You Need 3 Bottles of Riesling to Make Coq au Vin Blanc

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My cabin kitchen is located on the North Coast of America along the southern shore of the Great Lake Ontario. Directly south of me, is the Finger Lakes region where Riesling is king. Truthfully though, there is good Finger Lakes riesling and, shall we say, not so good. Consequently, I suggest you sample a few on your next winery tour until you find one that suits your palate.

My favorite is dry with a touch of sweetness. And that’s what I use for my Coq au vin blanc. Most people are familiar with Coq au vin traditionally made with a hearty red wine from Burgundy in France. More and more, this dish is made with a lighter pinot noir, but I’ve taken it to a different level and like the crisp flavor of a good riesling, which is also a favorite, particularly a riesling from Alsace. However, I prefer to stick closer to home and use our regional wines.

I didn’t used to be a Riesling drinker, but when I hired on as the Cellar Rat at Colloca Estate Winery here on the North Coast, I became a huge fan the very first week I was among the vines.

Note, in case you don’t know what a cellar rat is: cellar rat: n. — One who labors in the cellar (barrel room) of a winery, never seeing the light of day. Quite like a rat.

One of my favorite winter things to do is to spend time in the kitchen. And, one of my favorite recipes (you guessed it) is Coq au vin blanc. But if you know anything about the way I cook, you’ll realize that I have a lot of rules and this recipe is no different. And though it meanders around at first, forgive me. Winter on the North Coast of America has a way of making me write in a round-about way, but I promise, like your first encounter with a New York traffic circle, you’ll eventually get around it.

Rule 1: YOU NEED THREE BOTTLES OF RIESLING FOR THIS RECIPE

• One for the Coq • One for the Cook • One for the Table

On Monday of this week, it was one of those amazing days of winter in Upstate New York that makes you glad you’re alive. The cold snap finally broke and the sun was amazingly brilliant all day. Early on, I took a long walk with the dogs through snow at the winery. Bright sun shining off the sparkling white snow. Busy squirrels and jumping chipmunks grabbing whatever they could to stuff into their larders. Just amazing. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Rule 2: GET A DECENT CHICKEN OR DON’T BOTHER

For the record, I am a huge fan of chicken. But not one of those horrible supermarket things they call chicken with all the flavor of sun-roasted dirt. While cheap – it takes “you get what you pay for” to a whole new level. I’m talking about the chicken you get at a local market, right off the farm. As one purveyor once told me at the Public Market in Rochester when I bought my first whole chicken from her … “That chicken was walking around yesterday”. It was delicious!

If the banana is the perfect fruit … comes in its own package, easy to remove, packed with nutrition, eat whole, pureed, fried, … or with peanut butter! Then the chicken is the perfect “meat”. Not only is it versatile, -- you can fry it, roast it, stew it, and grill it --  it also comes with directions. What I mean by this is that I don’t buy precut chicken pieces anymore. I buy whole chickens and cut them up myself. I was intimidated at first. But then they invented this thing called the internet which shows it step by step, so I won’t explain it here. All I can tell you is that there are lines and joints and lines of fat that show you precisely where to cut so that once you’ve done it, you never need instruction again. And, I can now slice up a chicken faster than a little boy’s tongue when his popsicle begins to melt.

Rule 3: DON’T THROW ANYTHING AWAY

Cut up the French way, you get 8 pieces out of a chicken. But I don’t use the wings in this recipe, I save them up in the freezer until I have a couple of dozen, then make my own wing night! And, I don’t throw away the back, either. I freeze that as well and when I get three or four, I make some of the best chicken soup you’ve ever eaten.

Here’s how I do it.

Preparation takes about an hour. Maybe it’s because I’m drinking some Riesling, or maybe I’m just a slow chopper. Takes about an hour of cooking time.

Ingredients:

  • 1 whole chicken (about 3 or 4 pounds to feed four) cut French style into 8 pieces

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

  • 4 medium leeks (white and pale green parts only), finely chopped (2 cups)

  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot

  • 12 – 16 Pearl Onions

  • 4 medium carrots, halved diagonally

  • 6 Ounces of white mushrooms

  • 6 – 8 Ounces Bacon slices (cut into 1” pieces)

  • 1 – 2 cups Riesling

  • 1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes

  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

  • 1/2 cup crème fraîche or heavy cream

  • Fresh lemon juice and salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350F with rack in middle.

  • Pat chicken dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper

  • Sauté bacon and onions and when done, remove to plate leaving behind as much delicious fat as you can

  • Add 1 tablespoon butter in a wide 3 1/2- to 5-quart heavy ovenproof pot over medium-high heat, then brown chicken in 2 batches, turning once, about 10 minutes total per batch. Transfer to a plate.

  • Meanwhile, wash leeks – very important as leeks often have grit within and pat dry.

  • Cook leeks, shallots, and mushrooms in remaining 2 tablespoons butter, covered, over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until leeks are pale golden, 5 to 7 minutes.

  • Add chicken, skin sides up, with any juices from plate, carrots, bacon & onions and wine to cover and boil until liquid is reduced by half, 3 to 4 minutes.

  • Cover pot and braise chicken in oven until cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes.

  • While chicken braises, it is important to finish any open bottle of Riesling.

  • I halve the small potatoes, cover with cold water in a 2- to 3-quart saucepan and add some salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer until potatoes are just tender, about 15 minutes.

  • Drain in a colander, then return to saucepan. Add parsley, some butter and shake to coat.

  • Stir crème fraîche into chicken mixture and season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice, then add potatoes.

  • Serve with the 3rd bottle of Riesling, and prepare for accolades!