You guys. I made Julia Child's Coq au Vin. Need I say more? I will say more, but honestly I totes don't need to. I mean it's Julia Child's Coq au Vin.
I. Adore. Julia Child. When we went to D.C. a few years ago for my sister's graduation, we absolutely had to go see Julia Child's kitchen at the Smithsonian.
It was fantastic. Did you know she even had the counters raised especially for her?? She was such an amazing woman, and an UNBELIEVABLE cook. Apart from revolutionizing home cooking, she was just an all around great person.
Can you tell how much I love her? I rewatched Julie and Julia recently (anyone else just fast forward to the Julia parts?) and now I've started cooking up her recipes again. I've even got Beouf Borginon planned for Christmas!
However, I had never made Julia Child's Coq au Vin...this needed to be remedied. Let me tell you: it was WORTH it. It's honestly one of the most delicious things I've ever made and WAYYY easier than you'd think!
Brown up some bacon for ALL the flavor and fat. Remove from the pan and save to a plate. Sear the chicken, and remove to the same plate as the bacon. Now that you've got tons of flavors in the pan, saute up the veggies, and then add back in the chicken and bacon.
Now comes the fun stuff! Pour in some brandy and FLAME ON!!! Not going to lie, I was terrified the first time I cooked a la flambé but it's so awesome I quickly got over my terror. It adds so much flavor and makes it truly Julia Child's Coq au Vin. Plus, it's also a great way to impress your guests over for dinner!
After that, douse the flame with almost a whole bottle of wine (Julia Child knew what was up), add a little chicken broth, and let it simmer away. The final touch is some browned mushrooms and pearl onions, with a little bit of butter and flour to thicken up the sauce.
PS. That sauce. I could not stop myself from licking the spoon. I had never had such a delicious sauce in my ENTIRE life.
Just trust me on this one friends. Julia Child's Coq au Vin. You're going to love it!
Julia Child's Coq au Vin
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 1x
Description
A delicious, surprisingly easy recipe for chicken braised in a delectable wine sauce (on flambé too!)
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chicken thighs and legs, bone in and skin on
- 2 teaspoons coarse salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 ounces bacon (about 3-4 slices)
- 8 ounces fresh cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 20 pearl onions, peeled
- 2 large carrots, sliced into 1 inch pieces
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 bay leaf
- 6-8 sprigs fresh thyme
- ¼ cup brandy
- 2 ½ cups dry red wine (burgundy, pinot noir)
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 ½ tablespoons flour
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Fresh parsley, leftover thyme leaves to garnish
- Extra virgin olive oil, for sauteing
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
- Combine 1 ½ tablespoons of butter and all of the flour in a small bowl to make a paste. Set aside.
- In a dutch oven or a large braiser, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add bacon and cook 8-10 minutes until it is just starting to turn crispy, stirring frequently. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon to a large plate (no paper towel! We want to save all those juices this time). Once cool enough to handle, roughly chop the bacon and place back on the plate.
- Pat the chicken dry and season with the salt and pepper. Add the chicken, skin side down, and cook in the bacon fat 3-5 minutes per side until browned. Remove to the same plate as the chopped bacon.
- Add the diced yellow onion, garlic, carrot, and tomato paste to the pot. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until veggies are slightly softened. Add the chicken and bacon back to the pot.
- Turn off the heat under the pot. Pour in the brandy and let warm up 1-2 minutes. When brandy is hot, use a long match or a fireplace lighter the light the brandy on fire (flambé!). When the flames have cooked down (about 30 seconds to a minute), pour in the wine to douse the flames.
- Once the flames are completely out, turn the heat back on to medium. Stir in the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, add the bay leaf and thyme sprigs.
- Cover, and cook 20-25 minutes, until veggies are softened and chicken is cooked through.
- While the chicken is simmering, cook the pearl onions and mushrooms: Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil and the remaining 1 ½ tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and pearl onions and cook 5-8 minutes, until onions are softened and mushrooms have started to release juices.
- When the chicken is done simmering, uncover and add the cooked mushrooms and pearl onions. Whisk in the butter flour paste. Simmer (uncovered) for another 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened.
- Remove from heat and take out the thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Garnish with fresh parsley, thyme and ground black pepper. Serve immediately.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
Al says
There is no mention of when to return the chicken to the pot.
Linda says
Read step 4.😄
Thomas Ferrante says
hi I just made your coqau Vin and it was superb.i am.old enough to have been able to watch Julia child on TV it was always an experience.i served it my homemade rustic bread.thank you so much.it is a finger licker.
Thomas Ferrante
AC says
How hard is the flambé part? I’ve never done this before. How likely is it that I will set my kitchen on fire lol
Aberdeen says
It's a little surprising when you first do it but not too had! Lights up fairly easily.
eli says
I could not get my flambe to, well, flambe... There was a little light and I kept trying. What did I do wrong?
Melissa says
Can you do this ahead of time and serve the next day
Ryan says
Keep your terms consistent. You started using a Dutch oven then started saying pan. Might be confusing for novice cooks. Otherwise, excellent!
Aberdeen says
Thank you for pointing this out! I'll fix it and update the recipe.
Ashley says
What kind of brandy did you use?
Eric says
I like to add some adobo sauce in mine. Gives it a hint of smoke.
Brie says
Can I ask what size Dutch oven you used for this? I have a 5qt and a 7qt and was just trying to decide which would be better...
Dilupa says
Hey Aberdeen,
This recipe came out perfectly! I made it in less than one hour (excluding cooking time of course). The only thing I did differently was that I cut the mushrooms into halves and added it in the last 10 minutes (this was out of pure laziness).
My house smelled like a french restaurant. Thanks for the great recipe. I'm saving it as my "go-to" Coq au Vin.
Cheers x
D.B. says
It's not too often I come across a recipe that stands on its own, but this one does. I made this and it was excellent the first night, but it makes a lot and we only have two people so we ate it several nights and I think it just got better and better each time. The first meal we had it over seasoned brown rice and it was excellent. The next time I made some egg noodles to put it over and that was even better, but the best was over garlic parmesan mashed potatoes. Of course it could have been the different starches that made it better and better but I do believe the chicken and gravy got better each time. Great recipe, thanks for sharing it.
Aberdeen says
All those starch options sound 👌🏻! You're so welcome 😊.