🤠’s Easy Coq au Vin

Using a pressure cooker to cook Coq au Vin (chicken in wine) saves about 30 minutes compared to using a stove top. Traditionally Coq au Vin requires an old rooster- the long braising in a pot tenderises the tough meat. But I prefer to use chicken thighs because the meat isnt as dry after cooking compared to breast meat

You will need 6 chicken thighs (two packs totalling about RM22 from supermarkets) 16 button mushrooms (shitake mushrooms can be substituted), 6-7 thick cut bacon pieces, half a can of tomato puree, two carrots, two onions, 4 cloves of garlic, 4 sprigs of thyme, a bay leaf, one and a half cups of red wine, one cup of chicken stock or broth, a knob of butter and 3 tablespoons of flour, pepper and salt to taste.

Step 1. Trim excess fat from chicken thighs. Pat dry with a towel. Season with salt and pepper. Broil in the oven skin side up in a foil covered pan until the thighs turn golden brown. Reserve the rendered fat. Add button mushrooms to the pan and cook for 2 minutes in the oven.

Step 2. Set pressure cooker to “saute” mode. Add 2T oil and fry bacon pieces. Using a slotted spoon remove crispy bacom pieces, leaving the oil.

Step 3. Add onions and garlic and fry until soft. Add brandy, tomato puree, and the bay leaf. Add chicken pieces and fry for 1 minute. Add chicken stock and red wine. Cover pressure cooker and cook for 10 minutes using the setting for chicken. Do a quick release at the end of 10 minutes. Remove chicken thighs and discard the skin using a fork or knife.

Step 4. Add a knob of butter and mix in 3 tablespoons of flour to form a paste. Add butter flour paste to the sauce in the pressure cooker. Set to saute mode and reduce sauce until it achieves a sticky consistency.

Step 5. Add back chicken thighs to the pressure cooker. Add crispy bacon pieces and mushrooms. Sprinkle with thyme before serving with mashed potatoes or egg noodles.

#coqauvin