by
Behind tnhe French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
bryangnewman@gmail.com
Coq au Vin
Coq au Vin began as a large meal prepared for holidays or family celebrations, and it would have been enough for ten or more diners. The cockerel used for the traditional Coq au Vin was a big, old bird (a rooster in the USA) that had ceased to make the ladies happy. In the 19th century those birds would have weighed at least five kilos (11 lbs.’). Today, a French restaurant serving "Coq au Vin Traditionnel," the traditional version of the dish, may have to settle for a somewhat smaller bird today, but it will still be enough for six or more diners.
Out-of-work cockerels headed for the pot are large birds. Even today, most mature French cockerels weigh over two and a half kilos (over five pounds), with some weighing up to 50% more. These are free-range birds and while they are very flavorful, they require a long cooking time. (In the absence of a true farmyard cockerel, a large, free-range hen, retired from her egg-laying days, serves as the closest replacement. Age and size provide the deep, savory character that defines a classic Coq au Vin.)
Preparing a cockerel for the pot requires marinating the bird in red wine (or a flavorful alternative), often with an added eau-de-vie chosen for its particular taste, for at least 24 hours. Once the marinade has done its work, the dish is cooked very slowly with more red wine, herbs, and chicken broth. When the meat is nearly falling off the bone, the vegetables, mushrooms, and bacon are added; after the flavors have been allowed to meld, the dish may be served.
Coq au Vin comes with many distinctive regional
variations:
Coq à la Bière – A cockerel marinated
in beer rather than wine; traditionally, this dish is
prepared with a bière brune (brown beer). A local eau-de-vie and crème
fraîche are often added to the sauce to provide richness and depth. While
the use of beer suggests a Belgian influence, the dish is a staple in the
regions of Alsace and Lorraine, which together produce over 50% of France's
beer.
Coq au Champagne – In the Champagne region, local restaurants serve their own version of Coq au Vin.
If an eau-de-vie is used in the marinade alongside the Champagne, it is
typically a Marc de Champagne (the French counterpart to Italian Grappa).
Outside of Champagne, similar dishes appear on menus using local Crémant sparkling wines. However,
locally, the only wine served to accompany this dish is Champagne.
Coq au Riesling – This is the Coq au
Vin of Alsace. The use of a crisp, dry, and fruity Alsatian Riesling AOP transforms the dish
into a bright, aromatic, and unique experience. Unlike the deep reds of the
south, this version highlights the delicate, floral notes of the white wine and
is often finished with a touch of cream.
Coq au Vin de Bourgogne – The region of Burgundy, home to world-renowned
vineyards and the classic à la bourguignonne style, has always featured
a local version of Coq au Vin for festivities. Chefs have an array of excellent
red wines from which to choose. Likewise, the wine chosen to accompany a
traditional Coq au Vin de Bourgogne should also be a local red. However, for
those who prefer a white wine, a Crémant de Bourgogne, the region’s
wonderful sparkling white, serves as a celebratory alternative.
Coq au Vin
Photograph
courtesy of Neeta Lind
https://www.flickr.com/photos/neeta_lind/2048138042/
Coq au Vin de Chanturgue or Coq au Vin
Auvergnat
– Coq au Vin de Chanturgue is almost universally accepted as the first
restaurant version of the dish. This version originated in the mid-19th century
in the Auvergne (now part of
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes), in central France.
The wine used is Chanturgue, a medium-bodied red wine from the volcanic
slopes overlooking the city of Clermont-Ferrand. Visit
a restaurant in the Auvergne today that offers Coq au Vin de Chanturgue, and
you should have a meal close to the original.
Until the late 1800s, the Auvergne was
France's third most prestigious wine-growing region after the wines of Bordeaux
and Burgundy. Then came phylloxera, a root-eating aphid that attacked and
destroyed untold numbers of the best vines all over France and descimated the
Auvergne wine industry. Much of the French wine industry was saved by importing
from the USA and the Middle East phylloxera-resistant rootstock; however, in
the Auvergne, many vintners gave up. A few carried on, and you can visit and
try their traditional wines, including the Vin de Chanturgue, and newer wines
added in the last fifty years.
If you are planning a trip to the
Auvergne view their English language website:
https://www.france-voyage.com/travel-guide/auvergne-territoire.htm
Then, compare the maps for the Route des
Vins d’Auvergne, the wine road of the Auvergne and the Route des
Fromages de Auvergne, the cheese trails of the five famous cheeses of the
Auvergne. There are places where the routes are close to each other and
you can visit a winery in the morning and a farm that produces cheese in the
afternoon. There are plenty of well-recommended restaurants on both maps. (The five
famous cheeses of the Auvergne are: Saint-Nectaire,
Bleu
d’Auvergene, Fourme
d’Ambert, Cantal
and Salers.)
Coq
au Vin Jaune – This special version of Coq au Vin is
made with the famous Vin Jaune
(yellow wine) from the Jura (a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region
bordering Switzerland). Vin Jaune is made using the Savagnin grape and aged for
a minimum of six years and three months. The wine tastes somewhat like a dry
Fino sherry after it ages under a naturally formed yeast in oak barrels. Unlike
sherry, Vin Jaune is not fortified with added alcohol, though most still have
13-15% alcohol.
Vin Jaune from the Jura.
Photograph
courtesy of Dominic
Lockyer
https://www.flickr.com/photos/farehamwine/14874763437/
The
requirements for a genuine Coq au Vin.
With
Coq Au Vin so much in demand, there are problems for those who wish to keep to
the original recipe. Two hundred year ago all chickens were raised
free-range, and to maintain order in a flock a cockerel
(rooster) was usually in charge. Today, there are far fewer flocks of free-range hens,
creating a collateral shortage of suitable old cockerels.
The meat of a free-range cockerel has a much stronger flavor than any chicken. That, along with the wine chosen, is the secret behind the taste of a real Coq Au Vin. When Coq au Vin left the farms and homes and began to be served in restaurants, it quickly became very popular and has remained so for close to 200 years.
A
cockerel strutting his stuff to impress the ladies.
Photograph
courtesy of svklimkin
https://www.flickr.com/photos/svklimkin/35655283910/
Ordering Coq Au Vin or
chicken stew.
If you order coq au vin and are served a bowl with a small chicken, about enough for a meal for four, then it may be an excellent stew, but I am sorry, that is not a traditional Coq Au Vin. It will just be a tasty chicken stew prepared in the style of a Coq au Vin. In France, there are self-confident chefs who keep to the traditions and offer a large chicken as a Fricassée de Poularde, Façon Coq au Vin, a chicken stew prepared in the manner of Coq Au Vin. These chefs are not embarrassed to tell it like it is, and the price charged will be that of a well-prepared chicken stew but not a traditional Coq Au Vin.
Recipe
for a chicken in the style of Coq au Vin.
Recipe and photograph
courtesy of Cookipedia
--------------
Searching
for the meaning of words, names, or phrases
on
French
menus?
Just add the word, words, or phrase that you are searching for to the words
"Behind the French Menu" and search with Google. Behind the French
Menu's links are hundreds of words, names, and phrases on French menus. There
are over 470 posts that include over 4,000 French dishes with English
translations and explanations.
------------
Behind
the French Menu
by
Bryan
G. Newman
bryangnewman@gmail.com
Copyright
2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2023, 2025 ©
Connected
posts:
Biere - Beer. Ordering a Beer in France? All
the French you need to know.
Bleu
d'Auvergne AOP, - The Bleu d'Auvergne French Blue Cheese. Bleu d'Auvergne
in French Cuisine.
Cantal
AOP and Salers AOP. Two of France’s Best Cow’s Milk Cheeses.
Crémants are the best value in
French sparkling wines
Dining in Burgundy. Cuisine Bourguignonne and the
Dishes … à la Bourguignonne.
Dining in the Auvergne. Auvergnat dishes on French
Menus.
The Fourme d'Ambert AOP; One of the Auvergne's
VerySpecial cheeses.
The Vins de Jura - The Wines of the French
Jura. Jura Wines on French Menus.
Vins d'Alsace - The Wonderful White Wines of
the Alsace, France.
