Recipe: Coq au Vin - Michel Richard
Prep Time:
30 minutes
Cook Time:
50 minutes
Servings:
4 servings
Ingredients
  • 4 skinless chicken legs, with thighs attached
  • 4 thyme sprigs or 1 tablespoon crumbled dried thyme
  • 4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
  • 1½ cups Cabernet Sauvignon (or other dry red wine)
  • 6 ounces beet juice
  • ½ tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 2 slices bacon, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into ¼-inch pieces
  • 16 pearl onions, peeled
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 16 medium-large button mushrooms (10 to 12 ounces), trimmed
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
  1. Marinate the chicken: Place the chicken in a single layer in a large, nonreactive dish. Add the thyme, garlic, wine and beet juice. Cover and refrigerate overnight, turning the chicken over several timess.
  2. Preheat oven to 300°. Melt the butter in a large ovenproof pot over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until browned. Add the onions and carrots and cook until golden. Add the flour and cook over medium-low heat, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add in the chicken stock and tomato paste and stir, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the marinade and bring to a boil. Add the chicken, cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Cook for 30 minutes, turning the chicken over and stirring after 15 minutes, until the chicken is very tender and cooked through.
  3. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Add the mushrooms to the cooking liquid and boil until the sauce is thickened and reduced by half (about 20 minutes). Discard the thyme and season with salt and pepper.
  4. Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon and arrange on four plates. Return the chicken to the sauce and rewarm, then divide among the plates. Spoon the remaining sauce over the chicken and serve immediately.