Here’s a rundown of our *first* effort with using actual coq in coq au vin.
I picked up the Slagel coq at our local Carnival grocery store on Tuesday (they delivered early to avoid the predicted snowstorm).
Starting Wednesday, we cut the coq into pieces, marinated legs, wings, etc., in mirepoix (carrot, onion, celery) and a bottle of Cote du Rhone. The meat was extraordinarily red, like beef (I wanted to include photos in this post, but I can’t seem to get Flickr or imgur to size photos correctly).
On Saturday morning, I removed the chicken from the marinade and let it air dry on a rack in the refrigerator until Saturday afternoon; marinade/mirepoix were reserved and the marinade reduced.
Saturday late afternoon, Carolyn quickly browned the bird; we supplemented the marinade with another cup or two of wine and let it cook for about two hours and fifteen minutes, adding onions, mushrooms and lardons near the end of the cook.
We boiled little potatoes to have on the side and served everything with French green beans.
When dinner was on the table, my friend Alec and I grabbed the two legs, and Carolyn took a thigh…after one bite, we all looked at each other; I mumbled “Inedible” and Carolyn, always one to put a positive spin on a bad situation, brightly observed, “It’s toothsome.”
It was, in fact, so damn toothsome that you really couldn’t bite through the meat without tremendous stretches of concentrated mastication…and even when one did that, the meat itself was insipid. The sauce was delicious, which helped a little, but the rubbery meat on thighs and legs did not encourage consumption.
Fortunately, we’d thrown in four chicken thighs, and those were exceptionally good, having sat/cooked in the sauce for hours.
Cutting up the breast and mincing the meat made it edible: tender, if not truly tasty.
However, all was not lost. This morning, we used the remaining coq meat, sauce, and potatoes for stovies. Or do you call it rumbledethumps? Scouse? Whatever you call this classic morning-after meal, it was a good breakfast which I may be inspired to post about, and if I ever again cook coq au vin with rooster meat, I will use a castrated rooster, a capon, which I’m guessing is what they sell at John’s.
Overall, then, this first effort at preparing coq au vin with actual coq cannot be called anything more than a "learning experience" (<-- euphemism).
Tomorrow, I plan to call Slagel, sincerely thank them for the special order, and casually ask how old that rooster was. I suspect it had been up and crowing at many, many rising suns before it met the axe.
"Don't you ever underestimate the power of a female." Bootsy Collins