Name: Coq au vin
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 115 min
Total time: 155 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 8 chicken legs (bone-in, skin-on); 2 tbsp plain flour (for dusting); 100 g streaky bacon (in thin strips); 250 g shallots (or small onions, peeled and left whole); 250 g small button mushrooms (cleaned, left whole); 2 tbsp clarified butter; 4 cl Cognac; 750 ml full-bodied red wine; 1 tbsp tomato purée; 2 cloves garlic (roughly chopped); 1 bay leaf (for the bouquet garni); 1 sprig thyme (for the bouquet garni); 1 sprig rosemary (for the bouquet garni); 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley (stalks for the bouquet garni, leaves for sprinkling); 1 pinch sugar; freshly grated nutmeg; salt and pepper; 1 baguette (to serve)

Preparation

Season the chicken legs with salt and pepper and dust thinly all over with flour. Peel the shallots and clean the mushrooms, leaving both whole. Tie the bay leaf, thyme, rosemary and parsley stalks into a bouquet garni.
Heat 1 tbsp clarified butter in a wide pot and fry the shallots, bacon and mushrooms over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring, then remove.
Heat the remaining clarified butter, brown the chicken legs all over, fry the tomato purée briefly with them and deglaze with the Cognac; let it boil vigorously.
Pour in the red wine, add the bouquet garni and garlic and season with salt, pepper, nutmeg and a pinch of sugar. Cover and braise over gentle heat for about 1¼ hours.
Remove the herbs and chicken and reduce the sauce considerably over high heat. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Return the chicken legs to the sauce, scatter the shallots, mushrooms and bacon with their juices on top, cover and cook gently for another 20 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with baguette.

Drink with it

Red wine · excellent match
Red Burgundy (Pinot Noir) or Beaujolais cru
The dish comes from Burgundy and is braised in red wine; red fruit and fresh acidity pick up the sauce, and the fine tannins do not fight the chicken.
Which wine pairs with food? A simple approach to choosing
Dark beer · good match
Bière de Garde ambrée or Belgian Dubbel
Caramel malt and light roasted notes meet the reduced red wine sauce and the browned chicken legs.
Which beer goes with food? More than just pils with barbecue
Cognac and brandy · good match
Cognac VSOP, neat after the meal
Cognac is already in the sauce and picks up the bacon, mushrooms and red wine flavours again with wood and dried fruit.
Cognac and Armagnac: Two Origins for Brandy
Junmai sake · good match
Junmai, lukewarm (about 40 °C)
The umami of the bacon, mushrooms and braising sauce meets the round, rice-like note of warm Junmai, which brings hardly any tannin.
Junmai, Ginjo, Daiginjo: What do these mean for sake?

Why it pairs well

Warm sake is an unusual companion to a red wine dish; it carries the umami of the sauce without bringing tannin.

Preparation

Season the chicken legs with salt and pepper and dust thinly all over with flour. Peel the shallots and clean the mushrooms, leaving both whole. Tie the bay leaf, thyme, rosemary and parsley stalks into a bouquet garni.
Heat 1 tbsp clarified butter in a wide pot and fry the shallots, bacon and mushrooms over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring, then remove.
Heat the remaining clarified butter, brown the chicken legs all over, fry the tomato purée briefly with them and deglaze with the Cognac; let it boil vigorously.
Pour in the red wine, add the bouquet garni and garlic and season with salt, pepper, nutmeg and a pinch of sugar. Cover and braise over gentle heat for about 1¼ hours.
Remove the herbs and chicken and reduce the sauce considerably over high heat. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Return the chicken legs to the sauce, scatter the shallots, mushrooms and bacon with their juices on top, cover and cook gently for another 20 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with baguette.

Drink with it

Red wine · excellent match
Red Burgundy (Pinot Noir) or Beaujolais cru
The dish comes from Burgundy and is braised in red wine; red fruit and fresh acidity pick up the sauce, and the fine tannins do not fight the chicken.
Which wine pairs with food? A simple approach to choosing
Dark beer · good match
Bière de Garde ambrée or Belgian Dubbel
Caramel malt and light roasted notes meet the reduced red wine sauce and the browned chicken legs.
Which beer goes with food? More than just pils with barbecue
Cognac and brandy · good match
Cognac VSOP, neat after the meal
Cognac is already in the sauce and picks up the bacon, mushrooms and red wine flavours again with wood and dried fruit.
Cognac and Armagnac: Two Origins for Brandy
Junmai sake · good match
Junmai, lukewarm (about 40 °C)
The umami of the bacon, mushrooms and braising sauce meets the round, rice-like note of warm Junmai, which brings hardly any tannin.
Junmai, Ginjo, Daiginjo: What do these mean for sake?

Why it pairs well

Warm sake is an unusual companion to a red wine dish; it carries the umami of the sauce without bringing tannin.

Coq au vin

Preparation

Drink with it

Red Burgundy (Pinot Noir) or Beaujolais cru

Bière de Garde ambrée or Belgian Dubbel

Cognac VSOP, neat after the meal

Junmai, lukewarm (about 40 °C)

This pairs well too.

Bacon-Wrapped Pork Fillet with Mushroom Sauce and Spätzle

Bangers and Mash with Onion Gravy

Calzone with Ham, Salami and Peppers

Caucasian-Style Pork Neck Shashlik (Schaschlik)

Coq au vin

Preparation

Drink with it

Red Burgundy (Pinot Noir) or Beaujolais cru

Bière de Garde ambrée or Belgian Dubbel

Cognac VSOP, neat after the meal

Junmai, lukewarm (about 40 °C)

This pairs well too.

Bacon-Wrapped Pork Fillet with Mushroom Sauce and Spätzle

Bangers and Mash with Onion Gravy

Calzone with Ham, Salami and Peppers

Caucasian-Style Pork Neck Shashlik (Schaschlik)