Coq au Vin Blanc

There are about as many versions of Coq au Vin as there are types of wines.  If you come across a recipe with "blanc" in the title, you use white wine instead of red.  This is not a dish to be entered into after a busy day at work.  This will be a labor of love that your guests will remember. 

Originally, this recipe was designed to cook a tough old rooster until it was tender enough to eat.  The classic Coq au Vin recipe calls for cognac to be flamed at the end.  Not this time, however. 

I made this version for our Bastille Day meal last month.  I combined about three recipes for this recipe.  It was delicious.

1 chicken (3 - 4 lbs.) cut into 8 serving pieces

2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts, cut half crosswise across the bone

1 T. canola oil

1 T. salted butter

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper

about a dozen or so pearl onions, outer skins removed

8 ounces white mushrooms, quartered

3 cups Riesling

1 cup reduced salt chicken broth

1/2 t. dried thyme or several springs of fresh

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 T. all purpose flour

1 T. fresh lemon juice

Heat the canola oil and butter in a large skillet over medium high heat.  When sizzling, saute the chicken, seasoned with the salt and pepper, in batches, until golden brown on both sides, 3 - 4 minutes per side.  Remove to a large Dutch oven, arranging the breast meat on top of the legs and thighs.  Add the pearl onions to the skillet, saute until tender, 3 - 4 minutes.  Add to the Dutch oven along with the mushrooms and the Riesling.

Add the broth the skillet, bring to a simmer, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet, 1 - 2 minutes.  Stir in the thyme, pour into the Dutch oven.    Bring to a boil over medium heat. 

Reduce the heat to low and simmer with the cover slightly ajar until the chicken is tender and the thighs are no longer pink in the thickest portion.  This will take 45 - 60 minutes.

Remove the chicken to a platter; cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.  Increase the heat to high  and boil the liquid until reduced by half, about 10 minutes.  Add the cream.  Whisk the flour with 3 T. of water in a small bowl.  Slowly whisk into the liquid.  Boil until slightly thickened, 2 - 3 minutes.  Stir in the lemon juice.  Reduce the heat to medium-low, return the chicken to the Dutch oven and simmer briefly to rewarm, 1 - 2 minutes.