Coq au vin

Lore & Background

Coq au vin is a classic French dish consisting of chicken braised in wine, typically a red Burgundy, along with lardons, mushrooms, and sometimes garlic. While the most common version uses red wine, many French regions produce their own variations with local wines, including coq au vin jaune from the Jura, coq au riesling from Alsace, coq au pourpre or coq au violet made with Beaujolais nouveau, and coq au Champagne. The dish has a long but largely undocumented history; several legends link it to ancient Gaul and Julius Caesar, yet the recipe itself was not recorded until the early 20th century. It is widely believed to have existed as a rustic, peasant dish long before that. A somewhat similar preparation, poulet au vin blanc, appeared in an 1864 cookbook. The dish gained significant international recognition after Simone Beck, Louisette Bertholle, and Julia Child included it in their 1961 cookbook *Mastering the Art of French Cooking*, and Child later prepared it twice on her television show *The French Chef*, making it one of her signature dishes and boosting its popularity in the United States. Although the French word *coq* means "rooster" or "cock," and tough, mature roosters benefit from the long, slow braising, the dish is most commonly made with any chicken. Standard recipes call for red wine (often Burgundy), lardons, button mushrooms, onions, often garlic, and sometimes brandy. When made with vin jaune, morels are typically used instead of white mushrooms. The preparation resembles that of beef bourguignon: the chicken is seasoned, sometimes floured, seared in fat, and slowly simmered in wine until tender. Seasonings usually include salt, pepper, thyme, parsley, and bay leaf, often tied as a bouquet garni. The cooking juices are thickened either with a roux or by adding blood at the end of cooking.

Reader's Guide

This exposure helped to increase the visibility and popularity of the dish in the United States, and coq au vin was seen as one of Child's signature dishes. Although the word coq in French means 'rooster' or 'cock', and tough birds like mature roosters with much connective tissue benefit from braising, coq au vin may be made with any poultry, most commonly chicken. Standard recipes require red wine (often Burgundy) for braising, lardons, button mushrooms, onions, often garlic, and sometimes brandy. Recipes with vin jaune may specify morels instead of white mushrooms. The preparation is similar in many respects to beef bourguignon. The chicken is seasoned, sometimes floured, seared in fat and slowly simmered in wine until tender. The usual seasonings are salt, pepper, thyme, parsley, and bay leaf, usually in the form of a bouquet garni. The juices are thickened either with a roux or by adding blood at the end.

Did You Know?

• Several legends trace coq au vin to ancient Gaul and Julius Caesar, but the recipe was not documented until the early 20th century.
• Julia Child prepared coq au vin twice on the PBS cooking show The French Chef.
• Regional variants include coq au vin jaune (Jura), coq au riesling (Alsace), and coq au Champagne.