Matt Tebbutt's coq au vin
Classic, luxurious and deeply savoury, coq au vin is a dinner party winner every time. Ask your butcher to spatchcock the chicken for you, if you like.
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken, spatchcocked
- 750ml/1lb 10oz bottle red wine
- 1 onion, quartered
- 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
- 2 celery sticks, chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- small bunch fresh thyme
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 75g/2½oz butter
- 15g/½oz plain flour
- 500ml/18fl oz beef stock
- 15 small pearl onions
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 120g/4½oz block pancetta, chopped
- 200g/7oz button mushrooms, left whole
Method
Place the chicken, wine, onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf, thyme and black peppercorns in a large bowl. Place in the fridge overnight. Next day, drain (reserving everything), pat the chicken dry and season well.
Heat a large casserole dish and add the butter, once melted and hot sear the chicken all over until browned. This will take 5–8 minutes until brown all over. Remove from the dish.
Add the reserved onions, carrots, celery and aromatics to the dish. Brown the vegetables for 2–3 minutes, then add the flour and stir to combine. Pour in the reserved red wine and beef stock. Put the chicken back into the pot and cook gently with the lid on for 1 hour. Once the chicken is cooked through, remove and leave to rest.
Blanch the pearl onions in boiling water for a few minutes to soften. Drain and set aside.
Heat a frying pan over high heat and add the oil. Once hot brown the pancetta in the pan for 2–3 minutes. Remove and set aside, then add the mushrooms to the same pan. Once the mushrooms have browned, add the blanched onions.
Once the chicken has rested, joint it into 6 or 8 portions. Reduce the red wine stock until it has a thick sauce like consistency. Add the onions, mushrooms and bacon and chicken to the sauce. Serve in the large pot or in serving bowls.
