No.36 The 100 Most Popular Recipes Ever · October 2026

Coq au vin

Made famous by Julia Child

Photo: Arnaud 25, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

From Mastering the Art of French Cooking, 1961.

Chicken braised in red wine is the French bistro dish the world knows best, and Julia taught it to America on The French Chef.

Written in our own words and tested in a home kitchen. Get the original in Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Ingredients

• 4 oz (115 g) thick bacon, cut into lardons 1/4 inch by 1 inch, blanched 10 minutes in simmering water
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 lb (1.4 kg) chicken pieces, thighs and drumsticks, patted dry
• Fine salt and black pepper
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) cognac
• 3 cups (720 ml) young, full-bodied red wine (Burgundy, Côtes du Rhône or Beaujolais)
• 1 to 2 cups (240 to 480 ml) chicken or beef stock
• 1/2 tbsp tomato paste, 2 garlic cloves mashed, 1/4 tsp thyme and 1 bay leaf
• 12 to 24 small white onions, brown-braised (as for boeuf bourguignon)
• 1/2 lb (225 g) mushrooms, quartered and browned in butter
• 3 tbsp flour mashed with 2 tbsp softened butter (beurre manié)
• Parsley, to serve

Steps

1. Brown the bacon slowly in the butter in a heavy casserole until golden. Remove.
2. Brown the chicken in the hot fat on all sides, 10 minutes, without crowding. Season with salt and pepper and return the bacon.
3. Cover and cook slowly 10 minutes, turning once.
4. Uncover, pour in the cognac and, standing back, light it with a long match. Shake the pan until the flames die.
5. Pour in the wine and enough stock to just cover the chicken. Add the tomato paste, garlic and herbs. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook gently 25 to 30 minutes, until the chicken is tender and its juices run clear.
6. Lift out the chicken. Simmer the liquid, skimming fat, until reduced to about 2 1/4 cups, 5 to 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning.
7. Off the heat, whisk the beurre manié into the hot liquid, then simmer 1 to 2 minutes until it lightly coats a spoon.
8. Return the chicken, add the onions and mushrooms and baste with the sauce. Simmer 4 to 5 minutes to heat through. Serve with parsley, with boiled potatoes or buttered noodles.

Chef's tips

• Made a day ahead, it's even better; reheat gently, covered.
• If you'd rather not flame the cognac, simmer it 1 minute instead.

This is Chef Amazing's write-up of the dish, tested for a home kitchen. The original is in Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child: get the book, No. 1 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks.

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