Coq au vin

A recipe from cooking-ez.com

For 4 people, you will need:

• 1 2 carrots
• 2 2 shallots
• 3 1 Bouquet garni
• 4 750 g chicken breast
• 5 750 ml red wine
• 6 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 7 ½ glass Brandy (Cognac or Armagnac)
• 8 3 tablespoons flour
• 9 300 g mushrooms
• 10 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 11 salt
• 12 pepper
• Total weight: 2,440 grams

Times:

Preparation	Cooking	Start to finish
12 hours 32 min.	2 hours 12 min.	14 hours 44 min.

Step by step recipe

1	Prepare the marinade Prepare 2 carrots and slice thinly. Prepare 2 shallots and slice these thinly, too. Put the carrots and shallots into a bowl, salt and pepper, then add 1 Bouquet garni.
2	Add 750 g chicken breast, pour 750 ml red wine over, cover with a plate and leave in the fridge to marinate overnight.
3	First-stage cooking of meat Next day, drain the chicken breasts and dry on absorbant paper.
4	Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large pan and fry the chicken breasts until browned all over. Do be aware, this is not to cook the chicken, just to give it a little colour. Set aside.
5	Cook the vegetables Drain the vegetables and discard the bouquet garni.
6	Put the vegetables into the same pan in what is left of the oil (add a little more if necessary) and cook for one or two minutes,.
7	Flambé the chicken Return the chicken to the pan and heat everything on high heat. Pour in ½ glass Brandy (Cognac or Armagnac) all at once...
8	...and set light to the cognac (flambé).
9	Once the flames are out, sprinkle 3 tablespoons flour over and mix in.
10	Pour in the wine from the marinade, salt and pepper, then turn down the heat and leave to simmer gently.
11	Prepare the mushrooms Meanwhile, peel 300 g mushrooms and cut into small pieces.
12	Fry rapidly in the pan with 2 tablespoons olive oil...
13	...then add to the simmering pan.
14	Second-stage cooking of meat After cooking slowly for 2 hours, the wine will have reduced to give the coq au vin its delicious sauce. Check the seasoning.
15	Serve the coq au vin with your preferred accompaniment, such as the sautéed potatoes shown here.

Remarks

If you want to make the real thing, use a whole cock (or rooster, for Americans) instead of the chicken breasts and ask your butcher to cut it into portions for you.

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