Don’t let a fancy French recipe scare you! Julia Child’s Coq Au Vin recipe is so easy and delicious, you can even make it on a week night!

As a self-proclaimed foodie, it’s no surprise that I am a Julia Child fan! To be honest, I first fell in love with her after I read “My Life in France,” her biography she wrote with her nephew. And since we are being truthful here, I must admit despite having her “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” on my shelves for years, I haven’t made many of the recipes. {gasp} I always thought the recipe would take too long or something, I mean how ridiculous is that? But it was the truth. So I finally tackled her Coq Au Vin recipe with Oignons Glacés a Brun and Champignons Sautés Au Beurre! Scroll on down to see if you got the translation correct 😉

 

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product through these links, I may earn a few pennies. Thank you for keeping this free blog going! 

How did those high school French lessons hold up?

Coq Au Vin – chicken with wine

Oignons Glacés a Brun – brown braised onions

Champignons Sautés Au Beurre – sautéed mushrooms

 

Coq Au Vin

BMW loves a slow cooked chicken. He’s definitely a meat and potatoes kinda guy. So, when I finally decided to tackle one of Julia’s recipes, I was drawn to Coq Au Vin. Of course, it being a chicken cooked with butter, herbs and wine, BMW was all in for this recipe.

I was pleasantly surprised at how simple the ingredient list was for the recipe. Only ten ingredients (minus pantry staples like butter and salt & pepper)! I mean, was I dreaming? I was intimidated because the recipe sounded fancy because it was French. The cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, is a super thick book, with hardly any pictures which is so unlike most of the cookbooks these days which might as well be beautiful coffee table books.

But after reading through a few of the recipes, I began to realize that many of them are quite simple. Of course there some that are more difficult or require some ingredients that can be more difficult to find but mostly I found that these recipes were simple-ish. I emphasize the -ish because often times I find that many millienials today consider combining ingredients cooking. Which I appreciate anytime someone gets in the kitchen but of course Julia’s recipes do require a little more skill 😉

I included some process photos in this post to show some of the steps. Let me know in the comments if you like the process shots or just want to see the pretty end result!

Start the onions early in the process to ensure they finish on time.

 

The cognac gives this dish some of its signature richness. The alcohol cooks out so don’t skip this step!

 

The chicken will go swimming in the wine and then simmer down to a thick, braised sauce.

 

Julia Child’s Coq Au Vin Recipe

Serves 4-6 people (makes great leftovers too!)

Ingredients: 

4 ounces of thick bacon, cut into 1 inch strips

2 tablespoons of butter

2.5-3lb whole chicken, cut up

1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper

1/4 cup cognac

3 cups full bodied red wine

1-2 cups brown chicken or beef stock

1/2 tablespoon of tomato paste

2 cloves smashed garlic

1/4 teaspoon thyme

1 bay leaf

parsley for garnish

Roux: 

3 tablespoons of flour

2 tablespoons butter, softened

 

 

Directions:

1. Sauté the bacon in a large casserole dish with the butter until lightly browned. Remove bacon and set aside.
2.  Pat the chicken dry and using the same casserole with the bacon fat, brown the chicken, seasoning it with salt and pepper and turning to evenly brown.
3. Add the bacon back to the casserole with the chicken and cover and cook for 10 minutes over medium high heat. Turn the chicken once.
4. Uncover and add the cognac. Light the cognac and shake the dish back and forth for several seconds until it burns off.
5. Pour the wine into the casserole. Add in the stock until the chicken is mostly covered. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic, thyme and bay leaf. Cover and let simmer for 25-30 minutes until chicken is cooked through, 165 degrees and the juices run clear when pricked with a fork.
6. Skim off fat and then bring the casserole to a rolling boil and reduce cooking liquid by half. Remove from heat and discard bay leaf.
7. Mix the flour and remaining butter together with a whisk. Beat the paste into the casserole. Let it thicken, it should lightly coat the back of a spoon.
8. Add the mushrooms and onions to the casserole and garnish with parsley. Serve immediately.

 

Oignons Glacés a Brun – brown braised onions

*Note: Begin onions when you start the chicken to ensure they finish in time. Onions can be made ahead of time and set aside until ready.

Ingredients: 

18 peeled white onions, about 1 inch diameter (most grocery stores will sell these with the tops)

1.5 tablespoons butter

1.5 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup red wine

1/2 teaspoon each salt and black pepper

4 parsley sprigs

1 small bay leaf

2 sprigs thyme

 

Directions: 

1. Bring oil and butter to a bubble in a small pan over medium heat.
2. Add onions, rolling them around every so often to ensure even browning. About 10 minutes.
3. Tie herbs together in a bouquet using butcher’s twine, add to pan with red wine. Cover and let simmer for 40-50 minutes.
4. Then add to Coq Au Vin.

 

Champignons Sautés Au Beurre – sautéed mushrooms

Ingredients: 

1/2 pound fresh cremini mushrooms, washed, and cut into 1/4 if large

2 tablespoons of butter

1 tablespoon of oil

1 tablespoon minced green onions

 

Directions: 

1. Heat butter and oil over high heat until the butter begins to foam.
2. Add the mushrooms and toss and shake the pan for 4-5 minutes while the mushrooms cook. The mushrooms with absorb the fat and then release it again during this time.
3. Once the mushrooms have browned, add the onions and remove from heat.
4. Set aside and add to Coq Au Vin once ready to serve.

BMW and I loved this recipe and will definitely make it again! In total, it took us about an hour and half to make this meal. There was a little down time while cooking, just enough time to enjoy a few sips of wine that doesn’t make it’s way into the recipe 🙂 All in all, we would definitely make again! Perfect for a slow Sunday or for a fun dinner party!