International Coq Au Vin Day

Coq au vin, a French dish made with chicken braised in red wine, is celebrated and enjoyed today on International Coq Au Vin Day. Coq au vin, meaning "rooster with wine" in French, became popular in the United States thanks to Julia Child, who featured a recipe in her 1961 cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking, which she published along with Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck. She also featured coq au vin more than once on her television program The French Chef. It is considered one of her signature dishes.

Braising a rooster in wine may date back to ancient times. Anecdotal history ties coq au vin to the time of Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul—an area where France is now located—in 58 BC. According to legend, roosters were a Gallic symbol of courage, and after Caesar conquered the Gauls, a regional chief sent him a rooster in defiance. In response, Caesar invited the chief to dinner and served him the same rooster cooked in wine. Dishes with chicken braised in wine eventually became common with the French peasantry, and then became popular across Europe. A dish similar to coq au vin but made with white wine appeared in Cookery for English Households in 1864, although recipes for coq au vin as it exists today didn't appear until the early twentieth century.

Coq au vin is usually made with Burgundy wine, but in France regional variations are also made using local wines. A rooster isn't required to make it; hens or other poultry may be used. Ingredients commonly used along with the chicken and wine are button mushrooms, lardons (pork fat), and seasonings such as salt, pepper, parsley, thyme, and bay leaf, usually as bouquet garni. Garlic, onions, and brandy are sometimes included as well. The chicken is seasoned and sometimes floured, seared in the fat, and simmered slowly in wine until it's tender.

How to Observe International Coq Au Vin Day

The best restaurants to have coq au vin at surely are in France, but a French restaurant near you will work too. You could also make the dish at home. There are a number of recipes available, but trying your hand at Julia Child's recipe may be the most befitting.

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