Burgundy Coq Au Vin - Bresse Poultry
The French Coq Au Vin is a popular speciality of the Burgundy region. Real ambassador of the Bresse poultry, this traditional dish is made from a cockerel delicately braised and cooked in a red wine sauce. Free range poultry from the old region of Bresse is definitely the best choice for this typical French recipe.
Burgundy poultry is widely known under the French name Poulets de Bresse, certainly to retain the whole authenticity and quality of the produce. Raised according to traditional local methods, free range chickens from the former region of Bresse (part of the current Burgundy) are today considered as being a benchmark in Gastronomy. The tender capons have been a common sight in family meals for a long time in France, and poulardes (fatted chickens) have become a classic of Christmas feasts.
The renowned coq au vin is definitely one of the French gastronomy's tastiest dishes. Originated from Dijon, in the Burgundy region, this mouth-watering rustic classic today boasts many different recipes. But for generations, the essential element in cooking a traditional coq au vin has consisted in marinating the chicken in red wine one day before.
To really indulge your taste buds, choose Burgundy ingredients; a Bresse cockerel with white skin (yellow if corn-fed), firm and plump flesh, and a full-bodied Burgundy red wine are simply perfect for this speciality. Then every cook may season the dish as he/she fancies - garlic, bay leaves, rosemary, parsley being the most enjoyed herbs to flavour the meat whilst celery and mushrooms to complement the sauce. The French coq au vin is in fact a dish of divine simplicity which highlights the superb-quality meat from Bresse.
"Bresse Poultry" is actually the only poultry which received the AOC Quality Label (in 1957). Like for other gourmet French produce such as wines, the A.O.C. appellation defines precise rules regarding the production. As far as Bresse chickens are concerned, the geographic area and conditions of breeding are strictly regulated.
Top Tip! How to make the difference between "simple" chickens and authentic Bresse poultry? Considered to be the Rolls Royce of chickens, Bresse poultry is actually recognizable thanks to distinguishing features: white feathers, fine blue feet, red wattles, white skin and flesh, and the essential A.O.C. label from the "Volaille de Bresse Interprofessional Committee".
