Coq Au Vin with Couscous

I purchased a Dutch oven about two weeks ago in preparation for Winter. Last year I was completely unprepared  all that is Winter in Nebraska. I've NEVER been so cold in my life.


As a result of the frigid temperatures, we ended up eating a lot of store bought soups. I am determined that at least 90% of what we consume this Winter will be made from scratch.


To test out the Dutch oven ahead of what I call "go time," I had Charlie pick out a few recipes he'd like to try. He scored a home run with the first dish: Coq Au Vin

I'm never 100% happy with anything I cook, but this dish more than met my expectations. Granted, this dish took about 3 hours from start to finish but it is a perfect cold weather food. SO WORTH IT!


This dish also smells so good while its cooking that I think the aroma needs to be made in to a scratch-and-sniff sticker. Seriously.

I'm not going to post a detailed recipe for this dish yet because I want to work with it a bit first but here's a brief overview:


Render some bacon fat.
Sear chicken in fat.
Saute mirepoix until onions are translucent.
Add some tomato paste and red wine.
Simmer to reduce by half.
Add more wine and chicken broth.
Add fresh herbs and put the chicken back to the pot.
Oven. 350. 75 minutes.
Remove chicken and herb bundles.
Reduce sauce to desire consistency.
Put sauce on chicken and eat.


The dish may have been time consuming but there wasn't a single step that was complicated.


There are tons of variations on this dish. And, once I work all the kinks with my version of the recipe I'll update this post.

I've never been so excited for leftovers!