KITCHEN PRACTICE 1 — A Complete Coq au Vin
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Chapter: French Cookery 7 — Braising & Confit

TASK
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Make a coq au vin-style braise from start to finish — lardons, a
properly seared chicken, a mirepoix built in the same fat, a wine
deglaze, a low simmer, and the pearl onion and mushroom garnish added
near the end.

WHAT TO DO
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1. If time allows, marinate bone-in chicken thighs and legs in red
   wine with a bouquet garni (Chapter 1) overnight.
2. In a heavy pot, cook diced bacon (lardons) until the fat renders
   and the pieces crisp. Remove and set aside, leaving the fat in
   the pot.
3. Pat the chicken dry and sear it well in the rendered fat, in
   batches if needed to avoid crowding (Chapter 6), until deeply
   browned. Remove and set aside with the lardons.
4. Cook a rough mirepoix (Chapter 3) in the same pot, letting it
   pick up colour from the fond already there.
5. Deglaze with red wine (the marinade or a fresh pour), scraping up
   every browned bit, and add stock and a fresh bouquet garni.
6. Return the chicken and lardons to the pot, cover, and simmer
   gently for 60-90 minutes, until the chicken is fork-tender.
7. Separately, glaze pearl onions in butter with a touch of sugar
   and sauté mushrooms until browned. Stir both into the pot in the
   final few minutes before serving.

WHAT TO EXPECT
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- The chicken should develop a real, deep brown crust during
  searing, exactly as in Chapter 6 — pale, steamed-looking chicken
  at this stage usually means the pot was too crowded or not hot
  enough.
- The braising liquid should reduce and thicken slightly over the
  simmer, taking on real colour and body from the wine, stock, and
  everything lifted from the pot during deglazing.
- The pearl onions and mushrooms, added only near the end, should
  still hold their own shape and texture rather than dissolving into
  the sauce — a real, visible difference from ingredients simmered
  the whole time.

WHY THIS WORKS AS AN ANSWER
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Coq au vin is really Chapters 3 and 6's own techniques run in
sequence rather than something new — the mirepoix and deglazing from
earlier chapters, applied to a specific, wine-heavy classic. Adding
the garnish only at the end is a small but genuinely important
detail: it's the difference between a garnish that still reads as
its own distinct ingredient on the plate, and one that's simply
dissolved into background flavour.