I won’t pretend that this is a traditional recipe for coq au vin, considering that “wine” is titular in the dish and this iteration does not use it, but the essence of this French classic remains intact.
Drawing some inspiration from my poached pears recipe, I used 100% pomegranate juice in place of the wine and I was honestly astounded by the results.
I find this dish is made even easier by using bone-in chicken thighs instead of a whole chicken and, for those of you who don’t want to render the traditional bacon, I’ve also swapped in shiitake mushrooms there. The result is certainly non-traditional, but it retains the essence of this rustic favourite.
How to Make Coq au Vin Without Alcohol & Bacon
This is a pretty inactive recipe that requires only a bit of prep work and nothing too demanding. A lot of it can be done simultaneously, as well, and most of the time the chicken is just braising, so it’s a good dish for entertaining.
Because this isn’t a long braise with a whole chicken, I’ve found that the best procedure is to fortify some chicken stock with powdered gelatine to get the same mouthfeel.
This is simple: just sprinkle some gelatin over the cold stock and set aside while you get the rest of your ingredients together.
Next, brown your chicken thighs. Pat them dry and season generously with salt. Add some olive oil to a large pot, Dutch oven or braiser and set it over medium-high heat.
Once shimmering, add the chicken thighs, skin-side down, and sear until they are crisp and golden (about 5 minutes) before flipping and searing on the other side. Depending on the size of your pot, you may need to work in batches.
Remove the chicken from the pan once it is browned and set aside.
Add a bit more oil and then add in some shiitake mushrooms. Browned deeply, these have an earthy, smoky flavour that resembles that of bacon, so they’re a good substitute.
For those not concerned with using bacon here, you can by all means brown some bacon instead; just remove it from the pan before you add the other mushrooms and add it back in with the pomegranate juice et al.
On shiitakes – cook these until they’re beginning to brown (about 5 minutes) before adding in some quartered crimini (aka Swiss brown in Australia) mushrooms. Cook these until they’re beginning to brown, another 5 minutes.
Then, add in some peeled garlic cloves and some tomato paste. Cook this for a minute longer before adding in some flour – this will just aid in thickening the sauce a bit. Cook the flour for another minute or so, then pour over your fortified stock.
To the pan, toss in some shallots that you’ve peeled and quartered through the stem. Traditionally, coq au vin uses pearl onions, but these are virtually impossible to find in Australia and I’ve found that shallots prepped this way make a fine sub.
Also add in a few sprigs of thyme and the pomegranate juice. It is super important that you use 100% pomegranate juice here, not one with added sugar or blended with another fruit juice.
This will prevent the dish from being too sweet and the tannic nature of pomegranate juice is remarkably similar to a red wine.
Arrange your chicken thighs back into the sauce, pour in any accumulated juices, and move the pot to a preheated 190°C/375°F oven and cook until the sauce is thick and bubbling and the chicken registers at least 80°C/175°F on an instant-read thermometer. This generally takes about 30 minutes.
Then, go ahead and remove the pot from the oven and lift the chicken out. Add some chopped carrots and set the pan over medium-high heat.
Bring the sauce to a vigorous simmer and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes, just to reduce and thicken the sauce.
Add the chicken back into the sauce and you’re ready to serve!
Coq au Vin Without Wine & Bacon
Ingredients
- 250 ml (1 cup) chicken stock (see note 1)
- 10 g (2 tsp) powdered gelatin
- 8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 10 g (2 tsp) salt divided (see note 2)
- 30 ml (2 tbsp) extra virgin olive oil divided
- 100 g (3 ½ oz) shiitake mushrooms cut into strips
- 200 g (7 oz) crimini mushroom stems removed & quartered
- 10 cloves garlic crushed & peeled
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 15 g (2 tbsp) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 4 shallots peeled & quartered through the stem
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 500 ml (2 cups) 100% pomegranate juice
- 1-2 medium carrots peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F. Add the chicken stock to a bowl or measuring jug. From a height, sprinkle the gelatin over it. Set aside until needed.
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season generously with ½ tsp of the salt. Add one tablespoon of the olive oil to a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot and set over medium-high heat. Once shimmering, add the chicken, skin-side down, and sear, undisturbed, until golden, 4-5 minutes. Flip and brown on the other side, another 4-5 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add the remaining olive oil to the pot along with the shiitake mushrooms and ¼ tsp of the salt. Cook until they've reduced in size and are beginning to brown, about 5 minutes, before adding the crimini mushrooms. Cook for a further 5-7 minutes, until the shiitakes are deeply browned and the criminis have shrunk and begun to take on colour.
- Add the garlic and tomato paste. Cook, stirring constantly, for one minute, then add the flour. Cook for another minute before pouring over the gelatin-fortified stock.
- Add the shallots, thyme, pomegranate juice and remaining salt. Add the chicken, skin-side up, back into the pot along with any accumulated juices. Bring to a simmer, then move to the oven. Braise until the sauce is thick and bubbling and the chicken registers at least 80°C/175°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 30 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside. Add the carrots to the pot and set over medium-high heat. Bring to a vigorous simmer and allow to reduce for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, return the chicken to the pan and serve.
Notes
- For best results, use unsalted stock so you can control the seasoning of the final dish.
- For best results, measure salt by weight, as different salts vary in crystal size and density.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutritional information is automatically generated and provided as guidance only. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
This may not be traditional, but this coq au vin made without wine or bacon is super rustic, comforting and surprisingly simple for the complexity of the flavour.
Are you after an alcohol-free recipe for coq au vin? Have any questions? Let me know in the comments!
