Chicken in Wine

James, my friend on Facebook, requested a chicken recipe and I immediately thought about my FAVORITE one. It’s the good old Coq au Vin (Rooster in Wine). It’s very easy to make and absolutely delicious. All you need is 100g bacon, 250g mushrooms, 250g shallots, 1 pkt. chicken pieces (e.g. thighs; it tastes a lot better if you use meat with skin – unlike in my picture where I tried to save a few calories and bought skinless chicken breast), 2 lg. carrots, Salt, Pepper, a little flour, 3/8 l red wine (everything is better with wine, but this recipe really needs it), ¼ cup chicken broth, 1 tbs. thyme, and 1 bay leaf.

Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, and brown them on both sides until they are golden brown. Take the chicken out. In the same pot, fry the sliced bacon and add the quartered shallots and the mushrooms. Cook for a little while and sprinkle the flour on top. Stir again. Add the thyme and bay leaf and slowly add the wine and chicken broth. Cook a little longer and finally add the (thick) sliced carrots. At this point, take the sauce mixture out, add the chicken back to the pot and add the sauce on top. Cover the pot and put it into the oven at 400F for about 1 hour.

I served it with potatoes au gratin which was probably not the best choice. Since the chicken dish has a lot of great sauce, it kind of “clashed” with the au gratin and I would serve it instead with something a little “more dry” (e.g. egg noodles, spaetzle).


Guten Appetit!