Slow Cooker Recipe; Chicken in Red Wine Sauce

My Favorite Coq au Vin Recipe

Why spend all day cooking over a hot stove when you can throw all the ingredients in a Crock-Pot, AKA slow cooker, and walk away!?! Coq au Vin (French for Chicken in Wine) is a traditional French recipe which is usually cooked on top of the stove in a Dutch oven and made with an old Rooster. I’m not a fan of tough chicken, and as I prefer white meat over dark, I usually use chicken breast to cook this dish.

This recipe for Chicken and Ham Stew with Vegetables is my short cut method of making traditional Coq au Vin. It’s time to crack out your slow cooker to make chicken in wine sauce, with lots of chopped up ham and tons of veggies all served with a delicious gravy. Serve the Coq au Vin as is in a bowl with a bit of crusty French bread, or serve over the top of rice or noodles – enjoy!

Note, if you’re interested in making Rooster in Wine the old school way, do a quick Internet search for Julia Child’s recipe for Coq au Vin.

Chicken in Wine Sauce, AKA Coq au Vin

Crock-Pot cooking was extremely popular back in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. Over the past few years there has been a resurgence in preparing meals with slow cookers, as people discover they can start their evening supper before going leaving for work and come home to a ready to serve meal. Slow cookers are exactly what they say they are – they let you cook a dish so it slowly has time to develop all its delicious flavors.

I recently started a new job and, the week before Thanksgiving, my new employer hosted an office Thanksgiving party. The company generously catered the turkey, ham, gravy and cranberry sauce then the HR (human resources) department sent an email asking for employees to bring in a dish to share. My co-workers brought in their favorite side dishes, many of which were served in slow cookers to keep them heated through until it was time for our Thanksgiving luncheon.

I have never seen more slow cookers at one time in my entire life. There were all different shapes and sizes including a really cool floral Crock-Pot (slow cooker envy). My co-workers used the slow cookers to create hot mulled cider, cornbread stuffing, sour cream and chive mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese with spiral noodles and much more. It was a holiday extravaganza!

Slow Cookers Help with Easy Meal Prep

There is nothing like coming home, opening the front door and being greeted by the aroma of a hearty meal. For a complete meal, all you need to do is to throw together a quick salad or steam some fresh vegetables to serve with your slow cooker creation. Since I work full-time Monday through Friday, this leaves me with little time to prep and cook meals during the week. I think the Crock-Pot, or slow cooker, is the next best thing to sliced bread!

This recipe makes a hearty chicken stew, AKA Coq au Vin, tastes great served on top of a bed of rice, pasta or potatoes. The pearl onions used in this recipe should be no bigger than the size of a large grape. If you are having problems finding pearl onions in the produce section of your grocery store, you may substitute a 9 ounce package of frozen pearl onions in cream sauce. When using the frozen onions you don’t even need to thaw them out – simply open the bag and throw the onions into the slow cooker.

Herb and Spice Blend

The traditional way to season Coq au Vin is to use a bundle of herbs tied together. You place the herb bundle into the cooking liquid of the dish you are making and remove the bundle before serving.

Bouquet garni, which means bundle of herbs, is a mixture of bay leaves, parsley, tarragon and thyme. Fresh herbs are used to make a bouquet garni, but dried will work fine if that is all you have. Bunches of these fresh herbs are placed together and tied into a small bundle with string or twine.

The herb bundle is placed into the cooking liquid of your recipe where they release their aromatic and fragrant qualities to your dish. The herb bundle is removed and discarded prior to serving. Bouquet garni is a traditional flavoring to add to soups, stews and sauces.

How to Make Bouquet Garni

Bouquet Garni with Fresh Herbs

• 1 bay leaf
• 2 stems parsley
• 1 stem tarragon
• 1 stem rosemary
• 3 stems thyme

Bundle the fresh herbs together and tie together with a piece of twine.

Bouquet Garni with Dried Herbs

• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon parsley
• 1 teaspoon rosemary
• 2 teaspoons tarragon
• 1 tablespoon thyme

Tie up the dried herbs, in a double layer of cheese cloth closed with twine, so the herb bundle can easily be removed and discarded from the chicken stew prior to serving.

How to Make Slow Cooker Coq au Vin – AKA Chicken in Wine Sauce

Learn how to make Coq au Vin in the slow cooker. Recipe for chicken and ham stew in a red wine sauce served with pearl onions, carrots and celery.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 hours hrs

Total Time 5 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Main Dish

Cuisine French

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  

• 2 pounds chicken breast
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 8 ounce ham steak chopped
• 25 pearl onions peeled and left whole
• 1 1/2 cups carrot chopped
• 1 1/2 cups celery chopped
• 1 bundle Bouquet garni see instructions above
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup red wine
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 1 tablespoon fresh herbs (if desired)

Instructions

 

• Remove the bones, tendons, skin and any visible fat from the chicken breasts.
• Cut the chicken into 2″ to 3″ cubes and dredge each piece in the all-purpose flour. I like to add my flour to a ziplock bag, add the chicken, close the bag then toss until each piece of chicken is well coated with the flour.
• Add the vegetable oil to a large frying pan set over medium heat and add the flour coated chicken pieces.
• Cook the chicken until lightly browned on each side. You don’t need to throughly cook the chicken, you just want it to be slightly browned on all sides to lock in the juices. You will finish cooking the chicken in the slow cooker.
• Remove the chicken from the pan and add to the crock pot.
• Add the ham, pearl onions, carrots, celery, bouquet garni, chicken broth and red wine to the slow cooker.
  
• Stir all ingredients until blended and place the lid on top of the slow cooker.
• Cook on the lowest setting for about 5 to 6 hours.
• Remove the bouquet garni bundle from the Crock-Pot and discard.
• In a small bowl make a paste of the water and corn starch.
• Add the corn starch mixture to the crock pot, mix well and replace the lid.
• Cook the Coq au Vin for an additional 15 minutes or until the sauce starts to thicken.
• Use a large serving spoon to scoop out the chicken and ham stew into a large serving bowl.
• If desired sprinkle with fresh chopped herbs such as chives, basil or parsley right before serving.
  

Let me know if you decide to make this recipe for slow cooker chicken and ham stew with vegetables. If you have any recipe ideas that you’d like to share with The Creative Cottage, reach out to me and I just might feature your culinary creations in a future article! Leave a comment on this post or shoot me an email: info@thecreativecottage.net if you’d like to talk about possible guest blogging opportunities. 

Take care,
Lynn Smythe

Founder and Chief Blogger
The Creative Cottage
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