Only then return the onions, garlic and lardons to the pot. Then, in the empty pot that retains the oils and crusty bits from the sautee, throw in the chicken at a high temperature, so that it browns on all sides. Sautee onions and garlic and lardons with butter in the bottom of the Dutch oven first, then remove them once the onions are browned and set them aside. While the recipe is simple, there are a few tricks that I learned in the process of preparing this dish that “kick it up a notch.” If you marinate the chicken in wine overnight, the meat impregnates with flavor. Along with other clichéd but delicious classics (escargots, sole meuniere, beef bourguignon), coq-au-vin was featured in Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking (1961) and the spinoff television show, The French Chef, bringing this hearty traditional dish into the homes of Americans who might otherwise have never been exposed to French cuisine. Julia Child's coq au vinīut the recipe really grew famous thanks to Julia Child, who is almost single-handedly responsible for popularizing French cooking in the United States. An 1864 cookbook called Cookery for English Households offers a French recipe called poulet au vin blanc (chicken in white wine), which is a parallel to traditional coq-au-vin. Because surely people have braised chicken in wine since ancient times, it would be a surprise to find a specific origin moment. The precise origins of coq-au-vin are unknown. In practice, low-income families could throw any ingredients they have available into a pot of water, if there was no wine handy, and transform it into a filling stew. Any root vegetables can be added, any cut of meat can be used, even tough cuts (as in beef bourguignon, which require long cooking to become tender)-the very fact that the dish is “coq” au vin and not “poulet” (chicken) au vin indicates its peasant origins, for rooster meat is much tougher than chicken, requiring long slow braising to make it edible, whereas chicken could be cooked a short amount of time and be delicious. Coq au vin: a peasant food?īraised stews have long been a peasant favorite because they make an elaborate, wholesome meal out of whatever ingredients you can afford or scrounge together. It is as fool-proof as cooking can get, which means that even I, who cook with ten thumbs, can do a pretty good job with it. The longer you cook, provided the contents of the pot remain moist, the richer the flavor and the softer the meat. This is best prepared in a Dutch oven, like a Le Creuset pot if you want to go all-French, and can be made either on the stovetop or in the oven, so long as the pot is covered. Then it’s a simple matter of letting it braise, low and slow. Both begin with sautéed onions and garlic in butter, then add meat that should be browned, and finally include mushrooms and some fatty bacon (lardons), before pouring in enough wine to cover the meat. The recipe is not dissimilar from another of the well-known traditional French dishes, boeuf bourguignon. The basic components of coq-au-vin (literally “rooster in wine”) are chicken on the bone and wine (traditionally Burgundy, but in theory one could use anything, with Riesling popular in Alsace). It is a simple dish to prepare (here is the original c oq au vin recipe by French chef Paul Bocuse), inexpensive, and utterly delicious. This is not to say that Henri had chicken stew braised in wine in mind when he made his proclamation, but this dish has come to be associated with the idea behind the quote. Out of Henri’s famous promise grew a dish, one of several that are recognized the world round as quintessentially French: coq-au-vin recipe. “A chicken in every pot.” So said King Henri IV of France, in what would become a famous political promise of general welfare, from peasants on up.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |