Watch how to make chef Patrick Forest’s hearty coq au vin
Coq au vin feels like the dish we need most right now: it’s comforting and familiar, and even comes with a built-in reason to open a bottle of wine—what could be more 2020? For one of the best versions in the city, we looked to Maison Selby’s Patrick Forest, chef de cuisine at the chic French restaurant that earned a place on Toronto Life’s Best New Restaurants list earlier this year. Forest likes to take his time with the dish, giving the chicken plenty of time to marinate overnight in red wine, and making stock with the rest of the bird that won’t ultimately be braised for the final dish. He completes the dish with some of the best mashed spuds in town—Yukon Golds, of course, and lots of butter and cream. Since we can’t all sit down for the dish in Maison Selby’s dining room right now, Forest invited us into his own kitchen to share his recipe and show us how the coq au vin gets made.
Want to make it yourself? Here’s everything you’ll need.
Coq au vin
Serves 2-4 | For the coq au vin:
- 1 bottle full-bodied red wine, such as Burgundy
- Longo’s Tomato Paste (in a tube)
- Longo’s Olive Oil
- 1 whole chicken (3-4 lbs)
- 2 cups Longo’s Chicken Broth (Optional)
- 4 stalks celery
- 4 carrots
- 2 large Spanish onions
- 4 cloves garlic
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 bunch thyme
- 4 slices Brandt Double Smoked Side Bacon (Optional)
- 4-6 white button mushrooms.
- 4 shallots, quartered
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
For the accompaniment:
- 2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes
- 125 ml whipping (35 per cent) cream
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- Green beans
- Butcher chicken* and break down into eight pieces; reserve carcass to make stock. Grate one carrot, one stalk celery and ½ onion on a box grater. In a bowl with lid or casserole dish, place butchered chicken pieces, grated vegetables and cover with red wine. Refrigerate overnight.
- To make stock: Pan roast the chicken carcass, adding two chopped carrots, two chopped celery stalks, one onion, two cloves garlic, two bay leaves and two springs of thyme. Cover with water and simmer for a few hours. Strain and chill,
- The next day, remove chicken from the marinade and place on paper towels to dry. Strain marinade and place in a stock pot, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Strainagain to remove any impurities. and set aside. Heat a Dutch oven or renamed cast iron pot over medium heat. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil and sear the chicken in batches until well browned. Remove the chicken and set aside. In the same pot, sauté vegetables until onions turn slightly translucent. Add the tomato paste, sauté for a few seconds. Add the chicken back into the pot, and cover with the simmered and strained red wine, and two cups chicken stock. Place in a 350°F oven, covered, for 45-60 minutes.
- While the chicken is cooking, in a sauté pan, render the bacon. When it is crisp remove from the pan. In the bacon fat, sauté the mushrooms and quartered shallots. Set aside.
- When the chicken is cooked, remove from the braising liquid and reduce by half in a saucepan until it is thickened. Add the bacon, mushrooms, pearl onions and chicken. And a tablespoon of butter and a splash of red wine to finish the sauce. Serve over mashed potatoes with buttered green beans.
*Optionally you can use chicken thighs and breasts pre butchered from Longo’s, as well as Longo’s Chicken Broth instead of making your own
Longo's Olive Oil
1 whole chicken (3-4 lbs)
2 cups Longo's Chicken Broth (Optional)
4 stalks celery
4 carrots
2 large Spanish onions
4 cloves garlic
4 bay leaves
1 bunch thyme
4 slices Brandt Double Smoked Side Bacon (Optional)
4-6 white button mushrooms.
4 shallots, quartered
1 tbsp unsalted butter
For the accompaniment:
2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes
125 ml whipping (35 per cent) cream
4 tbsp unsalted butter
Green beans
Butcher chicken* and break down into eight pieces; reserve carcass to make stock. Grate one carrot, one stalk celery and ½ onion on a box grater. In a bowl with lid or casserole dish, place butchered chicken pieces, grated vegetables and cover with red wine. Refrigerate overnight.
To make stock: Pan roast the chicken carcass, adding two chopped carrots, two chopped celery stalks, one onion, two cloves garlic, two bay leaves and two springs of thyme. Cover with water and simmer for a few hours. Strain and chill,
The next day, remove chicken from the marinade and place on paper towels to dry. Strain marinade and place in a stock pot, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Strainagain to remove any impurities. and set aside. Heat a Dutch oven or renamed cast iron pot over medium heat. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil and sear the chicken in batches until well browned. Remove the chicken and set aside. In the same pot, sauté vegetables until onions turn slightly translucent. Add the tomato paste, sauté for a few seconds. Add the chicken back into the pot, and cover with the simmered and strained red wine, and two cups chicken stock. Place in a 350°F oven, covered, for 45-60 minutes.
While the chicken is cooking, in a sauté pan, render the bacon. When it is crisp remove from the pan. In the bacon fat, sauté the mushrooms and quartered shallots. Set aside.
When the chicken is cooked, remove from the braising liquid and reduce by half in a saucepan until it is thickened. Add the bacon, mushrooms, pearl onions and chicken. And a tablespoon of butter and a splash of red wine to finish the sauce. Serve over mashed potatoes with buttered green beans.
*Optionally you can use chicken thighs and breasts pre butchered from Longo's, as well as Longo's Chicken Broth instead of making your own
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