Coq au Vin Rosé (Printable)

Tender chicken braised in rosé wine with cream, mushrooms, and aromatic herbs for an elegant French dinner.

# What You'll Need:

→ Poultry

01 - 3.25 lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces (thighs and drumsticks)

→ Marinade & Sauce

02 - 2 cups dry rosé wine
03 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
04 - 1 medium onion, finely chopped
05 - 2 garlic cloves, minced
06 - 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
07 - 7 oz cremini or button mushrooms, quartered
08 - 1 small leek, white and light green parts, sliced
09 - 2 tablespoons tomato paste
10 - 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, optional
11 - 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
12 - 1 bay leaf
13 - 4 sprigs fresh thyme
14 - 1 sprig fresh rosemary
15 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

→ Garnish

16 - 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

# Steps:

01 - Pat chicken pieces dry with paper towels and season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
02 - Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown chicken pieces on all sides in batches, approximately 5 minutes per batch. Transfer browned chicken to a plate and set aside.
03 - In the same pot, add chopped onions, sliced carrots, and leek. Sauté for 4-5 minutes until softened. Add quartered mushrooms and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
04 - Stir in minced garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and cook for 1 additional minute, stirring constantly.
05 - Sprinkle flour over the vegetable mixture and stir to coat evenly, if using for thickening.
06 - Pour in rosé wine and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Return chicken pieces to the pot. Add bay leaf, thyme sprigs, and rosemary sprig.
07 - Bring liquid to a gentle simmer, cover with lid, and cook over low heat for 45 minutes until chicken is extremely tender and meat pulls easily from bone.
08 - Remove all herb sprigs from the pot. Stir in heavy cream and simmer uncovered for 5-10 minutes until sauce reaches desired consistency and becomes glossy. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
09 - Transfer chicken and sauce to serving plates or family-style platter. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and serve immediately.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It feels fancy but forgives you completely if you underbrown the chicken or forget to stir.
  • The rosé keeps everything light and floral instead of heavy, so you can actually eat it in warm weather without regret.
  • Leftovers taste even better the next day when the sauce has had time to think about itself.
02 -
  • Don't skip browning the chicken in batches, crowding the pot will steam it instead of searing it and you'll lose that deep flavor foundation.
  • Use a rosé you'd actually drink, not cooking wine from a dusty bottle, because the wine's flavor concentrates as it reduces and bad wine gets worse.
  • Pull out the herb sprigs before stirring in the cream or you'll be fishing woody bits out of the sauce for the rest of the night.
03 -
  • Let the chicken come to room temperature for 15 minutes before browning so it cooks more evenly and doesn't cool down the oil.
  • If your sauce looks too thin at the end, pull out the chicken and boil the sauce hard for a few minutes until it reduces and thickens to your liking.
  • Always taste the sauce after adding cream, the dairy will dull the seasoning and you'll almost always need another pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper.
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