Looking for a delicious mashed potato recipe to serve with this chicken stew? Give our Herb and Garlic Mashed Potatoes a go or be more adventurous and go for Sweet Potato and Rutabaga Mash! This post contains affiliate links. When you purchase through our links, we may earn a commission. When people learn I am a recipe developer I often get asked what my favourite dish is. I find this question nearly impossible to answer but I can probably list my top 5. The French recipe for chicken braised in red wine with carrots and mushrooms, also known as Coq au Vin, is in that top 5. As much as I love it, I don’t make it too often because it is time consuming and quite rich. However, I believe I have found a way to lighten up the classic coq au vin as well as make it in 30 minutes flat instead of 2 hours. Interested? Read on!
Ingredients
The classic recipe for coq au vin consists of chicken parts first being browned until golden, then braised in red wine with carrots, onions and mushrooms. Bacon is often added for extra flavour. The stew is slowly cooked in an oven until the chicken is tender and the sauce is thick and flavourful. It’s delicious and comforting but it requires time investment. It’s simply not the recipe you can whip up after work, at least you couldn’t before. Good new is you can now. It’s much simpler and faster in an This is an affiliate link.Instant Pot! (Take a look another French classic cooking in a pressure cooker Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon.) The browning of the chicken adds flavour but we are doing away with it for this Instant Pot recipe. So how do I develop flavours as deep as the original? I am glad you asked and I have the answer. Two ways actually. First of all, I start by browning a small amount of bacon lardon, which will become the base flavour of our sauce. Secondly, this Instant Pot chicken stew is cooked in wine, and that is a flavour bomb in itself. Not only does wine help to tenderise meat and keep it moist, it also adds an incredible amount of flavour to any dish.
How to make Chicken Stew
Instant Pot is truly a magical appliance for people who are short on time as it it able to develop flavours that are only possible to achieve when ingredients are cooked slowly. Another great feature of the Instant Pot cooking is an ability to tenderise tougher cuts of meat without much effort. That is why I chose to cook my fast and easy version of coq au vin in it. Not only was I able to get the cooking time to 30 minutes but I also simplified the process by skipping the browning. It’s necessary to brown chicken with skin on before it’s cooked in liquid to avoid unpleasant texture as well as to deepen flavour. It’s is however the task I do not enjoy since it’s time consuming and messy process. So to avoid it I decided to make this stew with skinless boneless chicken thighs. Same great texture with no bones and no hassle. It’s a big win for the cook and the whole family. You can also use skinless boneless chicken breasts if you prefer. However I’d like to warn you that you are moving farther away from the original if you.
How to thicken the sauce
Instant Pot is brilliant for cooking stews but what it doesn’t do is evaporate liquid since the pot is sealed the whole time. As a result a lot of liquid collects and the sauce doesn’t thicken in the same way as in the conventional cooking. There are two ways to go about it. First of all, we add less liquid than the original recipe. Secondly, we can thicken the sauce after the dish has been cooked. In this instance I added a mixture of melted butter and flour into the simmering sauce using SAUTÉ button and the sauce got thick and luscious within seconds. If you are gluten free and avoid flour, feel free to use a combination of water and cornstarch/cornflour. I’ve use both with equal success.
Serving suggestions
The right (only?) way to serve coq au vin is over a heap of fluffy mashed potatoes. My humble suggestion is Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes, made to be more spectacular than the classic version. A hearty piece of crusty bread will also be welcome, especially when it’s time to soak up all that delicious sauce.
Storage and leftovers
Leftovers will keep for up to 4 days in a refrigerator in an airtight container. The best way to reheat leftovers in on the stovetop in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add a splash of water or stock to loosen the stew. Cover the pan to keep it from drying out. It’ll take about 15 minutes but check to make sure the chicken is hot in the middle. Or if you don’t want to put in the effort, a microwave will also work!
More chicken stew recipes to try
Italian Rosemary Chicken Chicken Chasseur Recipe (French Hunter’s Chicken) Creamy Chicken Casserole Chicken Paprikash
