Coq Au Vin Avec Gratin De Macaroni

One of my favorite dishes of the Epcot Food and Wine Festival this past year was the coq au vin from France. The dish consisted of tender meat with a sauce that was rich but not heavy, served on top of a bed of macaroni and cheese (gratin de macaroni.) Heaven! I purchased the cookbook solely for this recipe.

I finally got around to making the dish, and it was just as good as I remembered. I marinated the chicken overnight and made it for lunch the next day. The gratin de macaroni can be made while the sauce simmers on the stove.

Side note: The pictures are a bit blurry because I was experimenting with using only natural light. The challenge for me is keeping things in focus. Even with a tripod, I have difficulty with slower shutter speeds.

Coq Au Vin
adapted from The Epcot Food And Wine Festival Cookbook
Passport To A World Of Flavors


4 lbs skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
1 bottle (750 mL) dry red wine (I used a Bordeaux)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 Tbs butter
8 oz pearl onions
8 oz mushrooms, quartered
3 Tbs bacon fat (drippings)
2 Tbs all-purpose flour
4 large cloves garlic
4 sprigs fresh oregano
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 c chicken stock


Place chicken in a single layer in a large baking pan. Pour wine over chicken. Cover tightly with foil and refrigerate 6-8 hours.

Preheat oven to 300˚F. Pour wine out of the pan, reserving. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Set aside and let continue to dry. Heat the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the pearl onions and sauté until golden, stirring often to brown on all sides. Add mushrooms and cook another 5 minutes. Set vegetables in a heat-proof bowl, cover, and chill until needed.

Add bacon fat to the Dutch oven. While it heats up, dust the chicken with the flour. Brown the chicken on both sides in the bacon fat (cook in batches so the chicken cooks evenly). Remove chicken from the pot. Drain off all but about 2 Tbs of the fat. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Pour the reserved wine and bring to a boil, scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Tie oregano, thyme, and bay leaf together with kitchen twine. Add the herb bundle, chicken stock, and chicken thighs to the pot. Cover and place on the middle rack of the oven. Bake 1 ½ hours.

Remove pot from oven. Remove chicken, set it aside on a plate, and loosely cover with a piece of foil. Place the Dutch oven on the stove over medium-high heat. Simmer, uncovered, until the sauce has reduced by about a third, 20-30 minutes. Add the mushrooms and onions and let them heat through. Remove the herb bundle from the sauce. Pour sauce over chicken and serve.


Gratin De Macaroni (Macaroni and Cheese)


1 lb elbow macaroni
3 c whole milk
4 Tbs unsalted butter
1/3 c flour
1/8 tsp nutmeg
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
½ c heavy crème
12 oz Gruyère cheese, shredded
2 Tbs freshly ground Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400˚F. Butter a large baking dish and set aside.

Cook macaroni until just al dente, or slightly underdone. While the pasta cooks, heat milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Keep warm but do not let it bubble. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Slowly whisk in the warm milk (go slowly to prevent lumps from forming.) Add nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Cook until sauce has thickened, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, and add heavy cream and 2/3 of the Gruyère cheese. Stir until the cheese is completely melted.

Place macaroni in prepared baking dish. Pour in cheese sauce and mix to combine. Top with the remaining Gruyère and the Parmesan cheese. Cover dish with foil. Bake 15 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until cheese is golden brown, about another 5-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.