Coq au Vin (Chicken Cooked in wine)with Mushrooms and Onions
For our first recipe we will go to Julia Child, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I have had a few versions of Coq Au Vin, but really wanted to try the original with a Keto friendly twist. This recipe did take some time to prepare but it was worth every minute!
The lesson learned on this recipe was that my trusty splatter screen came in very handy while preparing many of the components of this dish. Since we are primarily cooking with Ghee and bacon grease, the splatter screen helped protect me and assisted with the final clean up. Here is a link in case you don’t have one already.
Ingredients
Thick Cut Bacon - 4 Ounces
Butter - 2 TBSP
Chicken Pieces - 3 lbs
Salt 1/2 tsp
Pepper 1/4 tsp
3 Cups of full body Red Wine (Burgundy, Beaujolais or Chianti)
2 Cups Beef Bouillon
1/2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
2 Cloves Garlic
1/4 tsp Thyme
1 Bay Leaf
A deep skillet works best for this recipe. Place on medium heat or medium low if using gas stove. Cut the bacon into one inch cubes and brown in ghee until bacon is crisp on the edges. The goal is to brown the bacon without burning the ghee. Once bacon is completely cooked remove from the skillet.
Dry chicken pieces and cook for 10 minutes in the ghee/bacon fat turning once. Keep the chicken an inch or two from each other to help with the browning process. When the chicken is brown on each side remove from pan. Continue browning each piece of chicken until all are browned.
Add all the chicken pieces and bacon back to the pan. Add the Wine and then just enough of the stock to cover the chicken. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic and herbs. Bring heat to simmer, cover and cook slowly for 30 minutes or until the chicken reaches temperature of 165 °F. Remove the chicken and place on a side dish. Cover until ready to serve.
Sauce:
3 Tbsp of Flour
2 Tbsp of Butter softened
Blend the butter and flour together to form a smooth paste. Bring the wine liquid up to a simmer for a minute or two and skim off the fat. Raise the heat to boil until the liquid is reduced by half, about two cups. Add the paste with a wire whip. Continue to simmer for a minute or two stirring until the liquid thickens enough to coat the whip lightly.
Serving:
Place the chicken a serving platter. For sides serve with Brown Braised Onions, Sautéed Mushrooms or vegetable(s) of choice. When plating add chicken and baste with wine sauce. Add sides of choice.
Servings - 8
_________________________
Calories - 270
Total Fat - 14.1g
Cholesterol 9.9 mg
Sodium - 612.3 mg
Total Carbs - 1.6g
Dietary Fiber - 0.1g
Sugar - 0.5g
Net Carbs - 1.5g
Protein - 16.1g