Coq Au Vin

Chicken braised in red wine with celery, onions, and mushrooms. The burnt brandy brings a unique sweetness to this classic French dish. Adapted from "The Spice Cookbook" by Day and Stuckey (1964). It's my understanding that this kind of slow-cooked dish is best when using an old, free-range bird. Slow cooking in the wine tenderizes the otherwise tough meat, and older free-range birds develop more flavor than the young poultry-factory chickens we usually get in the store.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 5 mins
• Serves: 6
• Yields: 6

Ingredients

• 3  lbs chicken, ready to cook
• 1⁄2 cup flour
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 2  tablespoons butter
• 1  tablespoon  vegetable oil
• 1  cup celery, chopped to 1/4-inch lengths
• 1  onion, coarsely chopped
• 1  cup  chopped bacon, uncooked (check with a local butcher to see if they have bacon ends... cheaper than regular bacon, and pre-cho)
• 1  bay leaf
• 1⁄2 teaspoon thyme
• 1⁄4 teaspoon garlic powder (or 1 garlic clove, pressed or smashed or finely minced)
• 2  teaspoons salt
• 12  whole mushroom caps
• 12  whole cloves
• 1⁄3 cup brandy
• 1 3⁄4 cups red wine
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons flour

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix the 1/2 cup flour, the nutmeg, and the 1 tsp salt.
2. Cut chicken into parts. Remove the skin.
3. Place butter and oil in a dutch oven or other flame-proof casserole dish. Heat slowly to melt butter. ALTERNATIVELY, use a heavy skillet.
4. Dredge each chicken part in the flour mixture.
5. Turn the heat up and brown the dredged chicken in batches. Remove to a plate, but leave the drippings.
6. Preheat your oven to 325°F.
7. Add the bacon and onions. Cook, stirring as needed, until onions begin to soften.
8. Add celery and continue cooking until onions are golden.
9. Reduce heat and add bay leaf, thyme, garlic, and 2 tsp salt. Stir to mix and cook 1 minute, then remove from heat.
10. Remove veggies to a plate. Place chicken back in the dutch oven and pour veggies on top. ALTERNATIVELY, place chicken in an oven-proof casserole dish with a tight-fitting lid and pour veggies on top.
11. Stick a clove into each mushroom cap and place into dutch oven or casserole dish so that they do not break.
12. Pour brandy atop the veggies, spreading evenly throughout.
13. Ignite brandy with a creme brulee torch or a long-stemmed lighter.
14. When brandy has burnt out, add 1 1/2 cup of the red wine, place the lid on, and bake 1 1/2 hours. Chicken should be very tender.
15. Whisk together the last 1/4 cup of the wine and the final 1 1/2 tbsp of flour. I did this by simmering on the stove top so that I could check it frequently. You could do it in the oven too, if you don't have a flame-proof dutch oven, but I'm not sure how frequently you'd need to check it.
16. Serve with French bread to soak up the sauce with.