Coq au vin

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 rooster, old, from Bresse, cut into 8 pieces
• ½ bottle of wine, red Burgundy
• 250 g mushrooms, small, whole
• 250 g bacon, streaky, diced
• 12 small white onions, sliced
• 2 m.-sized carrot(s), sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tsp wheat flour
• butter
• Cognac, or Marc de Bourgogne
• 1 bouquet garni (1 thyme sprig + 1 bay leaf)
• Black pepper, freshly ground
• Salt
• Parsley, fresh, chopped

Instructions

Working time approx. 25 minutes; Total time approx. 25 minutes

Rooster in red wine, recipe from Burgundy

The day before, clean the rooster, cut it into 8 pieces, and marinate it in red wine along with the white onions, carrots, and bouquet garni. Cover and refrigerate. The next day, remove the rooster pieces from the marinade and brown them thoroughly in a pan (let them brown for about 4 minutes on each side; to help pass the time, have a glass of Burgundy). Place the rooster pieces in a saucepan. Boil the marinated vegetables and garlic in the pan with the rooster stock for 1-3 minutes. Add to the rooster pieces. Flambé for a few seconds with the warmed cognac/Marc de Boulogne, then deglaze with the wine. Simmer over low heat for 1 1/2 – 2 hours. After 1 1/2 hours of cooking time, check every 10 minutes to see if the rooster is cooked through. The meat should fall off the bone easily. Brown the diced bacon and mushrooms. Remove the cooked rooster parts from the pot and strain the stock, then thicken with a “beurre manié” (2 teaspoons of butter mixed with 2 teaspoons of flour) (in the past, thickeners were made with rooster blood and pureed rooster liver, but who has that these days). Add the rooster parts, mushrooms, and diced bacon and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the chopped parsley. Serve with boiled potatoes. Accompany with a Burgundy, of course.