Coq au vin sure sounds quite fancy, and while the classic French dish takes some effort to pull off from scratch at home, it doesn’t have to be so difficult. Traditionally, recipes for the stew made with chicken (specifically rooster to stay true to its roots) and vegetables in a wine broth requires several steps in a large pot or Dutch oven. Here at Look, we have a crockpot recipe that uses the quintessential American appliance to make it easier for you to pull off the French meal in your kitchen without the need to stand at the stove for over an hour.
In our version of crockpot coq au vin from recipe developer Julianne De Witt, there’s some prep work involved in a pan before it goes into the crockpot. However, in a traditional coq au vin recipe, you’ll have to brown bacon, sauté aromatics like onions, marinate then cook and remove the chicken, add in mushrooms, and the list goes on — and we haven’t even mentioned the wine and broth. The biggest caveat to the Crockpot version of the dish is that it will increase the cooking time, but that’s to be expected with most slow-cooked recipes anyway.
Brown chicken before it goes into the crockpot for flavorful coq au vin
To follow our crockpot coq au vin recipe, De Witt suggests browning the chicken drumsticks and thighs then tossing the pieces into the crockpot. If you want to pay homage to the classic addition and use rooster, the tough meat also benefits from the slow-cooking process — but steer clear of white meat, like breasts and wings, or it may turn out dry. Either way, the chicken will add layers of flavor in the sauce. You’ll also cook off the bacon and vegetables, and make the wine broth in the same pan. The perk is that you don’t have to stand and wait for all of those ingredients to fully cook because it’s all tossed in the crockpot with the chicken and continues to cook on high for two hours.
We’ll let you check out the recipe for the full set of instructions, but we’ve got more tips on how to make the crockpot recipe even easier. One way to reduce the workload is to use frozen pearl onions because you won’t have to sauté them first, according to De Witt. You can also use store-bought stock, pre-diced carrots, or opt for ready-to-cook mushrooms to reduce the prep time. And don’t forget to brush up on slow-cooker cooking tips so your crockpot coq au vin comes out perfectly.
