This dish is a take on coq au vin but with riesling instead of red wine. I’ve adapted a recipe that I found in Food and Wine by adding a roux to thicken the sauce a bit. My family loves this dish with the thicker sauce because it becomes more like a gravy and clings to the chicken more. I also had to add some white meat versus just dark meat like the original recipe calls for because my son will only eat white meat even though I explained to him how much more flavor the dark meat has. I guess that’s what I get for raising an independent thinker. Be prepared, this dish takes about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to prepare.
Serves 6 – 8
Ingredients
5-6 lbs of whole cut up chicken (about 2 chickens)
Sea Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
1/4 cup canola oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
2 garlic cloves, sliced
2 cups riesling
2 cups chicken stock
4 thyme sprigs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 lb crimini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup creme fraiche or sour cream if you can’t find
2 tablespoons flour
Preparation
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Salt and pepper the chicken on both sides. In a large skillet, heat the 2 tablespoons of canola oil. Brown each chicken piece on both sides in batches, 4-5 minutes per side. Be sure not to crowd the pan or the chicken won’t brown. When done with all the chicken, set aside and pour out the grease and disregard. Then heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of canola oil and sauté the onions, carrots, celery and garlic until soft, about 8 minutes. Add the wine and deglaze the pan. Let wine boil for 1 minute. Add chicken stock and thyme and bring to a boil. Nestle the chicken into the pan, cover and braise in the oven for 1 hour.
In the meantime, heat 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium skillet. Add mushrooms and cook over high heat without stirring for 5 minutes. Then season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring for another 3-5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
When chicken is done, transfer the chicken to a platter. Then strain the solids out of the braising liquid. In a small skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, then whisk in flour to make a roux. Slowly add in some of the braising liquid, continuously whisking to ensure there are no lumps. Then incorporate into the braising liquid. Bring to a boil and then simmer to thicken, whisking occasionally. Add in creme fraiche. Add chicken and mushrooms into sauce and simmer for 3 minutes to heat through.
