Trust me on this one – it’s a winner. What’s the phrase? Winner, winner, chicken dinner. Chicken thighs braised in red wine and other good aromatics, then a little bit of cocoa powder plus red wine vinegar added in at the end.
This is another recipe from David Lebovitz’s cookbook, My Paris Kitchen. The recipe title – I guess because of his widely known English-speaking fans, he calls it Chicken in Red Wine Sauce rather than the traditional French way, Coq au Vin. I already have a few recipes here on this blog for coq au vin (two, I think), but this is without a doubt, the best one. I made this recently using chicken thighs. The original recipe calls for a whole chicken, but I rarely use one of those, preferring the thighs if I’m going to use chicken parts.
Ideally this recipe calls for marinating the chicken in the red wine (a whole bottle), onion, carrot, ground cloves, bay leaves and thyme, for 2 days. TWO DAYS! I didn’t read the recipe in time – so mine marinated a total of 2 hours. There is a lot of bacon in this, which gives the dish lots of flavor. The thighs (skin on, bone in) were browned on both sides in olive oil and butter, removed, then the bacon was added along with mushrooms, then everything else goes in, chicken on top, then the marinade (wine) is poured in. It’s brought to a simmer and gently cooked for about an hour. Then I added in frozen (but defrosted) pearl onions. And simmered for another 20-30 minutes.
Meanwhile, we’d had lots of mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner, so we used the remaining as the pillow to put the chicken and sauce on. The original recipe added just 1 T of flour (as a thickener) but mine needed more – probably about 1/4 cup. Then, the flavor from unsweetened cocoa powder and red wine vinegar adds such a delicious punch to the sauce at the last few minutes. You cannot tell there is cocoa in the sauce. Not at all. Three of us tried to detect it – no. You’ve just got to make this. If you don’t want mashed potatoes, try noodles (pappardelle?) instead. Or mashed cauliflower made to resemble mashed potatoes.
What’s GOOD: the umami flavors in this are just over the top wonderful. I can’t say enough superlatives to describe the rich, flavorful sauce. I have ample sauce leftover (over and above what I’ll serve with the leftover chicken) and think I’ll make a soup with some of it. The recipe is not difficult, although it does take some chopping and sauteing here and there, but once it simmers, it’s pretty easy.
What’s NOT: only that you’re supposed to start this 1-2 days ahead to marinate the chicken. I didn’t, just 2 hours for me, but marinating does enhance the flavors.
Chicken in Red Wine Sauce
Serves: 6
Source: Adapted from David Lebovitz’s book, My Paris Kitchen
1 bottle red wine fruity style, Côtes du Rhône if possible
1 white onion peeled, chopped
1 large carrot peeled, diced, or in 1/4” coins
Sea salt or kosher salt to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 wholes bay leaves
10 sprigs fresh thyme or about 1 teaspoon dried
10 skin on, bone in chicken thighs
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoons butter unsalted
8 ounces bacon thick cut, diced
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms halved
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 pound frozen pearl onions thawed
3/4 cup water or use some of the broth, cooled
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
2 1/2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley chopped, for garnish
1. In a large bowl (or a large Ziploc plastic bag) mix red wine, white onion, carrots, a teaspoon or so of salt (may add more later), pepper, cloves, bay leaves and thyme. Add the chicken pieces and press down or seal plastic bag well and rotate so all the chicken is bathed in the wine. Marinate under refrigeration for 1-2 days, turning the pieces (or the bag) once or twice during that time.
2. Remove chicken from the marinade, set aside on a large kitchen platter and dry the chicken WELL with paper towels Then, strain the wine marinade through a kitchen sieve over a bowl, saving the wine and the vegetables.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken pieces in a single layer until dark brown on one side, about 5 minutes; turn and cook other side about 5 minutes more. If the chicken pieces don’t fit in a single layer, cook them in batches. As the chicken pieces are browned, remove them to a clean kitchen platter
4. In the same pot fry the bacon with the mushrooms until the bacon is crisp. If browned bits accumulate on the bottom of the pot, add a splash of the red wine marinade and scrape up the flavorful dark bits into the mixture.
5. Add the drained vegetables into the pot with the herbs and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the flour to the pan, stirring to incorporate it and no white patches remain. Add the chicken back into the pot along with the strained wine marinade, which should come up almost to the top of the chicken pieces. If not, add water or more red wine. Bring the pot to a simmer, reduce heat, cover and cook for about 1 hour.
6. In a small bowl make a slurry with the cocoa powder and flour, using about 1/3 cup water – or remove some of the liquid from the pot, allow it to cool 10 minutes, then use it to mix the slurry. Add to the chicken mixture and cook as the fluid thickens.
7. Add the defrosted pearl onions to the pot and continue cooking for about 10-12 minutes longer. Test the chicken for tenderness. Taste the sauce for seasonings (add more salt if needed). If you used fresh herbs, remove them along with the bay leaves and discard.
8. Using a big spoon, carefully remove some of the fat (between the olive oil, butter, the skin on the chicken and the bacon, this dish generates a good amount of liquid fat). Serve the chicken, skin side up in a wide bowl, along with hot, wide noodles or fluffy mashed potatoes. Spoon some of the vegetables on top and drizzle the pasta or potatoes with some of the sauce. Garnish with chopped parsley.
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