Name: Baby Chickens in Red Wine (Poussins au Vin Rouge)
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: France
Ingredients: 2 baby chickens (1½ to 2 pounds each) or 2 fresh Cornish game hens, split*; 3 tablespoons grapeseed, peanut, or corn oil; 3 cups full-bodied red wine, such as Syrah; 6 ounces lean pancetta or ventrèche, cut into ¼-inch dice; 2 teaspoons rendered duck fat or 1 tablespoon mixed oil and butter; ½ pound fresh mushrooms, halved or quartered depending upon size; 3 cups unsalted chicken stock (storebought or homemade); Salt and freshly ground pepper; ¼ cup finely chopped shallots; chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley; 1 tablespoon tomato paste; ½ pound (12 to 18) small white onions, about 1 inch in diameter

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Complex

Appears in

The Cooking of South West France

By Paula Wolfert

Published 1987

About

A true coq au vin should be made with an old, flavorful bird and a strong red wine. The long cooking softens the flesh of the bird and mellows the wine. This dish of young chicken in red wine is a good example of the updating of classic French country cooking using a mixture of modern and traditional methods. The dark, very flavorful sauce results from a technique called tomber à glace; a series of reductions of liquid makes the sauce darker, shinier—almost syrupy.