Coq au Vin with Red Sangria (or Red Wine)

Like I said before, I hate food waste.  So when I had that leftover Citrus and Green Apple Sangria I racked my mind (and Google) to come up with ideas I could use the leftover sangria for.  One thought was Coq au Vin.  This rustic stew traditionally uses red wine but I figured sangria is red wine with a citrus kick, so why not try it out?  It turned out deliciously, actually!  The citrus shines through at times but overall, the main flavor you get in the stew is the deep, red wine flavor.  If you’re scared of cooking chicken with red wine or with sangria, go ahead and replace 1 of the 2 cups of sangria/red wine with chicken broth and try this recipe out!

Coq au Vin with Red Sangria (or Red Wine)
Total Time 1 hour 20 min
Serves 6-8

• 4 slices thick cut bacon
• 3 pounds skinless chicken, preferably thighs and legs
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 large yellow onion, sliced
• 3 medium carrots (about 1/2 lb), peeled and diced in large chunks
• 10 oz sliced button mushrooms
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed and minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups leftover red sangria (drained of any fruit) or regular old red wine
• 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Heat oven to 250F.  In a Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot, add bacon and cook until browned and fat rendered, about 8-10 minutes.  Transfer to a plate and reserve.  Pat raw chicken dry (so it browns nicely) with a paper towel and season chicken on both sides generously with salt and pepper.  Working in three batches to avoid crowding, brown chicken thighs and legs about 4 minutes per side.  Transfer to the bacon plate and reserve.

Add the onion, carrots, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon ground pepper to the pot and cook over medium heat for 6 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and cook about 6 minutes more, until the onions are lightly browned and mushrooms are starting to wilt.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.  Add the bacon, chicken, and any juices that collected on the plate into the pot.  Add the thyme, parsley, crushed red pepper, bay leaves, sangria, chicken broth, and tomato paste.  Bring to a gentle boil and cover with a tight-fitting lid.

Place in oven for 30-40 minutes until the chicken is cooked through (not pink).  Remove from oven and place on stovetop.  Mash 1 tablespoon of room temperature butter and the flour together and stir into the stew (to thicken it).  Bring the stew to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve hot.