
Coq Au Vin in essence is an ordinary French chicken stew, but if you choose
your ingredients wisely, there is nothing ordinary about this dish. In fact, it
is hard to imagine that a few mushrooms, some countryside bacon or lardons, a
delicious red wine and a couple of handfuls of herbs, can become such a
flavorsome stew.
The "coq" in Coq Au Vin refers to an old rooster or bird that is
traditionally used, because the bones of an older bird, yields such fragrant
stock. I am not going to lie to you, honestly, I do not have the time to hunt
for "older birds", but I do use Elgin free-range chicken and have never been
disappointed, so for me it was the obvious choice. So although in the eye of a
coq au vin purist, I may have...