In his autobiography, A taste of my life, Raymond Blanc tells us how he has modernized his mother’s recipe for coq au vin. The story starts on page 237 with a challenge issued to Keith Floyd and ends on page 242 with a rough indication of what Raymond does when cooking coq au vin. I don’t have access to old roosters but when I saw I could get some baby chickens from our local farm I decided to modernize this dish and made Petit Poulet Au Vin.
have you cooked petit poulet?

Petit Poulet Au Vin
Ingredients
- 750 mls red wine
- 1 large carrot, sliced
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 leek, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sprig thyme
- 2 Petit Poulet
- 15 mls oil
- 25 g butter
Method
- Add the wine to a heated sauce pan and immediately turn the heat down
- Simmer until reduced to 500mls
- Place all the vegetables and herbs in a large dish
- Pour the wine over the vegetables and allow the wine to cool
- Put the poulet into the marinade and leave for at least 6 hours
- Preheat the oven to 180° Celsius
- Remove the poulet from the marinade
- Pour the marinade through a sieve, retaining everything
- Heat 15g butter with the oil in a large frying pan
- Pat the poulet dry and brown on all sides
- Transfer to an oven proof dish and cook for 35 minutes
- Put the vegetables into the frying pan and cook for 5 minutes
- Add the wine and allow to simmer while the poulet cooks
- Remove the poulet from the oven and allow to rest
- Pour the reduced sauce through a sieve and return the liquid to the frying pan
- Stir in 10g butter and spoon oven the poulet when serving
Click on the links for conversions and notes.
Ingredients used for Petit Poulet Au Vin:
- use a red wine you would drink! Do not skimp on the quality of the wine you buy. Remember that the bottle, closure and label cost money and are factored in to the price of the bottle of wine you are buying
- carrots, celery and onions are known as the holy trinity in most kitchens. Use these as a base for any casserole you are preparing
- leeks are a great vegetable to keep in your fridge as they are so versatile. Sweat them down and add cream for a lovely side dish. Or cook on the BBQ when you are grilling meat
- make sure you choose firm heads of garlic. Do not worry if they sprout. But if it bothers you, plant them to grow your own
- keep dried bay leaves in your pantry and add to any casserole. Try in your desserts as well for a different flavour profile.
- plant thyme in your garden for use all year round. Or between pavers to fill the gap. A stunning scent will be released when you walk over the plants
- if you cannot find petit poulet, buy a normal size chicken and butcher it
- always use a good quality oil and make sure it does not get exposed to sunlight otherwise it will go rancid
- if you use salted butter remember to adjust the seasoning in your recipe accordingly
What I blogged:
- one year ago – horseradish
- two years ago – Simply Asia, Somerset West
A great classic dish which is quite as good with poulet as it is with coq.
*grin*
Sounds great Tandy! And those little poulets are a fantastic option if we can’t find old roosters… 🙂
they make a great dinner party meal!
A classic dish with a more modren (and easily achievable) twist!
I think this is one dish anyone can do at home 🙂
What a lovely chicken dish my friend 😀
Cheers
CCU
thank you so much Uru 🙂
No I haven’t cooked petit poulet, but your recipe sounds wonderful.:)
thank you AD 🙂
I’ve never had the pleasure of making petit poulet before, but I must say I just may soon. It looks incredible!
thank you so much Kay 🙂
I’ve never tried this but now I want to!
I hope you do!
Gosh, I don’t know. Is this what I call a Cornish Game Hen?
petit poulet is small chicken – I debated using that in the title, but it did not sound as exotic 😉
This is a dish I have never tasted or maybe just a really unique title. Yours looks beautiful with lots of yummy savory bits.
It is a unique title, and very delicious 🙂
A classic Tandy, simply a classic!
Thank you Claire!
Lovely recipe, Tandy! My children don’t want to eat a baby chicken, but I have made it before!
I’m sure you could do this with chicken pieces 🙂
Tandy, yum!! What have you served it on?
I had to go and look at the pic! It is on a bed of quinoa 🙂