Skillet Coq au Vin (with Vegetarian option!)

One dish dinners make scheduling a cinch. You won’t need much to go along with this- maybe some rice or a green vegetable. So cleanup will be easy, too. During my vegetarian years, I used vegetable stock and a good seitan in place of the chicken. If you want to prep this and then put it in a slow cooker on low, you can double it. For a family meal, three pounds of chicken pieces and doubling the other ingredients will also work. (I find that without bones, the white meat dries out too much, but boneless thighs would probably do fine.)

This version is not strictly traditional, I’m quite sure. I didn’t research how it ought to be done or sample authentic coq au vin… I just tinkered around and made changes until I had a dish I liked. But it’s got chicken, and it’s got wine, and it’s darn good, so Skillet Coq au Vin I shall call it. I like to serve this as a “company” dish with butter noodles or plain rice, or with a green salad and crusty bread for soaking up the sauce. Because trust me… you’ll want to eat the sauce. As a shortcut, I sometimes use baby carrots, but look for the really small ones. More slender pieces of carrot get a better texture in this recipe than thicker ones.

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Skillet Coq au Vin

I found the original for this recipe in one of those regional cookbooks you can find in used book stores- the self-published ones that are full of personality and delightful surprises. After significant changes to accommodate my preferences, this became one of my signature dishes.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings 2

Author Meghan Gray

Ingredients

• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup red wine cheap works. I've tried a number of kinds and thought they were all fine.
• 2 skinless bone-in chicken breasts
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 8 oz mushrooms sliced
• 4 carrots halved or quartered lengthwise depending on thickness
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 5 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup flour

Instructions

1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium high heat.
2. Coat chicken breasts thoroughly with pepper and flour.
3. Brown chicken breasts in oil on both sides. (About 6-10 minutes.)
4. Remove chicken to a plate and cover. Add onions and garlic to skillet. Sautee about 1 minute.
5. Add mushrooms and sautee until tender, about 2 minutes.
6. Return chicken to skillet. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 1 hour (or more) until done.

Recipe Notes

Note: It's probably not according to Hoyle, but I prefer baby bella mushrooms in this. I find they are harder to overcook than other kinds of mushrooms. I have used beef stock in a pinch and it came out just fine. Enjoy!