Coq Au Vin Blanc

As much as I love Paris and French cuisine, it is very rare for me to cook French food. With fabulous restaurants like Bicyclette in Los Angeles, I leave the masterfulness required for French cuisine to the experts. Now, that doesn't mean that there isn't a French dish or two, perhaps even three, such as Coq Au Vin Blanc that I enjoy cooking at home. 

It is a very easy dish to cook if you know the secret to a delicious Coq Au Vin Blanc. Is it the right kind of white wine? Well, that helps but the secret is using a Dutch Oven. My personal preference is LE CREUSET, which can be considered pricey. There are much less, more budget-friendly Dutch Ovens like from Martha Stewart available on Amazon. 

INGREDIENTS

four bone-in and skin-on chicken thighs

two ounces of pancetta

one shallot, diced

a quarter of yellow onion, diced

four garlic cloves, sliced

five crimini (or button) mushrooms, sliced

four thymes

one cup of dry white wine

one cup of chicken broth

two tablespoons of butter

Heat a Dutch oven over high heat and add the pancetta. Sauté and let them crisp. Remove from the Dutch oven and place them on a plate. Next, reduce heat to medium-high and place chicken thighs in the Dutch oven with pancetta fat. Cook on each side for five minutes and remove from the Dutch oven.

Snap of Paris from October 2019 Trip

Add shallots, onions, and garlic cloves in the Dutch oven. Scrap the bottom with a wooden spoon and coat them well with the fat from pancetta and chicken thighs until the onions start to become translucent. Add cooked pancetta and chicken thighs, and stir to mix. 

Add mushrooms, thyme, white wine, and chicken broth. Stir to mix, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, and cook for 30 minutes covered with the lid. Remove the lid, add butter, flip the chicken, and cook for ten minutes. And, voila! You have delightfully delicious Coq Au Vin Blanc to serve with slices of baguette. 

Wine Tip! Typically, dry white wines are Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Muscadet, Albariño, Pinot Grigio, Soave, Picpoul, and Grenache Blanc. I recommend Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay for cooking. While Sauvignon Blanc is known to add a crisp, fruity, floral, and herb flavor to vegetables, Chardonnay was used for this recipe since it is known to pair with poultry.