Christa RakichCOQ AU VIN FOR A CROWD
You can actually use any part of the chicken, or whole chickens cut up, total about 10 lb (4.5kg)
Coq au Vin
INGREDIENTS
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Christa Rakich
Concert and recording artist Christa Rakich performs widely throughout North America, Europe, and Japan. She also serves as Visiting Professor of Organ at Oberlin Conservatory, where she teaches Organ, Clavichord, and Improvisation. Former positions include New England Conservatory (department co-chair), Westminster Choir College, Brandeis University, the University of Connecticut, and the Memorial Church at Harvard.
Christa studied at Oberlin College, NEC, and the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna, where she was a Fulbright Scholar and student of Anton Heiller. Her compositions are published by Oxford University Press, with many available for free on IMSLP or www.christarakich.com. |
METHOD
DAY 1:
- Fry up the bacon, a few pieces at a time, in a deep skillet or Dutch oven.
- Remove, drain, cut off any obnoxious fat, chop into 1-inch (2.5cm) pieces, and set aside.
- In the big pan of bacon grease, brown the chicken, a few pieces at a time. It does not need to be cooked through. If the skin falls off, just remove it.
- Drain chicken and place in roasting pan (if 10 lbs.) or Dutch oven (if 5 lbs.).
- Put bacon on top, cover, and refrigerate. Clean up the bacon grease that has spattered all over your stove. Go to bed; you’ve done a good day’s work.
DAY 2:
- Remove roasting pan from refrigerator and let come to room temperature. You can nudge this along by placing the roasting pan over low flame(s). Remove onions from freezer. Heat oven to 350F/180C.
- Slice mushrooms how you’d like to eat them. (I quarter large ones, halve medium ones, and leave little ones whole.) In a large skillet over high heat, brown mushrooms in butter and olive oil. Remove to a container and refrigerate.
- Brown whole baby onions in the same pan, enough to get color on them.
- Add onions to chicken and bacon.
- Pour cognac over chicken and ignite. When flames die down, add wine, chicken stock, 2 or 3 tablespoons chopped garlic, some sprigs of fresh thyme, and bay leaves.
- Cover and bake for 60 minutes, until chicken is done. Remove from oven, adjust seasoning.
- Put chicken in a container, and refrigerate. Strain liquid into glass jars, refrigerate. Clean the kitchen. Have a drink.
DAY 3:
- The easiest day! Good thing, because company’s coming!
- Heat oven to 350F/180C. Remove chicken, mushrooms, and sauce from fridge. Remove any fat that has floated to the top of the mason jars. Pour defatted sauce into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce liquid by ⅓ to ½ (keep tasting; adjust seasoning). If it tastes delicious but is too thin, thicken with a beurre manié. (Google it.)
- Place chicken, onion, bacon in your final baking (and serving) dish. Remove any chicken skin or bones that have come loose. Add mushrooms and sauce. Cover and place in oven until heated through, about 45 minutes.
While le Coq is heating, you can prep whatever you’re going to serve it over. Traditionally, this is buttered and parsleyed boiled baby potatoes. I actually prefer rice, also buttered and parsleyed. Egg noodles or pappardelle also work well.
This is good buffet food, as guests can serve up their own starch, and ladle the Coq over it, grabbing more mushrooms, or more meat or onions or sauce, as they prefer. Leftovers freeze well.
This is good buffet food, as guests can serve up their own starch, and ladle the Coq over it, grabbing more mushrooms, or more meat or onions or sauce, as they prefer. Leftovers freeze well.
