Coq au Vin Rose Recipe first, Notes and Shopping Resources follow.
What Ingredients You Need for Coq au Vin Rosé
Can you just literally swap out the red Burgundy wine in classic Coq au Vin with a pink rosé wine for Coq au Vin Rosé? Technically, yes. But there are a few mods you might want to make for a decidely rosier version of this dish! Here are the essential ingredients you need for Coq au Vin Rosé with a few extra options at the end to level-up if you so choose:
From the refrigerator:
- 1 whole 3-4 pound chicken, bone-in skin-on, parts or 8 thighs
From the farmers' market/produce section:
- red onions
- garlic
- parsley and thyme
- carrots, pink if you can find them!
- radishes, red or pink/Easter egg if they're in season!
- red pearl onions or shallots
From the Pantry:
- dry rosé wine
- Cognac or other brandy
- chicken or rich vegetable stock
- avocado or olive oil
- salt and pepper
What Kind of Chicken Do You Use for Coq au Vin?
CHICKEN. Chicken thighs have the most flavor, but a whole chicken cut into eight to ten parts is the best value. If you buy a whole chicken, ask the butcher to cut it for you, and to save the backbone and giblets for stock and other delicious things later.
What Kind of Wine Do You Use for Coq au Vin?
ROSÉ WINE. Scribe Winery makes my current favorite rose of all time, but it is a little too expensive and a lot of effort to acquire (direct from winery, rarely at very small niche wine retail stores) to not drink straight. I generally buy whatever "good" $15 to $20 bottle of California rosé is available at the grocery store when I'm buying the ingredients for the dish.
Additional Ingredients Notes and Resources
OIL. I use an affordable olive oil for every day cooking by California Olive Ranch. Because this recipe doesn't require very high heat cooking, olive oil is fine, but if you want to use a more neutral oil, try grapeseed oil.
COGNAC. Cognac is a brandy from a specific region of France called, wait for it, Cognac. I have Rémy Martin in my bar so I use it, but if you don't already have any kind of brandy, and don't want to buy an entire bottle that you may not drink later, skip it and add the equivalent in additional rosé/wine.
VEGETABLES. I specified the color of pink carrots, red radishes, and red pearl onions because they LOOK pretty in the dish because it's Coq au Vin Rosé, but you can technically use any color. And any vegetable for that matter. The traditional Coq au Vin made with red wine has onions and mushrooms.
What Do You Serve with Coq au Vin?
If you're making Coq au Vin Rosé for a small gathering, add a modified version of a Caesar salad with little gem lettuces (they look like tiny Romaine lettuces) and Anchovy Vinaigrette, as well thick slices of toasted crusty bread to soak up the rosé sauce. Like I said, my favorite rosé is from Scribe Winery and obviously pairs with a rosé-based dish. Your favorite white wine, whatever it is, will be great. It's wine for God's sake.
Best Wine Pairing for Coq au Vin Rose?
Coq au Vin Rosé Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 chicken, bone-in skin-on whole parts or 8 thighs
- 2 teaspoons salt
- avocado or olive oil for cooking
- 1 cup red onions roughly chopped
- 4 large garlic cloves peeled and smashed
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 3 stems fresh parsley
- 2 cups dry rosé wine
- ¼ cup Cognac or other brandy
- 1 cup + 1 cup extra chicken or rich vegetable stock
- 2 large pink carrots peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
- bunch of pink or red radishes trimmed and cut into halves
- red pearl onions trimmed and peeled
- salt and pepper to taste
- chopped fresh parsley and thyme leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Rinse chicken to remove any rogue bits of bone or giblets. Dry well with paper towels, and season all sides of each piece with salt.
- Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in a large Dutch oven (or a large pan with at least 2-3-inch high sides) over medium-high heat. Brown chicken skin side down first for 7-8 minutes until really golden brown, then turn over and brown for 3 more minutes. Remove chicken to a plate (or the overturned pot lid).
- Drain off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat/oil. Turn down heat to medium and add onions, and garlic to pot. Stir until garlic and onions are translucent and anchovies have completely broken down.
- Turn down to heat to low and add thyme, parsley, rosé wine and 1 cup of stock to the pot. Stir to loosen brown bits from bottom of pot. Turn up heat and bring braising liquid to a boil.
- Return chicken back to pot, skin side up, and pour in any juices that have wept out of the chicken and onto the plate. Add carrots, radishes, and pearl onions. Add additional stock to make sure braising liquid is at least ¾ up side of chicken if needed. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 30 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and chicken is cooked through (thigh temperature is 165).
- Remove chicken to serving plate with high sides. Simmer braising liquid with vegetables until reduced by about ⅓, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle vegetables and sauce over chicken. Garnish with chopped fresh herbs.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two days, or freeze!
I used rosé instead of "dry white wine" because that was the bottle that was already open and what? Were we going to open another bottle just to use one cup of wine for cooking?
Wait. I guess thought that one through a little too much, didn't I?
Ahu Shahrabani says
Perfect.
Ai says
Amazing! I've only seen coq au vin made with red wine but this looks really good too :)
Ning says
look very tasty to and specialy I am a big rose wine fan so I can imagin how yummy this could be:-)
Wine Dine Daily says
Looks absolutely divine with rose! Perfect for the spring.
Cheers :)
Sarah Kenney says
It looks like a delicious dish. I love coq au vin and the rosé probably tasted splendid! Beautiful photo of the dish.
Anjo Angela Lim says
I love that you used rosé instead, how sneaky! What did it taste like? I often just get peppery notes, although if I'm lucky sometimes strawberry.
The chicken looks fab, wish I could stick my head inside and get a big whiff but I just keep smacking my head into the screen. Yum though!
Sarah J. Gim says
it tasted great! my guess is that cooking takes away a lot of the nuances of wine, so the diff between white and a dry rose are minimal...
coqhead says
I'm going to name my next do coq a vin rose or CAVR for short. cute huh?
Sarah J. Gim says
i am stealing this. and using it for "coq whore"
meg jones wall says
great idea :) i do a one-pan coq au vin but i love the idea of using rose to make it lighter and sweeter. will definitely be giving this one a try!
blaqkitty says
Thanks for sharing. I am so trying this.
Heartlover1717 says
I've just stumbled across this and am aiming to try it, but I wonder - in the photo you posted there appears to be shallots and mushrooms, but no mention in the recipe. Am I mistaken?