Coq au Vin

This Recipe is my variation on the Julia Child one I tried Years ago. I prefer this one because it keeps the bacon crisp until serving and doesn't use pearl onions, which are a pain to deal with. :) Most other recipes call for the bacon to be added to the sauce or even to the cooking chicken, but who wants soggy bacon, certainly not me!

Ingredients

• 4-8 slices thick cut bacon
• 3 lbs chicken thighs or leg thigh quarters, skin on I use 4 -6 good sized thighs for this recipe.
• 1 small yellow onion or sweet onion, diced
• 2-4 tsp minced garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups red wine I usually use Pinot Noir or a Cabernet Sauvignon (do not use a “cooking wine” but you can use a cheap drinking wine like a 3 or 4$ bottle and the sauce will still be tasty).
• 2 cups chicken stock (you do not want to use broth in the place of stock as it will not thicken the sauce when you reduce it)
• 10 oz sliced mushrooms (I use baby portabella because they have much more flavor than the white ones)
• ¼ tsp pepper
• ½ tsp salt (or, to taste)
  
• 1-2 tablespoons of cold butter
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
2. Fry the bacon over medium heat in a dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed pot. After it’s fried, remove the bacon and place on paper towels to drain. Once cool, chop bacon and set aside. Keep the bacon grease in the pot.
3. Turn heat higher and place chicken, skin-side down in the pot. Sear chicken until golden brown on both sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Do not put too much chicken in the pot at once as it will steam instead of searing, this may mean you need to sear chicken in batches. Then, add the onions, garlic, and bay leaves. Continue sautéing until the onions begin to soften and brown.
4. Add the chicken stock and red wine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes.
5. After 30 minutes, carefully remove the chicken from the pot and place in an oven-safe dish. Keep chicken warm in the oven while you work on the sauce. Remove the bay leaves.
6. Bring the liquid back up to a boil and stir constantly----sauce should be begin to thicken. This recipe uses a reduction method of thickening. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper and continue cooking until the sauce becomes thicker. Once the mushrooms are cooked and the sauce is thick, remove from heat and you then swirl into the sauce cubes of cold butter until it becomes balanced and just the right consistency, the cold butter will help to slightly thicken the sauce and will balance out the acidity of the wine. The sauce should not be runny and should coat the back of a spoon. I add butter a bit at a time, so as to not add too much, it should not be greasy.
7. Place chicken back in sauce and serve with roasted potatoes or a big green salad. I also like to serve with a good bread which people always use to soak up the tasty sauce left on the plate. Add the pieces of cooked bacon once you plate the dish.
   
   Happy Cooking!! 
   I'll be doing posts with pictures again soon, once my camera charger comes in the mail.