Coq Au Vin - One Pot. Really.

 Coq au Vin - one pot....really.

Coq au Vin with Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes

Yes, I've prepared Coq au Vin (Chicken in wine) from Julia Child’s recipe several times. Yes, it’s magnificent, and yes, it involves a LOT of steps and a LOT of pots and pans. And, to be honest…I’m not always up for that.

Never fear. This, my Dear, is a streamlined one pot version and it is absolutely wonderful. (Even my next door neighbor says so and he lived in Paris for a while, so there) 

Coq au Vin is the perfect dish for a cold winter night. Some people serve it with wide buttered noodles, some with rice, but no…try it with brown butter sage mashed potatoes. Trust me, it might change your life. 

What you’ll need:

*4 Tbsp Butter

* Package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs                

  (approx. 6)                                                                         

* Thick cut bacon – 4 slices                                             

* Yellow onion – diced (not sweet)                                 

* 1 cup of carrots (either baby carrots                              

or large carrot cut into 1” pieces                                      

* 4 cloves of garlic (minced) 

* 2 Tbsp Cognac, Brandy or Bourbon (optional)                                          

* Decent bottle of Pinot Noir or French Burgundy          

* 1 cup of sliced white mushrooms or more if you love mushrooms
* 2 cups chicken stock
*3 Tbsp tomato paste
*1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
*Bay leaves, a few sprigs of fresh thyme, salt and pepper

 

What you'll do:       

In a Large Le Creuset Dutch oven, heat 4 Tbsp of butter over med/high and sauté the bacon that you have cut into 1” strips. Yes, you’re sautéing bacon in butter. Savor the moment. Say it out loud. Cook the bacon until the fat has been rendered from the bacon and it's transformed into crispy little bites and then remove the bacon to a plate and set aside, leaving all of that delicious butter and bacon fat in the pot.

Place the chicken thighs that have been seasoned well with salt/pepper in the pot and brown for about 4 minutes on each side. Remove chicken and lay on top of bacon. (the chicken will not be done all the way through at this point. That’s okay) 

Place the carrots and onion in the pot and sauté until they start to soften, and then add the garlic last and sauté just until the garlic is brown. If there is a lot of fat left in the pot at this point, remove some of it. The fat amount will vary depending on how fatty your bacon was, so if it looks like more than just a few tablespoons, you probably want to remove some.

 

Add the cognac/brandy/bourbon. DO NOT pour it in straight from the bottle because there is always a small chance that the alcohol could ignite, travel up into the bottle and explode. Don't risk it. Let the liquor burn off for a minute. I used apple brandy last time because it was what I had on hand and it was delicious.

Add one cup of wine and scrape the bottom of the pan (gently, with a wooden spoon) and let the wine cook down for a few minutes and then add the tomato paste, 2 cups of chicken stock and another cup of wine. Add thyme leaves, 2 bay leaves, chicken, bacon, and mushrooms, bring to a brief boil and reduce to simmer for about an hour. The sauce should reduce and thicken a bit. 

Serve with brown butter sage mashed potatoes and a sprinkle of fresh parsley. Sit back and reel in the compliments. Add some warm, crusty French bread for extra wow factor. Drink the rest of the red wine with your meal.

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Brown Butter Sage Mashed Potatoes

First of all, let's talk about brown butter. In French, it's Beurre Noisette and it's said that souls have risen from the grave for it's taste. It's that good. We are using it here to make unbelievably delicious mashed potatoes, but it can be used in a number of ways. After it's made, it can be refrigerated and used on crusty bread, on toast or any way you would utilize regular butter. In cooking, try it in cookies, cakes, or simply tossed with pasta. Browning the butter gives it a deep, nutty flavor and you can add different flavors as you make it. Cinnamon brown butter on pancakes. Lemon brown butter on fish. You get the picture. 

What you'll need:

*4 russet potatoes or equivalent of smaller white or yellow potatoes (peeled or not, your choice) cut into quarters if the potato is large or leave whole if smaller. I like to use smaller, thin skinned white or yellow potatoes and leave the skins on.

*8 Tbsp butter (cut into even pieces)

*8-10 leaves of fresh sage (chopped)

*1/2 - 3/4 cup of cream, half and half or milk

*Salt and pepper

What you'll do:

Boil the potatoes in a large pot of generously salted water until they are very soft. Drain and return to the hot pot and stir over heat for a minute so that the remaining water steams out. Remove from heat. 

In a small saucepan - preferably a heavy one with a light colored interior so that you can easily see the butter as it changes color, melt the butter over low heat. Once it's melted, turn up the heat to medium and add the sage. Stir. Keep stirring. The butter will start to foam and and will start to darken. Keep stirring and watch carefully until it turns the color of strong tea. Small particles may form in the pan and that's okay. Remove from heat and pour the butter into a heatproof bowl so that it will not continue cooking from the heat of the pan. Some people strain the little bits of solid out, but I think they just add extra flavor. 

Mash the potatoes by hand with an old fashioned potato masher. Do not use a hand mixer or even your Kitchenaid with a paddle attachment. I don't care what other people say, you do not want your potatoes to be gummy. Mashing them by hand may not make them perfectly smooth, but they won't be gummy and personally, I like a few lumps as it adds some interesting texture, as does leaving on the potato peels. Heat the cream or milk slightly (a few seconds in the microwave will do it) and keep mashing or stirring. Add the sage brown butter and salt and pepper to taste. You may not need to use all of the butter and you may want to save a little to drizzle on top of the potatoes to call forth the dead (just kidding) or for garnish/presentation. 

 

"People who love to eat are always the best people." - Julia Child