Coq au Champagne
Cozy up to the holiday season with the rich and savory flavors of the French classic Coq au Champagne combining simple ingredients with an easy process.
- Prep Time: 480
- Cook Time: 90
- Total Time: 9 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Category: Entree
- Method: Braising
- Cuisine: French
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 3–4 pounds whole chicken, cut into 8-10 pieces*
- Salt and pepper
- Garlic seasoning, optional
- 4 strips thick cut bacon diced or 4 ounces pancetta diced
- 1 large sweet onion diced
- 1/2 cup carrot finely diced
- 1/3 cup celery finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 8 ounces mushrooms quartered
- 1 cup frozen pearl onions
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme chopped, plus extra for serving
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 1/2 cups champagne, sparkling wine, cava, or prosecco
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley
Instructions
- Remove the backbone from your chicken. Cut the chicken into 8 pieces, 2 wings, 2 legs, 2 thighs, 2 breasts. Cut the breasts in half if desired. You can also have your butcher do this.
- Pat the chicken dry. Generously season both sides of the chicken with kosher salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and garlic seasoning if desired. Place the chicken on a baking rack fit into a baking sheet and let it refrigerate for at least two hours up to overnight.
- Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven or grill to 350 degrees. If using a charcoal or gas grill set it up for indirect cooking leaving a cooler side.
- Heat a large oven/grill safe braiser or Dutch oven over medium heat with the bacon. Cook the bacon until crispy and the fat has rendered, 6-8 minutes. Remove the bacon from the pan leaving the fat.
- Place the chicken into the hot pan, skin side down, careful not to over crowd the pan. You may need to cook it in batches. Allow it to cook for 6-8 minutes until golden and crispy.
- Flip the chicken and sear it another 4 minutes. It will not be cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan.
- Remove all but 1-2 tbsp of the fat from the pan.
- Add the onions, celery, and carrots and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Allow them to cook until tender, about 6 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the mushrooms and thyme. Let the mushrooms cook until they’ve released their liquid and have wilted 4-6 minutes.
- Stir in the pearl onions and bay leaves.
- Pour in the champagne or sparkling wine. Allow it to come to a simmer and let it reduce slightly, about 5 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth and most of the bacon into the pan and stir to combine. Nestle the chicken pieces on top of the braising liquid and cover with the lid. Place the braiser or Dutch oven on the middle rack of the oven or on the indirect side of the grill.
- Let the chicken braise for 30-45 minutes or until it is 165 degrees and tender.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a platter. Remove the bay leaves. Place the braiser back over medium heat and bring the braising liquid to a simmer. Let it cook for 15-20 minutes until it has slightly reduced.
- Stir in the Dijon mustard and taste for seasoning.
- Nest the chicken back into the pan. Sprinkle the remaining bacon over the top along with fresh thyme leave and parsley.
Notes
- You can use your favorite cut of bone in chicken for this. Chicken thighs and legs are popular choices. Stay around that 3-4 pound mark.
- It isn’t necessary to dry brine the chicken but does deeply season the meat and help the skin get crisper. You can skip this step if desired.
- If you don’t eat pork use 2 tbsp olive oil plus 2 tbsp unsalted butter to brown your chicken.
- For the crispiest skin make sure to brown your chicken in batches. Overcrowding the pan will steam the chicken instead of searing it.
Find it online: https://beachgirlgrills.com/coq-au-champagne/