The Kitchen Nook with Catherine Beaumont
Cooking/Food/Chef
About The Author
Catharine Beaumont
I have spent almost my entire career spanning over 30 years in the culinary field, or as they refer to it these days, the food service industry! I prefer the word "cook", and at times when I'm feeling pretentious, or a bit uppity, I will graciously accept "chef" as my title. Many moons ago I started as a humble server (waitress, in oldspeak), and worked my way into the pantry, then as a breakfast cook, to a sauté and broiler chef, and the last fifteen years I spent running two kitchens at a local university! While I am basically self taught, I realize that there are some jobs that do not need a proper education to become good at. Hands on experience is always the best teacher, but it also pays to know when to ask someone who is more experienced, which I did many, many times. Cooking is a joy to me, and a way to please those I care about. In addition to cooking, I play the piano professionally, and I design and create an ever expanding line of jewelry that incorporates tiny beads and beautiful crystals. I live near Allentown, PA, and I am currently single, but I keep a watchful eye!
THE KITCHEN NOOKBy Catharine Beaumont
COQ AU VIN
May is finally here, and I have to tell you that I am glad and grateful for it. It definitely signals the end of the chilly season, and none too soon as far as I am concerned. Geeze-o whiz! Here in the Northeast US, Mother Nature was playing games all last month, giving us a few warm days and then socking us back to her see-saw reality with cold and blustery days, and even colder nights. I finally had a little chat with her about her indecisiveness, and she reluctantly caved in and laid off of her peculiar brand of fun and games. Hooray for May, and Mother Nature too, in all of her fickleness. Gotta love the old gal.
Speaking of old, our recipe for this month, Coq Au Vin, is an old, customary dish that has withstood the tests of time, and remains with us as a fine and honored culinary tradition in addition to being a wonderful and satisfying meal. For those who are not up to date on their French language skills (like myself), Coq Au Vin means simply "chicken with wine," or to be literally precise "cock with wine," since the chefs way back then used the old roosters in the recipe rather than the hens. I prefer to use the "chicken with wine" description myself so as to avoid undue confusion with other aspects of life that generally take place outside of the kitchen boundaries, if you catch my drift. But I digress...
Now, don't let the French name of this dish frighten you, there is no need for that. It is pronounced roughly as "Coke aw vahn" (so I'm told), but you'll often hear good looking waiters masquerading as college students proclaiming it as "Coco Van," which is completely wrong, but nonetheless charming and slightly endearing, in a Mel Brooks kind of way.
The origins of this dish are unknown, although it has been said that it was prepared as far back as the reign of Julius Caesar. True or not, it is certainly an established rustic French dish, and has always been made with regional and local wines. Traditionally it is made with red wine, but white wines are also used, as well as some sparkling wines, such as champagne. Our recipe will use red wine, which is the most common wine utilized in America for this dish. I have made it with white wine, but I find that white wine lacks the depth and personality that red wine brings out in the finished presentation.
This is best made with the dark meat of the chicken, the legs and thighs. Breast meat may also be used, but please read the note at the end regarding this.
COQ AU VIN
(serves 4)
3 1/2 to 4 1/2 pounds chicken parts (see notes)
4 ounces thick cut bacon (or, if you want to be totally traditional, use fatback)
1 cup chopped onion
1 medium sized carrot, peeled and cut into matchstick sized pieces to make 1/2 cup (see notes)
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups dry red wine, whichever kind you like
1 cup chicken stock (you can use canned broth)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon marjoram
1 1/2 cups pearl onions (see note)
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 pound sliced mushrooms, preferably crimini, but regular mushrooms will be fine salt and pepper to taste
Cut across the bacon to make pieces about a quarter inch wide. Fry this bacon in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat until it is crisp, being careful not to burn it. When finished, remove with a slotted spoon, keeping the grease in the pot. Do not discard the bacon, as it will be added again, later on. Add the chicken to the pot, as many pieces as will fit without crowding. Brown them in the bacon grease until they are nicely golden brown colored on both sides; it will take about seven minutes or so. Remove those pieces and brown the rest of the chicken pieces. (see note regarding breast meat). When the chicken is done being browned, remove all of the fat from the pot except for 3 tablespoons. Turn the heat down if the grease starts to smoke.
Into these 3 tablespoons of fat add the chopped onions and the carrots. Cook them for about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring them around until they become tender and get a little bit browned. This not only softens and tenderizes them, but the frying releases their natural sugars into the dish, adding a wonderfully subtle sweetness. When they are a bit softened, turn the heat down to low, add the 3 tablespoons of flour, and stir to coat all of the vegetables. Continue to cook and stir for 4 or 5 minutes or until the flour starts turning a little brown.
Then, add the chicken stock, the red wine, tomato paste, the bay leaves, and the thyme, marjoram, and oregano. Stir everything together until smooth, raise the heat to high and bring it to a boil. Stir it constantly so it doesn't stick to the bottom and scorch. When it is boiling, add the bacon and chicken back to the pot, bring it back to a boil and then reduce the heat till it's barely boiling. Cover the pot with its lid and cook the chicken for 35 to 40 minutes, moving everything around a little every now and then just to prevent anything from sticking to the bottom. Check it to make sure there is enough liquid. There should be, but if it is getting low add a bit more wine or stock.
At this point I would recommend taste testing the red wine that is left in the bottle, just to make sure that it hasn't gone bad, or something. This always helps.
So, while all that chicken is cooking, melt the 3 tablespoons butter in a frying pan or skillet and sauté the pearl onions over medium high heat until lightly browned and softened and then add the mushrooms and continue to cook until the mushrooms are soft and ready. Turn off the heat and set the pan with onions and mushrooms to the side.
When the chicken is cooked through, remove it to a serving plate and cover it with foil to keep warm. You can tell it is done by piercing a piece with a sharp knife. If the juice runs out clear, it's done. If not, return it to the pot and cook an additional five minutes, and then test it again.
With the chicken out of the pot, raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. You will notice that fat will rise to the top; this you can just skim off with a spoon as it accumulates. Cook this down until the sauce becomes somewhat thickened and slightly syrupy. Turn off the heat, add the pearl onions and the mushrooms and all their juices, season with salt and pepper to taste, and pour over the chicken.
Voila! Coq Au Vin!
Serve this over cooked noodles. I like wide egg noodles myself, but you can use whatever kind you wish. This is a very good dish accompanied with steamed asparagus or fresh green beans. Serve it with a nice crusty French bread, some good wine, and some candlelight.
Tres Romantique! Bon Apetit!
PS-The chicken will turn a nice dark purple color in this recipe. Do not fret over this, it is supposed to happen. If you use white wine, it won't happen. Also, if you decide to use white wine, make sure it is a dry wine, and not a sweet wine.
NOTES
This recipe calls for chicken parts. That means legs, thighs, breasts, and/or wings. It does not mean necks, gizzards, hearts, livers, feet, tails, combs, wattles, feathers, or beaks, unless you are pulling some kind of Addams Family prank on someone you either love or hate. Otherwise, just stick to the parts that have meat that is recognizable and appealing.
As I have stated, dark meat chicken is best in this dish, but chicken breasts can also be used. Do not use boneless chicken breasts, they will cook too fast and be dry and tough. Use bone-in breasts only. Brown them in the same way as the dark meat, but do not add to the boiling sauce until there is only 20 minutes left in the cooking time. Test them for doneness by piercing with a sharp knife, and if the juices run clear, they are done. If not, return to the pot and cook an additional five minutes and test again.
Also, some people make this recipe using skinless chicken. You can do this too, but I would not recommend browning it in the bacon grease for longer than three or four minutes.
The carrots look very nice cut into matchstick-sized pieces, and they also cook uniformly that way. However, if you find it difficult, or too time consuming to cut them that way, a nice and small dice works just as well. The key here is to keep it fairly small and uniform in size. This not only ensures an even cooking, but the visual presentation is much more appealing.
For the pearl onions: Bring a small pot of water to a boil and then drop the onions into it. Remove from the heat and let sit for about a minute. Take a sip of wine. Drain the onions, rinse with cold water, and then you can kind of squeeze the onion right out of its skin. It's very easy to do, and efficient. Don't try to peel them like you would a regular onion, you'll just be wasting your time.
If you wish, you can use frozen pearl onions in this recipe. Just thaw them out before you brown them in the butter. If they start to get a bit mushy, take them out of the pan right then, but still use them. Continue using the same pan for the mushrooms.