Quote:
Originally Posted by bubbamom  Shel, I noticed your first post asked about the availability of a capon but your second post called for chicken thighs. Did you have another recipe in mind or do you use the capon for the thighs interchangeably? |
The traditional recipe for Coq au Vin does not include chicken, but rather a "Coq," which is a rooster. A lot of recipes originally called for old barnyard fowl, roosters, capon (a desexed rooster), and old, worn out hens. The capon is considered a little more tender than an old rooster, and that's why I mentioned it, considering that a lot of people might not want to futz around finding a rooster or invest the extra stewing time to get it to the degree of tenderness that is often expected these days. IOW, the capon seemed like a reasonable compromise,
As for the second recipe, well, it's just an expedient take on the original. It's a pretty good recipe, but was designed for short cuts. For example, the thighs used are boneless/skinless, and some people, myself included, feel that leaving the bone in and the skin on contributes to some extra flavor. Many more tyraditional recipes call for use of the whole leg, which can increase stewing time a bit, but which, again, IMO, contributes a bit to flavor.
While the original poster asked for a "FANTASTIC" recipe, I felt that this one might add to the discussion and offer some ideas to the OP. Personally, I'd modify the recipe to go a few steps back in time, where there might be fewer compromises on flavor and texture - IOW, move closer to an original recipe rather than one that's main intent is to save time. Perhaps Coq au Vin is as much about technique as it is about choice of ingredients.
Kind regards,
Shel