Coq au vin is a French fricassee of rooster cooked with wine, lardons, mushrooms, and optionally garlic. Older roosters are traditionally used because they contain a lot of connective tissue, which creates a richer broth when cooked.
Many regions of France have variants of coq au vin using the local wine, such as coq au vin jaune (Jura), coq au Riesling (Alsace), coq au Champagne, and so on. The most extravagant version is coq au Chambertin, but this generally involves Chambertin more in name than in practice.
History
Various legends trace coq au vin to ancient Gaul and Julius Caesar, but the food is not documented until the early 20th century; it no doubt also existed as a rustic dish long before that.
Preparation
Standard recipes call for a chicken, wine, lardons (salt pork), button mushrooms, often garlic, and sometimes brandy. Recipes with vin jaune usually specify morels instead of white mushrooms. The preparation is similar in many respects to beef bourguignon. The lardons are cut as thin strips and then parboiled to remove excess salt. They are then sauteed to render out the fat. Additional oil is added if needed in order to brown the chicken pieces. A mirepoix of diced carrots, onions, and celery is added along with minced garlic and allowed to briefly cook. Then the wine and stock are added to cover. The traditional seasonings are salt, pepper, thyme, and bay leaf (usually in the form of a bouquet garni). Mushroom stems and pieces will often be added at the beginning of the dish in order to contribute to the flavor of the sauce. Near the end of the preparation, the sauce may be strained to remove the cooked vegetables. The sauce is then returned to the chicken and the whole mushrooms and sometimes pearl onions are added for the last fifteen minutes of cooking.
The juices are thickened either by making a small roux at the beginning of cooking, or by adding blood at the end (technically a soup or stew known as civet in France).
