Classic French chicken braised with wine, mushrooms, and aromatic vegetables.
Coq au Vin (French Braised Chicken with Wine)
By Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime
It’s time for the #FantasticalFoodFight hosted by Sarah Ellis and the topic at hand is Julia Child’s birthday, so we were to share a recipe either that is from Julia, or inspired by her.
I chose to be inspired with Coq au Vin, the classic French braised dish which means literally “rooster with wine”.
So how does one tell if one has a boy or a girl without going into the Jurassic Park paddock and lifting up the skirt on the dino? I mean, if someone were peeking under my tutu, I’d be a bit miffed.
Generally speaking, when raising poultry, the girls go into egg production and the boys, well, they leave the farm early and become fryers. Later on, when the egg production declines on the older girls, their fat little fannies become stewing hens or roasters. It’s a sad end for the boys, but there only needs to be one rooster ruling the roost, as they say.
One rooster to another:
“This town ain’t big enough for the both of us, cowboy, so make like a banana and split! And I will see ya’ Fryday! “
And I will say “inspired” by Julia Child because although the general recipe by differing chefs has similar ingredients, such as chicken (obviously), bacon lardons, cooking fat, cognac or brandy, salt, pepper, bay laurel, thyme, small onions, garlic, red wine, chicken stock, tomato product, mushrooms and beurre manie (thickener of equal parts butter and flour combined until smooth), there are a number of variations on even this.
And if you scope out my ingredients, you can see I just went my own way. You can thicken the sauce (if you like) but I just cooked it, laid it out over noodles and put the amount of sauce I wanted on it.
I’d like to say that when I think of Coq au Vin I immediately think of Julia, but I don’t. As celebrities go, I think of Alexander Skarsgård (the actor who played Eric Northman on the tv show True Blood) (The vampire who owned the nightclub). I am always surprised to have read that he enjoys cooking a great deal, and admitted that his favorite thing to cook was coq au vin. And that struck me. I guess I was impressed that he had the time to cook at all with long hours on the set filming. He even shops for his own groceries without sending an assistant out to do it. #moreimpressed
I wonder if he cooks like me, running everyone out of my itty bitty room-for-only-one kitchen, telling everyone to keep their hands off the food until I have both cooked it (and photographed it?) 😉
But anyway, it is Julia’s birthday after all, and she would have been 106. So let’s all give her warm wishes on her day for all the enjoyment and knowledge she brought to us. Happy Birthday Julia! And Bon Appetit!
Coq au Vin (French Braised Chicken with Wine)

Ingredients:
- 1 pound sliced carrots
- 4 ribs celery, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, chopped
- 8 ounces white pearl onions, peeled
- 16 ounces whole white mushrooms, trimmed
- 5 pounds bone-in chicken legs and thighs
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
- 1 teaspoon rosemary
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 750 ml Burgundy wine
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Method:
- Brown chicken and vegetables in the oil.
- Bake everything, covered,at 350°F. for 90 minutes.
- Serve with buttered egg noodles or whatever you like.
From the kitchen of palatablepastime.com
#FantasticalFoodFight
August 2018: Julia Child’s Birthday
Be sure to check out the other recipes inspired by Julia Child this month!
Click on the hop link button to be transported to the other recipes:
You Might Also Like:
Bundt Pan Rotisserie Chicken
Chicken and Asparagus Pasta Bake
Grilled Flank Steak Pinwheels
Chicken Oscar
Crab Stuffed Tilapia with Asparagus and Creamy Curry Sauce
Thanks for my smiles today and even a belly laugh.
Sue, your version looks delicious! I haven’t made Coq au Vin in years. I might have to change that this weekend. Thanks for the inspiration.
That’s a gorgeous dish and that gif of Julia at the end is a wonderful touch. You are such an amazing cook.
What a lovely dish. Seriously so lovely. The gifs made me laugh and I love the reference to Eric Northman – my absolute favorite! (: