Slow Cooker Coq Au Vin
User Reviews
4.9
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Prep Time
20 mins
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Cook Time
8 hrs
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Total Time
8 hrs 20 mins
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Servings
5 Servings
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Calories
580 kcal
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
French
Slow Cooker Coq Au Vin
Description
This Slow Cooker Coq Au Vin recipe starts with reducing a bottle of Pinot Noir wine by half, which concentrates its flavor. Bacon is cooked until crisp and rendered fat is used to brown seasoned chicken thighs, sealing in juices and developing a caramelized crust. Mushrooms and shallots are sautéed before all ingredients including garlic, carrots, pearl onions, herbs, chicken broth, tomato paste, the reduced wine, and half the cooked bacon are combined in a slow cooker.
The chicken cooks gently over seven hours on low, allowing flavors to meld and the meat to become tender. A butter and flour mixture is stirred in near the end to thicken the sauce and create a glossy finish. The stew balances rich wine notes, smoky bacon, herbal thyme, and sweetness from the pearl onions and carrots.
Coq Au Vin is traditionally served hot as a main dish, great with crusty bread or mashed potatoes to soak up the sauce. The slow cooker method eases preparation and ensures tender results without the need to monitor the stovetop.
This recipe is adapted from Canal House Cooking and recommends using quality wine and optionally a chicken bouillon concentrate to deepen the broth flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 bottle pinot noir
- 8 ounces Bacon diced, thick-cut
- 5 chicken thighs skin on and bone-in
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt divided
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper coarse ground
- 1 pound cremini mushroom halved
- 3 shallot quartered
- 3 garlic minced, cloves
- 5 carrot peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 5 fresh thyme sprigs
- 2 bay leaf
- 1/2 pound pearl onions peeled, white
- 2 tablespoons butter unsalted
- 2 tablespoons flour
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan on high heat add the bottle of wine and boil for 15 minutes until reduced to half the amount.
- Preheat an aluminum slow cooker insert or cast iron skillet on high heat.
- Cook the bacon until crisp, then remove, leaving at least 2 tablespoons of bacon fat in the pan.
- Season the chicken with half the salt and the pepper.
- Add to the skillet and brown on each side for 4-6 minutes or until browned on each side.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and add in the mushrooms and shallots and lower the heat to medium high.
- Cook for 3 minutes, stir then cook another 3 minutes.
- Into the slow cooker add the mushrooms, shallots, garlic, carrots, half the bacon, broth*, rest of the salt, tomato paste, thyme, bay leaf, pearl onions and the reduced red wine.
- Stir all the ingredients until well mixed, nestle in the pieces of chicken, cover and cook on low for 7 hours.
- In a small bowl mix the butter and flour and add it to the slow cooker and stir.
- Cook an additional hour covered or until thickened.
- Top with remaining bacon and stir before serving.
Notes
- Reducing the Pinot Noir by half before adding concentrates its flavor and reduces alcohol content.
- Cooking bacon first and reserving the rendered fat adds depth to the dish.
- Use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs for juiciness and flavor retention.
- Adding the butter and flour mixture late in cooking thickens the sauce to a velvety consistency.
- You can enhance broth richness by adding a chicken bouillon concentrate as an alternative to all chicken stock.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 5Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 580 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 580kcal | 29% |
| Carbohydrates | 23g | 8% |
| Protein | 29g | 58% |
| Fat | 42g | 65% |
| Saturated Fat | 14g | 70% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 7g | 41% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 17g | 85% |
| Trans Fat | 0.3g | 15% |
| Cholesterol | 155mg | 52% |
| Sodium | 1365mg | 57% |
| Potassium | 1174mg | 25% |
| Fiber | 4g | 16% |
| Sugar | 9g | 18% |
| Vitamin A | 10637IU | 213% |
| Vitamin C | 12mg | 13% |
| Calcium | 82mg | 8% |
| Iron | 3mg | 17% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.9
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