Ina Garten’s Coq au Vin Recipe: French Comfort Food in under 2 hours.
Titled “Be Ready When the Luck Happens”, the book takes Ina’s legions of fans from a surprisingly unhappy childhood (she and her mother did not get along) to her eventually happy marriage to Jeffrey Garten. One of the seminal periods in her life was when the two spent four months traveling in Europe. With a budget of $5.00 a day, the two were camped nightly in an orange tent. They fell deeply in love with France. At one camping ground, near Mont-St.Michel in Normandy, the proprietress shared her “Coq au Vin” with Ina and Jeffrey. And like Julia Child’s first encounter with Sole Meuniere in Rouen, it was a life-changing moment for Ina. It launched her life in food and eventually her 13 cookbooks. It seems to me that is reason enough to make this wonderful dish which is not only spectacularly good but comes together in under two hours. Coincidently, Julia Child is credited with bringing the dish to American tables in her epic “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” Click here to buy the book: https://amzn.to/4fDR4uo
The Origins of Coq au Vin: A French tradition.
The dish began when older, tougher birds—often roosters—were slow-cooked to tenderize them. The dish is believed to date back centuries, although a specific origin story is hard to pin down. One legend credits Julius Caesar with inventing the dish, claiming a Gaulish chieftain sent him a tough old rooster as a challenge, and Caesar’s cooks used wine and slow cooking to transform it into a feast-worthy meal. While this is likely a tall tale, it captures the spirit of using humble ingredients and patience in French cooking.
What makes Ina Garten’s Coq au Vin recipe ideal?
Ina writes “Over the years I’ve tried many times to make a good coq au vin, the renowned French chicken stew with red wine, but with disappointing results,” says Ina Garten. “My television producer Olivia Grove one day told me, ‘Well, it’s just beef bourguignon with chicken,’ and I thought, ‘So it is!’ With that in mind, I adapted my old recipe for beef and came up with an easy chicken version that’s such a satisfying winter dinner. Usually the chicken cooks for hours and is dry and stringy, but I found that after only thirty to forty minutes in the oven, the chicken is perfectly cooked and still tender and juicy.”
Delve deeper into Ina’s takes on French Food in “Barefoot in Paris”
This is Ina’s ode to French cooking. It almost begs to be a companion to “Be Ready When the Luck Happens”. As you’ll discover, Ina treated herself to an apartment in Paris which she rushes to every chance she gets. “Barefoot in Paris” is French Cooking Ina-style. Ina’s magic lies in her ability to add a little twist here, a bit of simplicity there—keeping dishes just as comforting but making them beautifully doable. Take her kir royale, elevated with raspberry liqueur for a hint of brightness, or her vichyssoise, made fresh with a touch of zucchini. And her chocolate mousse? Rich and dark, with a whisper of orange that’s all things elegant. Each recipe is full of Parisian soul, yet undeniably Ina: delicious, approachable, and perfect for turning your table into a French bistro.
INTERESTED IN MORE INA GARTEN RECIPES?
Ina is at the top of the list on Chewing The Fat. She has no fewer than 5 of the 50 most popular recipes on Chewing The Fat. Right after today’s recipe for Coq au Vin, we’ll share them with you. Just click on the link or the photo and go straight to the recipe.
Ina Garten's Coq au Vin
Coq au Vin has a complex flavor profile: earthy from the mushrooms, savory from the lardons and aromatics, and acidic from the wine. The slow braise melds these elements into a silky sauce that envelops the chicken, often served with potatoes or crusty bread to soak up every drop.
Ingredients
- Good olive oil
- 8 ounces good bacon or pancetta, diced
- 2 (3- to 4-pound) chickens, each cut into 8 serving pieces
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound carrots, cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
- 2 yellow onions, sliced
- 2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 cloves)
- 1/4 cup Cognac or good brandy
- 1 (750-ml) bottle good dry red wine such as Burgundy
- 2 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
- 1 bunch fresh thyme sprigs
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 pound frozen small whole onions
- 1 pound porcini or cremini mushrooms, stems removed and thickly sliced
- NOTE: I used Basil to give more color to the dish.
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove the bacon to a plate with a slotted spoon.
- Step 2 Meanwhile, pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Liberally sprinkle the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. After the bacon is removed, add a few of the chicken pieces in a single layer and brown for about 5 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Remove the chicken pieces to the plate with the bacon and continue to add the chicken in batches until all the chicken is browned. Set aside.
- Step 3 Add the carrots, onions, 1 tablespoon salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper to the pot and cook over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac, stand back! and carefully ignite with a match to burn off the alcohol. Put the bacon, chicken, and any juices that collect on the plate into the pot. Add the wine, chicken stock, and thyme sprigs and bring to a boil. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and place in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just no longer pink. Remove from the oven and place on top of the stove.
- Step 4 Mash 2 tablespoons of the butter and the flour together in a small bowl and stir the paste into the stew. Add the frozen onions. In a medium sauté pan, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and cook the mushrooms over medium-low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until browned. Add to the stew. Bring the stew to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes. Season to taste. Serve hot.
Ina Garten’s Ode to Marcella Hazan: Sicillian Grilled Swordfish and Ina’s recipe for Confetti Corn
