Coq au vin
Coq au vin is a French dish of chicken braised with wine, lardons, mushrooms, and optionally garlic. A red Burgundywine is typically used, though many regions of France make variants using local varietals, such as coq au vin jaune (Jura), coq au Riesling (Alsace), coq au pourpre or coq au violet(Beaujolais nouveau), coq au Champagne, etc. Although the word "coq" in French means "rooster" or "cock", and tough birds with lots of connective tissue benefit from braising, most modern coq au vin recipes simply call for commercially produced chicken which may be male or female. Standard recipes call for red wine (often Burgundy) for braising, lardons, button mushrooms, onions, often garlic, and sometimes brandy. Recipes with vin jaune may specify morels instead of white mushrooms. The preparation is similar in many respects to beef bourguignon. The chicken is seasoned, sometimes floured, seared in fat and slowly simmered in wine until tender. The usual seasonings are salt, pepper, thyme, parsley and bay leaf, usually in the form of a bouquet garni. The juices are thickened either with a roux or by adding blood at the end.