Coq au Vin tray bake

A classic French meal made with oven baked chicken thighs cooked in red wine, vegetables and herbs. Perfect to feed a crowd. 

I first made this version of Coq au vin when I hosted my wider family for our annual quiz night. The theme this time was 'France', so I decided to make one of the most famous french dishes there is!

I've made smaller versions of this recipe for my family of four in the past. But I was keen to feed everyone from one dish and this meal worked so well. Instead of pan frying 12 chicken thighs individually, I decided to oven bake them prior to adding in the liquid. This helped to get the skin nice and golden!

This was a great meal to make for a dinner party. Everything was in the oven when the guests arrived meaning I wasn't stressed out in the kitchen! For another delicious chicken dinner, you must try my Chicken Tikka Tray Bake.

How to make Coq au vin:

Preheat the oven to 220°C fan bake. To a large roasting tray add the bacon and onions then place chicken thighs on top, skin side up. Drizzle over olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes.

Turn the oven down to 170°C fan bake. Remove the tray from the oven. Add carrots, mushrooms, sprigs of thyme, bay leaves and garlic. Mix tomato paste with stock then add to the tray. Pour over the red wine.

Return the tray to the oven and cook for 90 minutes. 10 minutes before the end, mix cornflour with 2 tablespoons of cold water. Pour the cornflour slurry into the tray and stir through. Serve the coq au vin hot with mashed potato and steamed green vegetables.

Chicken thighs are great for cooking with. If you like this type of cooking, check out my yummy recipes for Tuscan Chicken Thighs, One Pot Roast Chicken and Vegetable Couscous as well as Baked Garlic Chicken.

Common questions about Coq Au Vin:

Do I have to use wine in this meal? Coq au vin literally translates to 'rooster in wine'. To the french the wine is a key ingredient, however, I understand not everyone likes cooking with it. If you prefer, substitute the wine for more chicken stock. You can also swap the red wine for white if you prefer. 

Could I use chicken drumsticks instead of thighs? Sure thing. You could make the whole meal with drumsticks or use a combination of thighs and drumsticks if that's what you have!

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Coq au Vin

Yield: 6-8

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes

Golden, oven baked chicken thighs cooked in a traditional french mix of red wine, chicken stock, pickling onions, mushrooms, carrots and herbs.

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Ingredients

• 250g bacon, chopped
• 5 pickling onions, halved
• 12 chicken thighs, skin on, bone in
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 carrots, cut into chunks
• 350g Swiss brown mushrooms, halved
• 5 sprigs thyme
• 3 bay leaves
• 6 cloves garlic, halved
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1L chicken stock
• 500ml red wine
• 2 Tbsp cornflour

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C fan bake.
2. To a large roasting tray add the bacon and onions then place chicken thighs on top, skin side up. Drizzle over olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes.
3. Turn the oven down to 170°C fan bake.
4. Remove the tray from the oven. Add carrots, mushrooms, sprigs of thyme, bay leaves and garlic. Mix tomato paste with stock then add to the tray. Pour over the red wine.
5. Return the tray to the oven and cook for 90 minutes. 10 minutes before the end, mix cornflour with 2 tablespoons of cold water. Pour the cornflour slurry into the tray and stir through.
6. Serve the coq au vin hot with mashed potato and steamed green vegetables.

Notes

• Standard onions can be substituted for pickling onions.
• This is a good one to make for a dinner party. While the chicken is cooking for the last 1.5 hours you can get everything else sorted.
• Red wine can be substituted for white wine. If you want to leave it out altogether you can substitute it for more chicken stock.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 670Total Fat: 55gSaturated Fat: 20gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 32gCholesterol: 325mgSodium: 1148mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 1gSugar: 4gProtein: 72g

Nutritional values are approximate. Please use your own calculations if you require a special diet.