Coq au Vin
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
Learn how to make traditional coq au vin, a classic French recipe with tender chicken braised in a rich red wine sauce. This flavorful stew is the perfect dish to warm you up on a chilly day.
If you’re craving something cozy and a little special, this coq au vin recipe is just the thing. A classic French stew from the Burgundy region, coq au vin (literally “chicken in wine”) features chicken braised in red wine with mushrooms, onions, and crispy pancetta until tender and full of rich, savory flavor.
Like my traditional French beef stew, it’s the perfect weekend cooking project—comforting to make, satisfying to eat, and even better the next day. Serve it with buttered egg noodles, mashed potatoes, creamy polenta, or a good crusty bread to soak up every bit of the luscious red wine sauce.
“Oh my goodness, this was off-the-charts good…We are living in Paris now and I have to say this is better than any other coq au vin we’ve eaten locally. Merci beaucoup!”
What You’ll Need To Make Coq au Vin
- Pancetta: Unlike American bacon, which is smoked, pancetta, or Italian bacon, is cured with salt and spices before being dried. It’s readily available at the deli counter or pre-cut and packaged in the refrigerated gourmet foods section.
- Chicken thighs: While traditional recipes call for a whole cut-up chicken (a coq is an old rooster), I prefer to use only bone-in chicken thighs only. The thighs remain tender and succulent when braised for a long time, whereas white meat/chicken breasts tend to dry out.
- Onion and garlic: These aromatics form the flavor foundation for the stew.
- Cognac: A type of French brandy, cognac adds complex flavor (similar to how it used in other French-style dishes like chicken pot pie, steak au poivre, and turkey gravy).
- Red wine: The classic choice is a Burgundy or Pinot Noir, but any light or medium-bodied red wine, such as Merlot or Zinfandel, will work. You don’t need to use an expensive bottle; just make sure it’s a wine you’d enjoy drinking—no supermarket cooking wine!
- Chicken broth: The base of the sauce.
- Tomato paste: Brings depth, richness, and a subtle tang that keeps the flavors bright and balanced.
- Fresh thyme sprigs and bay leaf: Infuse the dish with herbal notes.
- Carrots and cremini mushrooms: These classic vegetable additions add sweetness, earthiness, and texture to the dish.
- Butter and all-purpose flour: Combined to form a paste (called beurre manié or kneaded butter) used to thicken the sauce.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Cook the pancetta. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and it’s nice and crispy, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate, leaving the fat in the pan—you’ll add it back at the end.
Step 2: Brown the chicken. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then brown over medium-high heat until golden and crispy, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Step 3: Cook the aromatics. Pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of the fat, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds or so, just until fragrant.
Step 4: Build the sauce. Pour in the Cognac and cook, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot, until it’s almost evaporated. Add the wine, chicken broth, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, sugar, thyme, bay leaf, and salt, then bring everything to a boil.
Step 5: Simmer the stew. Reduce the heat to medium and let the sauce gently boil, uncovered, for about 15 minutes to thicken and concentrate the flavors. Return the chicken, any accumulated juices, and the carrots to the pot. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes, until the chicken and carrots are tender.
Step 6: Cook the mushrooms. While the stew simmers, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until they’re golden brown and any liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
Step 7: Make the beurre manié. In a small bowl, mash together the softened butter and flour until it forms a smooth paste—you’ll use it to thicken the cooking liquid into a silky sauce.
Step 8: Remove the chicken skin. Pull the chicken out of the pot and use a fork and knife to remove and discard the skin—it slides off easily. It adds great flavor and helps keep the meat moist while cooking, but it turns soggy, and the dish is more appealing without it.
Step 9: Thicken the sauce. Increase the heat in the Dutch oven/pot to medium and stir in three-quarters of the beurre manié. Gently boil until the sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes, adding the remaining paste if needed to make the sauce thicker.
Step 10: Finish the dish. Return the chicken and any juices to the pot and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes to let the flavors come together. Stir in the mushrooms and pancetta just before serving, then taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve right away, or cool and refrigerate for up to 2 days (it only gets better with time). The stew also freezes beautifully for up to 3 months.
Video Tutorial
More Classic French Recipes You May Like
Coq au Vin
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 4 oz diced pancetta (or bacon)
- 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 4 lbs/1.8 kg), trimmed of excess skin (see note)
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup Cognac
- 2½ cups red wine, preferably Burgundy or Pinot Noir
- 2½ cups chicken broth
- 1½ tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- 1½ teaspoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into ½-in (13-mm) chunks on the bias
- 8 ounces sliced cremini mushrooms
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large (5-qt/4.8-L) Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook until the fat has rendered and the pancetta is crispy, 5 to 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a paper-towel-lined plate, leaving the fat in the pan.
- Season the chicken all over with 2 teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Increase the heat to medium-high and brown half of the chicken in a single layer, skin side down, until golden and crispy, about 5 minutes (brown on the skin side only). Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a plate; set aside. Repeat with the remaining chicken. Pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of the fat.
- Return the pot to the stove and reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the onions to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened and just starting to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute more. Add the Cognac and cook, stirring to scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan, until the Cognac has evaporated. Add the wine, chicken broth, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, sugar, thyme, bay leaf, and ½ teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and gently boil, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
- Add the chicken and any accumulated juices from the plate back to the pot, along with the carrots. Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook over low heat for 30 minutes, or until the chicken and carrots are cooked through.
- While the chicken cooks, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms are golden brown, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
- Also while the chicken cooks: In a small bowl, mash the softened butter and flour to make a smooth paste. Set aside.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked chicken to a plate.
- Increase the heat in the Dutch oven/pot to medium and stir in three-quarters of the flour and butter paste. Gently boil until the sauce is thickened, 5 to 7 minutes; add the remaining paste if you'd like the sauce a little thicker. Fish out and discard the bay leaf.
- Using a fork and knife, pull the skin off of the chicken and discard.
- Add the chicken and any accumulated juices back to the pot and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. Right before serving, stir in the browned mushrooms and pancetta. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary, then serve.
Notes
- Sometimes chicken thighs have excess skin and/or fat. Before cooking, using kitchen shears, trim any skin that extends farther than the edges of the chicken thigh, and snip off any excess fat.
- Make-Ahead/Freezing Instructions: Prepare the stew as directed, then cool it to room temperature before refrigerating for up to 2 days. Reheat over medium-low heat on the stovetop before serving. (For best results, store the sautéed mushrooms and crispy pancetta in separate containers in the refrigerator and add before serving.) If you want to freeze the dish, transfer it to an airtight container once it has cooled and for up to 3 months. Before serving, defrost the stew in the refrigerator for 24 hours and then reheat on the stovetop over medium-low heat until hot.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
See more recipes:
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
My wife has cooked for our family for 10 years. The last time she had Coq au Vin was overseas at a restaurant. You have made me an overnight celebrity, acing every dish from your website. Thank you so much!! I’ve purchased and received your cookbook as well.
❤️
Jenn,
Even though it’s sweltering hot right now, I’d like to make this as I’ve been making picnic meals for friends which we’ve had out in the glorious park round the corner where I live in Toronto. Since we’re not allowed to be inside with guests!!
I have just one question. Since I agree that something like this tastes better the next day, should the mushrooms only be added the day it’s going to be served? Otherwise, I imagine they’ll be soggy and lose some of their mushroominess.
And forgive me if this question has already been asked, but there are 121 reviews!!!
Joy
Hi Joy, Yes, I’d store the mushrooms and pancetta in separate containers and add them right before serving. Hope everyone enjoys! 🙂
In another reply on the thread, you mentioned it was fine to make the whole dish one day and serve the next. The above reply recommends storing the mushrooms and pancetta and adding the next day. I plan to make one day and serve the next so please let me know if one approach is better than the other or it will be fine with all ingredients added when cooking and serving the next day.
I love your recipes!
Hi Nancy, Sorry for any confusion. If you want to make it ahead, I’d store the mushrooms and pancetta separately. Hope you enjoy!
yikes. In France we always soak the chicken in the wine first. So odd that you leave out the thing that give it flavour. Also the order is wrong for adding beurre manié and never do you add balsamic vingear. I am sure this is a lovely American or British chicken with wine dish but it’s not coq au vin
I made this last week and it turned out amazing! What surprised me the most was that during cooking, the whole house smelled like some of my favourite French restaurants where I am from in Canada, and made me think of being back home! (I had to walk in and out of the house a few times, just to get the full sensory/memory experience!) The kids (10 and 12) ate everything and even soaked up the juices with french bread like my Husband and I did. The flavour of this dish is built gradually throughout the cooking duration, and it was really neat to see how it evolved over the time it took me to make it! I hope folks don’t get too caught up in whether or not this recipe is truly “authentic” as most restaurants I’ve been to serve variations of the most traditional recipes, i.e. I definitely wouldn’t use Rooster meat here, as the traditional recipe calls for! I wouldn’t hesitate to make this recipe for guests. You know your audience well which is reflected in the way you set up and explain the recipes, ingredients, and techniques. I just started using your recipes and plan to do so for a long time. Thank you for all of your hard work!
So glad you enjoyed this! 🙂
Lisette,
With all due respect, there are as many ways to make Coq au Vin and Boeuf Bourgignon in France as there are ways to make Lasagne or Minestrone in Italy. Food is endlessly interpreted by people, to their taste.
I just wanted to address the rather sour review you’ve left.
Joy in Toronto, city of immigrants from 110 countries who have all brought their cuisine with them
I have not made this dish in years! This recipe was worth the effort! May seem like a lot of prep but the end result is so worth it! When we are able t have dinner with family and friends I will be serving this! Hubby couldn’t stop praising me for this meal! Thank you for posting this delish meal!
Fantastic. My family was amazed by this one. I have made so many of your recipes and ALL of them are amazing. Thanks for teaching me so many things. Blessings to you!
💓
Absolutely delicious and a great recipe to pass the time while at home. We used a Cabernet Sauvignon since it was the only red we had on hand and it still made for the perfect sauce. We can’t wait until we can entertain again because we will definitely be using this recipe!
Excellent dinner choice to please a crowd!
Hi Jenn,
My husband does not eat pork. Can/should I substitute the bacon with turkey bacon or just skip this step altogether?
Hi Nitza, Turkey bacon would work here. You could also just omit the pancetta. (It will still be delicious.) Hope you enjoy!
I made this for our anniversary celebration instead of going out. My husband said it is restaurant quality….and was perfect….we didn’t waste one drop of that sauce. I followed the recipe as directed, except we pulled our skin off the thighs as we ate them….as dinner was already late…and didn’t want to take that extra step. Only thing I would change is to add more carrots and mushrooms. This was a simple dish with complex flavor. I made pearl couscous (toasted israeli style pasta) to go with this….it was perfect! Thank you!
Happy Anniversary, Karen! So happy you both enjoyed it. 💕
Hi Jenn,
I, too, want to add my thanks, appreciation, and praise for your wonderful site and book. Have been cooking for many years, with a cupboard full of cookbooks and recipes; but find myself turning to yours time and again, secure in the knowledge that I’ll find something enticing, relatively easy to prepare, and guaranteed to please.
Planning on doing your Coq au Vin for eight people. Without going through the whole recipe, could you please tell me how you’d adjust ingredient quantities? Thanks so much.
So glad you like the recipes, Jan!! ❤️
To serve 8, I’d multiply all the ingredients by 1.5. Hope everyone enjoys!