Alex Guarnaschelli's Tip For Avoiding Soggy Coq Au Vin Bacon
When deciding on a dinner that's relatively simple to prepare, impressive to present, and delightful on the palette, an easy Coq au vin recipe checks all of those boxes. The classic French dish comes together when succulent chicken bathes in a jacuzzi of red wine, brandy, onions, herbs, and mushrooms, and is finished off with crispy bacon or pancetta (per The New York Times).
Julia Child popularized the dish in her cookbook "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" (via Taste of Home). As a matter of fact, some say that in Child's career, it's one recipe that stands above the rest. The famed French chef didn't invent coq au vin, but she brought it to the tables of many in the U.S. who'd never tried it before.
Today, chefs enjoy putting their own modern spin on the poultry dish, and Alex Guarnaschelli is no exception. The celebrity chef takes to Twitter, offering an important piece of advice to be mindful of when preparing coq au vin.
Alex Guarnaschelli's advice for keeping coq au vin's bacon crispy
Food Network star Alex Guarnaschelli was tweeted at by a fan lamenting over soggy bacon in the recipe. "I made Coq Au Vin and I used bacon, got it crispy and sautéed the chicken and veg in the grease. You later add in the bacon to the pot and it becomes flabby," shared the user, followed by "Help please."
Guarnaschelli tweeted the fan back, warning against adding the bacon until the very end, explaining "The liquid makes the bacon soggy. If you want it crunchy? Cook crispy and drop in at the very last minute." The exchange ends with the original poster offering, "Thank you for your help. I think it is a great answer to soggy bacon. The other thing I will do is reduce the amount of bacon grease I will cook the veg and chicken in."
Like Guarnaschelli's advice via Twitter, Once Upon a Chef suggests cooking the bacon first, rendering the meat until crispy, removing it from the pan, and using the fat to flavor the rest of the dish. Then, once everything else has finished cooking, add in the bacon.
Transforming chicken dishes like coq au vin into a mouth-watering masterpiece does take some time and effort. But, with the help of celebrity chefs posting easy-to-make recipes like Alex Guarnacheillis green salad or Bobby Flay's chocolate chip cookies, perfecting you're cooking skill is easier than ever before.