Lighter "white wine" Coq Au Vin

[snack_pack85]

I was in bed the other night reading my betty crocker cookbook and I noticed that it was about 500 calories a serving. Not exactly in my "diet". So I tried to lighten it up a bit and it came out wonderful. I hate to say it, but I don't exactly know how much lighter it is...but substituting white meat and using less bacon (i also substituted center cut bacon) made me feel better about eating it. Here ya go:

Ingredients:

3 large chicken breast halves
5 peices of center cut bacon
1/2 c red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves chopped
2 bell peppers (red and yellow) sliced
1 meduim onion sliced
2 c whole wheat baking mix (I have trader joes brand) mixed w salt and pepper
1 c of chicken stock (low fat lower sodium variety)
1 c of non alcoholic white wine (got mine from tj's again)
1 tbs olive oil
2 sprigs of thyme
one bay leaf
2 tbsp of dried parsley (or a small bunch of chopped fresh parsley)
Marinate the chicken breasts in the red wine vinegar, a bit of salt and pepper and the chopped garlic. For a few hours (we tried three)

In a large pot cook the bacon till crisp. Meanwhile dredge the chicken in the flour mixture and set aside.

Remove cooked bacon with a slotted spoon and add to the pot, 2 tbs of olive oil. Brown chicken on both sides and remove from the pan. Add the veggies and sautee.

Deglaze the pan with the wine and chicken stock. Add bay leaf, thyme and parsley. Add the chicken back to the pot and cover. Cook for 20-30 minutes until the juices in cut chicken are clear. (you can also add a few tablespoons of heavy whipping cream right at the end if you don't care about the extra calories!)
Serve with cooked spaghetti or spaghetti squash as I did.

 

[Scotch]

Here's a version I've made and liked. I prefer it to the traditional Coq au Vin because the red wine usually called for often overpowers the dish, making everything taste the same.

Coq au Vin Blanc

2 cups frozen pearl onions, thawed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 chicken (3½ to 4 pounds), cut into 8 pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon sugar
1 pound fresh mushrooms, stems discarded, caps quartered
1 bay leaf
2 cups dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock
½ teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley

1. Melt butter in a large pan. Add chopped onion, saute over low heat until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside.

2. Combine the flour, paprika, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl. Dredge the chicken in the flour, shaking off any excess.

3. Add the olive oil to the casserole, and brown the chicken on all sides. Return the chopped onions to the pot.

4. Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium-low heat until it is lightly colored and the fat is rendered. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, and add to chicken.

5. Add the pearl onions to the skillet and cook them, over medium heat, tossing constantly, until lightly browned. Sprinkle them with the sugar, and continue cooking until the onions are caramelized, 3 to 5 minutes. Add to chicken.

6. Add the mushrooms to the skillet, and cook over medium heat until tender, about 5 minutes; add to chicken.

7. Add the bay leaf, wine, stock, and thyme to the casserole. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the juices run clear when the meat is pierced with a fork, 30 minutes.

8. Transfer the chicken and vegetables to a warmed platter. Bring the remaining liquid to a boil and reduce until it is slightly thick, about 10 minutes. Pour the sauce over the chicken, and serve garnished with the chopped parsley.

Serves four.

 

[snack_pack85]

Ugh. I just edited my post, forgot to list the herbs.

 

[jennyema]

I'm not sure that using an alcohol-free wine makes sense.

The wine on Coq Au Vin is being used as much for the alcohol as anything else.

 

[ChefJune]

Julia said that Coq au Vin with white wine was Fricassee.

because the red wine usually called for often overpowers the dish, making everything taste the same.

I'm wondering how you're making it, because mine never has that effect.

 

[jennyema]

I'm wondering how you're making it, because mine never has that effect.

Mine is never overpowering either. It's craveable. I just put it on my weekend menu.....

Maybe snack pack is using an overbearing variety of red?

 

[Glorie]

Mmmm, it's been a long time since I had Coq Au Vin. I think the red wine is what really makes the dish, I ususally use Burgandy (as Julia suggests) or a good smoothe merlot (my absolute FAV!). I've never had it with the chicken coated in flour before...

 

[BreezyCooking]

I've made both white & red Coq Au Vin & like them both in their own right.

However, SnackPack - your recipe isn't so much a Coq Au Vin as it is a French "Hunter Style" chicken dish. You're missing two of Coq Au Vin's primary ingredients - pearl onions & mushrooms - & adding peppers, which aren't present in a Coq Au Vin at all. Both regardless of the color of the wine.

 

[ChefJune]

I'm thinking I want to make this this weekend, too. Wish there were a place to really get a hen, as opposed to a young chicken.

 

[BreezyCooking]

ChefJune - check out the freezer section of your local run-of-the-mill supermarkets. Wherever they have frozen specialty stuff like duck, goose, etc. I've been amazed to sometimes find the occasional capon, guinea hen, stewing hen, etc., etc. there.

 

[snack_pack85]

However, SnackPack - your recipe isn't so much a Coq Au Vin as it is a French "Hunter Style" chicken dish. You're missing two of Coq Au Vin's primary ingredients - pearl onions & mushrooms - & adding peppers, which aren't present in a Coq Au Vin at all.

I based this dish on a Coq Au Vin recipe found in the original Betty crock er cookbook that specifically calls for 2 sliced bell peppers. I do use mushrooms and must have forgotten to list them (and the bouquet garni)

I really do not like the texture of pearl onions (funny I know) so I sliced mine up with the peppers. I've seen so many different variants of this recipe it's hard for me to say what are "primary" ingredients besides the "rooster in wine".

In regards to the inquiries of the type of wine I used- the DH and I don't drink so non alcoholic wine was all we had. I have never had it prepared with regular wine because the only times I've had the dish...I've made it at home.

As for why I would use white wine, in certain parts of France they make a version Coq Au Vin with white wine and cream just like the recipe I posted. It's called Coq Au Riesling, same basic idea though and the flavor..IMO is fantastic. You can also find many recipes using champagne believe it or not.

I agree, it is very reminiscent of a hunter style chicken dish but without a tomato base- which would really change the overall flavor dynamics of this dish.

 

[BreezyCooking]

My husband absolutely HATES pearl onions, but does like Coq Au Vin, so after years of watching him push them around his plate - childlike - as if they were eyeballs or something, I now just add a token number of them for myself & make sure I don't accidentally plate any of them for him.

 

[snack_pack85]

My husband absolutely HATES pearl onions, but does like Coq Au Vin, so after years of watching him push them around his plate - childlike - as if they were eyeballs or something, I now just add a token number of them for myself & make sure I don't accidentally plate any of them for him.

IDK, I think I just got a bad batch with my greenbeans at a restaurant once and I've never liked them since. I am sure that, as with most things, I would love them if I had them prepared well. I actually didn't like pork chops for years because my mother made "pork jerky" every thursday night. I had no idea pork could be so tender and delicious! We used leftovers for doorstoppers.