Frightfully Easy Chicken and Red Wine Stew

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This recipe for, Frightfully Easy Chicken and Red Wine Stew, is a fall-inspired simplified version of coq au vin. Coq au vin is a classic French chicken stew braised red wine.

This fall-inspired simplified coq au vin: Frightfully Easy Chicken and Red Wine Stew is a hit on Halloween or anytime in the fall.

I started making this dish 20 years ago. The first time I made this dish was for a Sunday dinner after going to the pumpkin patch. This dish quickly became a fall tradition for our family. Over the years I figured out how to make this dish faster, easier, and taste way better! This recipe for Frightfully Easy Chicken and Red Wine Stew has evolved over the years to be the perfect recipe that my family enjoys every year.

What changes did I make from coq au vin to this evolved recipe for Frightfully Easy Chicken and Red Wine Stew?

I did multiple things to make this recipe for Frightfully Easy Chicken and Red Wine Stew easier than making traditional coq au vin. The first thing I did was to use boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of an entire chicken. Not breaking down a chicken saved me an hour’s worth of time. Using chicken thighs only saved me money and made it easy to source. In addition, using boneless skinless chicken thighs cut down on the amount of fat that was rendered out of the chicken, leaving me with less fat to skim off the top of the stew.

I switched out bacon lardons or pancetta for thick-cut bacon; again because it was easier to source where I live in Northern California. Next, I reduced the quantity of red wine I used over the years. Reducing the amount of red wine makes it more affordable, and more palatable for the kids. Another difference in this recipe is that I don’t marinate the chicken in the red wine. Instead, I add the wine at the same time as the broth. These changes save me a lot of time, cut the cost, and improve the flavor of the overall dish.

Try some of other my fall recipes: Sautéed Garlic Mushroom Skulls Deglazed with Wine, and Spooky Sausage Soup with Mushroom Skulls.

Ingredients:

Frightfully Easy Chicken and Red Wine Stew base:

Thick-cut bacon: because pancetta, bacon lardons, and even pork belly are hard to source where I live.

Boneless skinless chicken thighs: a much easier and more accessible option to a whole chicken and cuts down on the overall fat to skim off the top when the stew is done.

seasoning:

Salt: an absolute necessity as salt brings out and enhances the flavor of a dish. Salt needs to be added in layers to build flavors and enhance the outcome of your stew.

Pepper: unlike salt which enhances the flavor of a dish, pepper changes the flavor. Pepper adds a small amount of heat and spice.

vegetables:

Mushrooms: in this recipe, the mushrooms are divided use. The first use of 8 ounces (3 1/2 cups) of mushrooms are sliced for the base of the stew. The other 6 ounces of mushrooms are reserved for the mushroom skulls; as described below. In this recipe, you can use: white button mushrooms, cremini mushrooms (also known as baby Bellas), or a combination of both.

Carrots: add so much flavor and texture to a stew. They are also visually important to a dish as carrots retain a beautiful vibrant color when cooked.

aromatics:

Onion: traditional coq au vin adds pearl onion however, I can’t source pearl onions where I live in Northern California. I went to 6 different grocery stores with no luck. If you can find pearl onions, they are most often found in the freezer section. I always have onions growing in my garden at various stages, so I pulled some young onions to represent pearl onions in this dish. In my opinion, pearl onions can easily be omitted, however, one diced onion can not be substituted. A diced onion is a necessary aromatic in this recipe.

Garlic: is an important aromatic in this recipe. The garlic can be minced or put in a garlic press. I recommend using fresh unpeeled garlic. Peel the garlic and mince the garlic fresh. Prepeeled and preminced garlic can be bitter and lose a lot of flavor for little convince.

Herbs: thyme, oregano, sage and parsley. I recommend tying the herbs in some butcher’s twine to make it easy to remove from the soup when the soup is done. Thyme, parsley, sage, oregano, or whatever herbs you have on hand. Thyme is the most important herb, if you were to only add one herb, thyme would be the best. (Do not use dried herbs in this recipe, only use fresh herbs or omit the herbs.)

braising portion:

Red Wine: use your favorite red here! This recipe only calls for 2 cups of red wine which means there is enough to enjoy a glass of wine with the finished stew. Or, you can use leftover red wine to make this amazing chicken stew. (There is a divided use of wine in this recipe. The mushroom skulls are sautéed separately in 1/8 cup of wine towards the end of this recipe.)

Chicken Broth: adds a savory depth of flavor that can not be achieved with water alone.

Roux/thickener:

Butter: is the fat portion of a roux. A roux needs fat and flour. This is what will help slightly thicken this stew.   (There is a divided use of butter in this recipe. The mushroom skulls are sautéed separately in butter towards the end of this recipe

Flour: is the other part of a roux.  A roux is used in many classic French sauces for example a bechamel sauce (a basic white sauce).

Mushroom skulls:

Mushrooms: have a divided use in this recipe. (The first 8 ounces used is described above.) The remaining 6 ounces of mushrooms are reserved for the mushroom skulls. These add flavor and garnish the finished stew. The mushroom skulls are sautéed separately to give the mushrooms a deeper flavor and retain the skull characteristic at plating. You can use white button mushrooms, cremini mushrooms, or a combination of both to make the mushroom skulls. White button mushrooms display the skull decoration the best.

Butter: there is a divided use of butter in this recipe. The mushroom skulls are sautéed in butter before they are sautéed in wine.

Wine: use the same wine you used in the stew as the braising liquid, or whatever wine you have on hand or that you like on mushrooms.

butter noodles:

See my recipe for Easy Buttered Egg Noodles.

• Egg Noodles
• Salt
• Butter

mashed potato Ghosts:

See my recipe for mashed potatoes ghosts. See my recipe for Perfect Mashed Potatoes Every Time.

• Potatoes
• Salt
• Butter
• Milk or Half n Half

How to make Frightfully Easy Chicken and Red Wine Stew

ingredients:

• 1/2 pound thick-cut bacon (or bacon lardons or pancetta)
• 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 2 1/2 tsp salt, divided (to taste-may need more or less depending on the chicken broth used)
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 onion diced (plus a 1/2 cup of pearl onions if you can source them)
• 2 1/8cups red wine, divided 
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 bunch herbs, fresh not dried (thyme, parsley, sage, oregano)
• 3 carrots diced into 1/2″ pieces
• 14 ounces mushrooms (12 ½ cups), divided cremini or white button mushrooms or a combination
• 4 tbsp butter, divided 
• 2 tbsp flour

step by step instructions:

Stew Prep:

First, gather all your ingredients.

Second, wash and dry all your produce.

Next, prep all your ingredients: bacon cut into 1/2″ pieces, rinse chicken thighs, wipe all the mushrooms with a kitchen or paper towel, cut 8 ounces of mushrooms into slices, dice onion, peel and cut carrots.

starting the stew on the stovetop:

Then, in a Dutch oven or large stock pot sauté the 1/2″ pieces of thick-cut bacon until all fat is rendered and the bacon is slightly crispy.

Once the bacon is done cooking, remove it from the Dutch Oven and place it in a separate bowl. (I like to use a large Pyrex measuring cup or any bowl with a handle.)

Then, salt both sides of the chicken thighs.

Next, sear and brown both sides of the chicken things in the rendered bacon fat. You will need to do this in at least two batches, I recommend no more than four thighs in the pot at a time. Once the thighs have been browned on each side remove the chicken thighs from the Dutch Oven. Place the chicken thighs in the same bowl that you put the cooked bacon in.

Remove all but 2 tbsp of the fat from the cooked bacon and chicken from the Dutch oven.

Now, add the 8 ounces (3 1/2 cups or 225 grams) of the mushrooms that were sliced. (The other 6 ounces of mushrooms are reserved for the mushroom skulls.) Add salt and let the mushrooms cook for 2-4 minutes.

Once the mushrooms have been caramelized and cooked down, add 2 tbsp of butter.

Next, add the onions and salt the onions. Sauté the onions. As the onions sauté, they will produce a lot of liquid. Use that liquid to deglaze the pan. Use your wooden spoon to release all of the brown bits on the pan and stir them in to incorporate into the newly formed liquid.

Once the Dutch oven has been thoroughly deglazed, add the garlic and cook for about a minute stirring constantly so the garlic doesn’t burn.

Make the Roux:

Then, add 2 tbsp flour. Stir the flour in completely and begin to cook the raw flour. This will cause the liquid from the mushrooms and onions to disappear as the flour mixed with the previous fat from the bacon, chicken, and added butter (three steps above) forms the roux. Cook the roux for about two minutes.

Add the Braising Liquid:

Next, add two cups of red wine and two cups of chicken broth/stock. Stir until the entire roux has been incorporated into the newly added liquids. Make sure to release any roux stuck on the bottom and or on the sides of the Dutch Oven.

Return the Chicken and bacon to the Dutch oven:

Once the roux and braising liquid are fully incorporated, add the chicken thighs and the bacon back to the Dutch Oven.

Then, add in the remaining vegetables; carrots and pearl onions (if you were able to find them).

Now, add 1 tsp of pepper and add in the herbs. You can tie the herbs up with food-grade butcher’s twine. Or place the herbs loosely on top of the vegetables. I recommend thyme, parsley, sage, oregano, or whatever herbs you have on hand. Thyme is the most important herb, if you were to only add one herb, thyme would be the best. (Only fresh herbs do not use dried herbs.)

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Bring the stew to a boil on the stovetop. Once the stew comes to a boil, place the stew in a 350F oven for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Set the oven timer for one hour then check the chicken with a thermometer, ideally, the chicken thighs should be 180F in this recipe. Also, check that your vegetables have a texture that you like. Occasionally, if I cut the carrots too thick I let the stew cook in the oven for an additional 15 minutes.

prepare the sides:

While the stew is in the oven, prepare mashed potatoes or buttered egg noodles to serve with the Frightfully Easy Chicken and Red Wine Stew.

Also, this is the time to sauté the mushroom skulls as they are sautéed separately.

Making the mushroom skulls:

First, slice the remaining 6 ounces (3 cups, 170 grams) of mushrooms in half lengthwise.

Second, make the mushroom skulls by making eye holes with a straw.

Next, add 2 tbsp of butter to a sauté pan and heat to medium-high heat.

Then, add mushrooms flat side down to the sauté pan.

Immediately, add 1/4 tsp of salt to the mushrooms in an even sprinkle to the tops of the mushrooms.

Cook the mushroom skulls for 2- 3 minutes without moving the mushrooms. (Don’t move the mushrooms at all.) This is to develop a deep brown caramelization on the flat side of the mushroom.

Next, add 1/8 cup of use the same wine you used in the stew as the braising liquid, or whatever wine you have on hand. Deglaze the mushrooms with the wine.

FInishing and plating the stew:

When the stew comes out of the oven, check for seasoning, skim the fat off the top, and remove the herbs. (I added a pinch of salt-1/4 tsp at the end, this total recipe used about 2 1/2 tsp of diamond kosher salt but the amount of salt will vary depending on the chicken broth used.)

Plate up and serve over mashed potatoes or butter noodles.

See my recipe for Perfect Mashed Potatoes Every Time.

See my recipe for Easy Buttered Egg Noodles.

To serve the mushroom skulls, place them onto each plated dish as a garnish. Unless you are serving the stew on a buffet–then arrange as necessary on the final serving platter.

If you are making the mashed potato ghosts, pipe them out at the time of plating also.

Severe hot and enjoy!

See my recipe for Perfect Mashed Potatoes Every Time.

See my recipe for Easy Buttered Egg Noodles.

Try my fall recipes for: Sautéed Garlic Mushroom Skulls Deglazed with Wine, and Spooky Sausage Soup with Mushroom Skulls.

Items I used: Sauté Pan, Wüsthof chef knife, Cutting Board, Reusable Straw with a Cleaning Brush, All-Clad Dutch Oven, Disposable Piping/Decorating Bags, Diamond Kosher Salt, Large Pyrex Measuring Cups

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