Coq au vin: my adventure with a co.... err... chicken

It's been a while since I did a food post. Actually, before the last post, it had been a while since I had posted at all. Not going to explain the absence, it is just one of those things. This was really the one which made me write again, although it's taken me a while to finish compiling all the bits which go into this, so the last post took over.

A while ago, I did what I alternately call my World Cup Food Challenge, or the 32 from 32 in 32 (32 Dishes from 32 Countries in 32 Days). Being busy with researching recipes, cooking and watching the football, the blogging got left behind. I promised to get around to posting on the meals I prepared after the event, but slacked. I acknowledge now that it would take me years to complete the posts for all 32, if indeed I ever do. Be that as it may, here is one.

Coq au vin from the World Cup Food Challenge; the first attempt

My meal for France (day 31) was the coq au vin. I had initally planned to make a crème brûlée only because I have a crème brûlée making set - with the ramekins and a small torch. But I could not find a recipe which I felt comfortable with. I asked a friend of mine who was French, but of course, it is not something that she makes at home, ever. So, no help there. And the recipes I found online were so different in their ingredients and ingredient ratio that it was hard to know which ones would be a sure thing and which ones might never ever set. And seeing as I already had a lot of problems with getting things to set whenever I made a dessert for the Challenge (Australia and Spain come immediately to mind; see biggest flops), I decided not to take the risk and went for the coq au vin instead. And it was, if I say so myself, delicious! But not quite how it should have been, I don't think. I made it again recently, this time paying a lot more attention to the ingredients and the steps and consequently with much better results, which is what prompted me to write this post. This is also partly a lessons learnt exercise for me, so I have the dos and don'ts safely recorded for the next time.

The recipe
The first time I made it, I used a combination of two French recipes. Google translate was of immeasurable assistance in this regard, despite instructing me in one recipe to "go to the Chinese end".... I never figured out what that was about. I went for recipes in French partly because they suggest authenticity, although it really only crossed my mind because most of the hits which come up for "coq au vin" were automatically in French. I did find some recipes in English as well, but the technique in many of them turned out to be rather different from the majority of the recipes in French. Many skipped the 24-hour marinating, some skipped browning the chicken separately, and some skipped the garnish at the end. I read through dozens of recipes before I decided on two which I thought represented the most "common" method without being too simplified. I have since decided, assuming I have the time and inclination to make the effort, that the little extra steps, make a world of difference. The second time I made it, I used Raymond Blanc's recipe which was very similiar to those I used the first time, but had a few very specific additions, but one significant "absence". I took one or two things which I learnt from the first experience and incorporated them in my second attempt.


The coq
The adventure began when I got home with the chicken. I did not get a cockerel, as is supposedly traditionally meant to be. I just got a regular chicken from the supermarket. Whole. It made most sense to buy a whole chicken. It was much cheaper and, so I judged by the weight of the bird, would be enough to feed my party of six. Raymond Blanc's recipe said to get your butcher to chop up the chicken for you, but I bought mine at the supermarket, and they certainly did not offer any chopping up service. But how hard can it be, right? Famous last words? Not quite. After all, I rationalised, I have watched them chop up chickens enough times on Masterchef to know what I should be doing. In theory, at least. And I have seen my mother and grandmother do it many times. Just to be sure, I did what I usually do when I am trying to figure out how to do something: I watched a how-to video (or two). That done, and armed with my chopping board and sharp knife, I got going. It took the people in the videos I watched only a few short minutes to chop up their bird. I took at least ten with mine... And my pieces did not look at neat as those in the video, but on the whole I don't think I did half bad. It's a funny thing to be proud of, but I was rather pleased with myself that I managed that.
One thing I decided for the next time though, I need a good old fashioned cleaver.

The wine
This has nothing to do with the recipe or the cooking, but I must say that it was a rather surreal experience, emptying an entire bottle of wine into a pot. Not being one of those people who owns a wine decanter, the concept of upending a bottle of wine (a full bottle at one go, that is) was quite alien to me. Something about that did not feel right, especially when I knew that the wine was not going to be drunk.

Anyway, the main recipe I followed the first time I made this called for both red and white wine. And while it still tasted nice, I think it made the sauce slightly weaker in taste and in colouring. I know that not everyone is a big fan of the rich, strong taste of a red wine sauce, in which case, combining with the white would be a way to go. I will stick to red. I came across one recipe in which the chef said that in reality any full bodied red wine would do, but that he personally felt that it was wrong to make the coq au vin with anything other than French reds. 
I used a bottle of Chavin Cabernet Sauvignon and half a bottle of Chateau Pech-Latt Corbieres.*

The flambé
Raymond Blanc´s recipe says nothing about flambéing the chicken and vegetables, which I was a bit disappointed about. I read and reread the recipe, thinking that I must have just missed it somewhere. But nope, I still have not found any reference to setting the chicken on fire. It was really very disappointing. I had bought cognac specifically for that purpose and all. The first time I made it, I did not have any appropriate flambéing alcohol, so I used a combination of what I had at home, which was: vodka, Martini Rosso (for flavour), Bacardi Gold, and a bit of cask strength rum to make sure the whole thing catches. It did. There is something quite satisfying about setting your food on fire so I was definitely going to do it again, even if Raymond Blanc's recipe said nothing about it.

I think I used something between 50-75ml of cognac and set it on fire. Before now, I'd have said that you can go ahead and be generous with the alcohol, but I have very recently learnt that you can be too generous with it, especially if your stove, as most stoves these days, has an extractor fan directly above it, and if you consider your eyebrows precious... Also, a slight hint of alcohol does much to add to the flavour of some dishes, but it should really not be overpowering.

Page 2 >> Coq au vin - the recipe and method

*Side note: The Chateau Pech-Latt was probably not the best choice for the coq au vin. It was not very full bodied, but two months later, turned into the BEST red wine vinegar I have ever had! Unfortunately, I discovered this after I poured a glassful over some beef which I was marinating for a stew, and a glassful of red wine vinegar, however delicious it tastes, is NOT what you want to marinate beef in.