If you want to surprise your loved ones with a special dish, this is the perfect recipe. One of the greatest French classics that you should definitely have in your recipe lists.
Coq au Vin (chicken in wine) is a dish whose preparation involves having at least one night in advance. The chicken in this recipe must be marinated in wine and herbs for a long time before cooking. This previous preparation help you to achieve that special flavor. Special, but well worth it!!!
To start the preparation of this delicious recipe the most important step is time to season your chicken. The night before cooking you should season it with wine, thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Cover with kitchen paper and let it rest in the fridge overnight. If you can let it rest for 24 hours, even better.
The day after your chicken rest time, start preparing your vegetables. Dice the onion and carrot and mince the garlic. Finely cut parsley, leaving some branches to decorate your plate at the end. Slice the mushrooms. Separate thyme from its branches. Reserve all to use later.
In a thick-bottomed pot, fry lard over medium heat for about 10 minutes, paying attention for it not to burn. When the lard is crunchy, dry it well trying to leave as much of its fat as possible in the pan (you will use it later). Remove the lard from the pan and transfer it to a paper towels to remove excess of fat.
Remove the chicken from the wine and dry well with a paper towel. Keep the wine to use later.
Heat the lard fat in the same pot and add two tablespoons of olive oil. Fry the chicken pieces one by one in this fat, taking care to seal each piece on all sides. When all the pieces are golden, remove them from the pot and keep for later.
In the same pot, sauté the chopped onion, carrot, half of the mushrooms, and garlic. Cook until the vegetables are golden brown. Add salt and pepper. Add the tomato sauce and mix well. Add one tablespoon of flour and mix very well. Remove from the heat and add the brandy, being careful not to burn yourself. Add the wine that you previously used to marinate the chicken and kept aside. Mix vigorously to avoid lumps in the sauce. Change this sauce to a deeper, thick-bottomed pot, and simmer until it is halved, removing any possible foam that may form on its surface.
Add the chicken pieces and half of the lard into the pot. Mix well and cover it. Cook for about an hour, turning each piece on its side midway through for even cooking.
In a separate pan, heated over medium-high heat, melt half of the butter and add two additional tablespoons of olive oil. Add the pearl onions, sugar and a pinch of salt. Sauté. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to a minimum and cook for about 10 minutes, checking always that the onions are not burned. Increase the heat of the fire and add the rest of the mushrooms. Cook until both onions and mushrooms are golden brown. Remove them from the pot and leave their juices to use in the next step.
Cut the bread into thin slices. Bring the same pot with the pearl onions juices to a medium-high heat and add the rest of the butter. Sauté the bread slices until golden, preventing them from burning (fry as many bread slices as you want for your croutons).
Returning to the chicken, remove the cover and let it thicken. Adjust salt and pepper. Add the pearl onions, mushrooms and the rest of the lard. Turn heat off.
Soak your croutons in the juice of the chicken and then pass it through the parsley previously finely cut.
Serve your Coq au Vin with some pearl onions, lard and crouton and sprinkle it with some parsley branch.
By Alicia Santana
