
Cheeky chicken coq au vin
Coq au vin has got to be one of the most well-known French recipes, and for good reason as it’s delicious. But if you live in the UK, like we do, trying to get hold of cockerel to make it is fairly difficult! So we’ve tweaked the traditional recipe to make it UK-friendly by swapping chicken for the usual cockerel. There are various other birds that you could use, such as guinea fowl or partridge.
We served roast vegetables as our accompaniment, but you can serve it with rice, fresh pasta, steamed potatoes or steamed mixed veg, depending on your preferences.
I am linking this dish up to Recipe of the Week, click on the linky below to discover some other yummy recipes:
Cheeky chicken coq au vin

Ingredients:
- Chicken - 1.8kg (whole)
- Onion - 1
- Bacon - 200g (streaky, back or lardons)
- Mushrooms - 40g (dried perfumed Chinese)
- Garlic - 2 cloves (crushed)
- Herbes de Provence - 2 tsp (heaped)
- Butter - 30g
- Olive oil - 2 tbsp
- Red wine - 75cl
- Strong white flour - 2 tbsp (heaped)
Instructions:
Summary:
- Brown the bacon and onions in the olive oil and butter in a casserole dish
- Brown the chicken
- Add the flour, garlic, herbes de Provence, dried mushrooms and red wine
- Gently cook with lid on for 1 hour
- Cut your chicken and put back in the gravy
Put your casserole dish on the hob onto a high heat. Get all your ingredients ready.
Put the olive oil and butter into the casserole dish.
Peel and slice the onion and put it in the casserole dish. Next cut your bacon. You can use streaky bacon (which is fattier) or back bacon, it's up to you, we tend to use back bacon. Chop your bacon into 2cm wide strips, either with a big, sharp kitchen knife, or with kitchen scissors. You could also use lardons - this is quicker but more expensive. Add your bacon/lardons to your casserole dish and stir everything. You might need to reduce the heat to medium if the oil starts spitting too much.
Once the onions and bacon have browned, after about 5 minutes, put them to one side in the same dish and add your cheat coq (chicken). Brown it for about 2 minutes on each side: the bottom, the left side and the right side. A chicken has a sort of a triangular shape.
Add the flour, the crushed garlic, the herbes de Provence, the dried mushrooms and the red wine and stir well. You can use fresh mushrooms as well or dried porcini for example. No need to rehydrate the dried mushrooms with boiled water as they will have plenty of time to rehydrate while cooking in the red wine.
Gently cook on a low heat with the lid on for 1 hour.
This is the gravy at the end of the 1 hour cooking.
Cut your chicken and put it back in the gravy so it soaks up all the flavours before you dish it up.
Don't forget, if you like this recipe please share it! We'd love it if you came back and shared your comments, thoughts, and rating on this dish once you've cooked it. Bon appétit!
A classic but always delicious. I’ve not made it in ages, thanks for the reminder. Popping over from recipe of the week
Coombemill recently posted…Country Kids from Coombe Mill
It’s just a shame we can’t get cockerel in the UK, it feels like we’re cheating, but still a good dish. Thanks for stopping by.
Sounds delicious. #recipeoftheweek
Julie’s Family Kitchen recently posted…Cheese and Tomato Pesto Puffs
It was so yummy 🙂
I’ve been cooking chickens a lot, lately – I should try this. It looks delicious.
Anne recently posted…Grandma’s Swiss Steak
It really was delicious, and I’m not usually a fan of cooking with red wine – I much prefer white in general (and drinking the red instead!).
Never actually made this, we always roast ours but you’ve inspired me! #Recipeoftheweek
Kate Thompson recently posted…Cherry Scones
It makes such a nice change from roasting it, and the juices are incredible.
One of my favourite recipes, looks delicious
Alison recently posted…Four Hours in Casualty
Thank you, it was so yummy! Just a shame we can’t do “real” Coq au vin in the UK 🙁
That looks amazing! I only ever roast potatoes, I should really try throwing some other veg in to roast too! x
We tend to always throw in some veg, it just makes it easier.
The step by step pictures are really useful in creating this recipe.
Nayna Kanabar (@citrusspiceuk) recently posted…Courgette and Cherry Tomato Curry ~ 5-2 diet
We try to make our recipes as easy as possible to follow 🙂
Anything with a prep time of 6 minutes is well worth a go! This looks divine too. Can almost smell it through the PC screen!
suzanne3childrenandit recently posted…Three Cheers for Grandparents!
I’m all about yummy meals that take no prep time 🙂
This looks delicious. As I live with a vegetarian my meat eating days are limited but I would definitely try and get my mum to make this for me when I go over for Sunday lunch one time! X
There’s nothing like getting the parents to make yummy dishes for you 😉
I haven’t made coq au vin in such a long time! I must get round to making it again, your looks and sounds delicious x
Kirsty – Hijacked by Twins recently posted…Point + Shoot – First Post
It’s just such a shame we can’t find cockerel in the UK 🙁
Never tried it.
Love the look of it and will for sure try to make it.
Thank you
agatapokutycka recently posted…Wardrobe essentials – The Hoodie
It’s nice and easy and usually goes down well 🙂
This is one thing I’ve never cooked so I’ve pinned it to my meal planning board for next week. It looks really delicious and pretty simple!
Let us know how you got on with it, always good to get feedback.
I’m a vegetarian so can’t comment for myself! But this recipe looks so simple I might have to suggest hubby makes it when we have family over as I always struggle to find something I will cook that they will eat!
Jo @ 3 Kids and a Gluestick recently posted…Meal Planning Monday 10th March 2014
That’s a great idea! We will try and get some more vegetarian dishes on the blog too.
That is not a meal I’ve every cooked, but looking at that gravy I’m feeling very tempted. When we buy a whole joint we roast it, but we are started discussing buying joint to break up for other meals, maybe this is it.
Kate Davis recently posted…7 years blogging, 17 years online
We usually roast joints too but it’s always nice to mix it up a bit I find.
I could so eat this right now. I’m sat here freezing after what has been a glorious few spring days of sunshine and warmth and this dish would warm me up nicely! It looks delicious!
Donna @ OrdinaryCyclingGirl recently posted…The lost ‘thing’
It is a bit of a winter dish, warms you right up!
Ooooh, that looks impressive! And not as complicated as I’d expected. Thanks so much for linking up with #recipeoftheweek. I’ve pinned and tweeted this post and hope to see you linking up again soon! 😀 x
Emily @amummytoo recently posted…Cooking with leafy greens + #recipeoftheweek 29 March – 4 April
Ever so simple in fact 🙂
Just wanted to say that my husband made this for dinner and we loved it 🙂 Thanks for the recipe, it was so simple and delicious.
Aww, that makes me so happy 🙂 I’m really glad you liked it!