isithalal.food · Recipes

Halal coq au vin

A French braise of Halal chicken with shallots, mushrooms, garlic and herbs, made with Halal beef or turkey bacon, no brandy, and Halal chicken stock in place of the red wine.

French · Main · Moderate · 6 portions · 105 min

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

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Why Halal checks matter here

Coq au vin is chicken braised in 600 ml of red wine, with the pan deglazed in brandy and smoked pork bacon fried at the start; the chicken also needs Halal slaughter.

Halal-critical ingredients

• Red wine and brandy: The published recipe deglazes the pan with 3 tbsp of brandy or Cognac and braises the chicken in 600 ml of red wine. This site does not treat alcohol cooked into a dish as Halal. Leave out the brandy and use the same amount of Halal chicken stock for the wine, as here. See Wine and Brandy.
• Bacon: The published recipe starts by frying smoked back bacon, which is pork. Turkey and beef bacon contain no pork but need Halal-slaughtered meat too. Use Halal-certified beef bacon or turkey rashers. See Bacon and Turkey bacon.
• Chicken: Chicken is a Halal bird, but the meat is only Halal when slaughtered according to Islamic rules. Buy from a Halal butcher or in a certified pack. See Chicken.
• Chicken stock: Chicken stock cubes and pots contain chicken fat or extract that is not shown to be Halal, and here the stock makes up the whole sauce. Use a Halal-certified chicken stock or a vegetable stock labelled vegan or vegetarian. See Stock cubes.

Ingredients

Chicken and sauce

• 1½ tbsp olive oil
• 100 g Halal beef bacon or Halal turkey rashers, chopped (instead of smoked pork back bacon)
• 12 small shallots, peeled
• 2 (460 g) Halal chicken legs, skin removed
• 4 (650 g) Halal bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed
• 2 (280 g) Halal skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 600 ml Halal chicken stock (instead of 600 ml red wine)
• 150 ml Halal chicken stock
• 2 tsp tomato purée
• 3, 2 and 2 thyme sprigs, rosemary sprigs and bay leaves, tied as a bouquet garni
• a small handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped, to garnish

Mushrooms and thickener

• 1½ tbsp olive oil
• 250 g chestnut mushrooms, halved if large
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 1½ tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp butter, softened

Method

1. Fry the bacon and shallots. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large heavy-based pan or flameproof dish and fry the chopped Halal bacon until crisp. Lift out onto kitchen paper. Fry the shallots in the same pan for 5 to 8 minutes, shaking often, until browned all over, then set aside with the bacon.
2. Brown the chicken. Pat the skinned chicken dry. Add ½ tbsp oil and brown half the pieces for 5 to 8 minutes, turning, then repeat with the rest and set aside.
3. Deglaze and build the sauce. Fry the garlic briefly. Return the legs and thighs with their juices, pour in a little of the 600 ml stock and scrape the bottom of the pan. Stir in the rest of the 600 ml stock, the 150 ml stock and the tomato purée, add the bouquet garni, season with pepper and a pinch of salt, and return the bacon and shallots.
4. Simmer. Cover, lower the heat to a gentle simmer, add the chicken breasts and cook for 50 minutes to 1 hour.
5. Fry the mushrooms. Just before serving, heat 1½ tbsp oil in a large non-stick frying pan and fry the mushrooms over a high heat for a few minutes until golden. Keep warm.
6. Thicken and serve. Lift the chicken, shallots and bacon onto a warm dish and remove the bouquet garni. Mix the flour, 1½ tsp oil and butter into a paste. Bring the sauce to a gentle boil and whisk in the paste a little at a time, then simmer for 1 to 2 minutes. Scatter the mushrooms over the chicken, pour over the sauce and garnish with parsley.

Allergens

gluten (flour), milk (butter)

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Coq au vin' by Angela Nilsen (serves 6: 3 rashers of smoked back bacon fried crisp; 12 shallots browned 5 to 8 minutes; 2 legs, 4 thighs and 2 boneless breasts, skinned, browned in batches; garlic, then 3 tbsp brandy or Cognac to deglaze; 600 ml red wine, 150 ml chicken stock, 2 tsp tomato purée and a bouquet garni of thyme, rosemary and bay; covered and simmered 50 minutes to 1 hour with the breasts added; mushrooms fried separately; sauce thickened with a paste of 2 tbsp flour, olive oil and butter). We specified Halal chicken, replaced the pork bacon with Halal beef or turkey bacon, left out the brandy, and replaced the red wine with the same amount of extra Halal chicken stock. The source's sauce is built on the wine, so this one will not taste of it. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Photograph from our ingredient library: a roast chicken, not the finished dish from this recipe.