cotes du Rhone, Malbec, Syrah or Pinot Noir
- 2 tablespoons pressed or grated garlic
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 1 cup peeled pearl onions, or 3 shallots cut into quarters
- 12 ounces quartered cremini or button mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
Serves 4-6 people
- To get the best color on the chicken skin (which will reward you later with more flavor), start by drying the chicken pieces with a paper towel or clean tea towel, just like patting a baby dry after a bath. Sprinkle the pieces evenly with 2 teaspoons of the salt.
- Heat a large saute pan or braising pan over medium heat. Add 3 ounces chopped pancetta or unsmoked bacon or bacon and cook until it's crisp and the fat is rendered (5-7 minutes). Remove from the pan and set aside. Pour out all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from the pan.
- Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to the pan. Add the chicken pieces, skin side down. Cook until the skin is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Turn the pieces over and cook 5 more minutes. Remove the chicken to a platter.
- Pour 2 cups dry, full-bodied red wine into the pan and bring it to a simmer. Stir in 2 tablespoons pressed or grated garlic, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme1 bay leaf and ½ cup chicken broth. Return the chicken pieces and the pancetta to the pan.
- Turn the heat down to low and cover the pan. Cook 40-45 minutes, until the chicken is very tender when poked with a fork — peek into the pan every now and then to make sure the sauce is simmering gently and not boiling, adjusting the heat as necessary.
- While the chicken cooks, prepare the onions and mushrooms: Heat a 10-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the remaining tablespoon olive oil and 1 cup peeled pearl onions, or 3 shallots cut into quarters Cook until the onions are slightly softened and beginning to brown. Stir in 12 ounces quartered cremini or button mushrooms and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook 10 minutes, until the mushrooms have released their liquid and are softened. Set aside.
- Using tongs, transfer the chicken from the pan to a platter. Remove and discard the bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook 10 minutes, or until the liquid is reduced by half.
- Blend the flour and butter with a fork to form a paste. Stir into the pan sauce and simmer until it thickens, 1-2 minutes.
- Return the chicken to the pan along with mushroom mixture. Cook another minute or two, turning the pieces to coat with the sauce. Sprinkle with parsley and fresh thyme leaves and serve.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- Cook and crisp the pancetta and keep refrigerated up 3 days ahead.
- Sauté the onions and mushrooms and keep refrigerated up 3 days ahead.
- Instead of cooking on the stovetop, cover the pan and braise the chicken in the oven for 40-45 minutes at 325 degrees.
- Make the entire dish up to 3 days ahead. Reheat gently for about 10 minutes on medium-low heat (adding a bit of chicken stock if the sauce has thickened up).
- To freeze coq au vin, let the chicken and sauce cool completely. Portion into freezer-safe containers and freeze 1-2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Nutrition
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
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Yaaaay!!! Well done! Love this!
Tried this for the first time last night. It is great.I was shocked at just how good it is. When my wife and I ate it, we both started fell in love with the dish.
William, I’m thrilled to hear that you and your wife enjoyed it, and that the recipe hit the mark for you both! Coq au Vin has a way of surprising people with just how rich and comforting it is 😊
Made coq au vin recipe. Delish!! The only changes I made was to add sliced thin carrots and a 1/4 cup brandy. Flavor was spot on. Gravy was great for dipping warmed chibatta bread. Will make again!!
This was my first time making coq au vin and it turned out amazing! Steps were clear and easy to follow. Chicken was tender and had so much flavour. I left out the pancetta/bacon because I didn’t have any and it was still great. Can’t wait to make it again with it added! I used a nice bottle of pinot noir and appreciated your recommendation against using cabernet sauvignon – that’s what I usually drink and probably would have used it.
OK — we have to add this to the list of make soon recipes! It looks wonderful!
XO