French Coq au Riesling: Tender chicken legs cooked in a creamy white wine sauce with mushrooms and grapes. This dish is perfect for a cozy meal or a nice dinner party.
What is Coq au Riesling?
Coq au riesling is the Alsatian version of the traditional and very famous French Coq au Vin. Alsace is a region in eastern France, next to Germany and Switzerland.
While the traditional Coq au Vin is made with red wine, Coq au Riesling is chicken in a white wine sauce made with the local Riesling d'Alsace.
Try more French recipes such as Red Wine Beef Stew, French-Style Green Beans, or French Palmiers.
Recipe ingredients
Chicken: Traditional recipes use a whole chicken cut into pieces, but I prefer using whole chicken legs or a mix of thighs and drumsticks. Chicken breasts can become dry if cooked as long as the legs, so I avoid using them in stews. You could add them later, but I find it easier to stick with legs. For recipes that highlight chicken breasts, try these cast iron chicken breasts or baked BBQ sauce chicken breasts.
Riesling is a white wine with German heritage, aromatic and with a high acidity. It is rather on the sweet side, which tries to balance the higher acidity of the wine, but drier sorts are available. To make today's Coq au Riesling, I used an off-dry Riesling, which means a white wine that is only very slightly sweet, a rather dry white with a sweet element in it.
Mushrooms: I used cremini mushrooms, but white button mushrooms would be fine as well.
Grapes: Using grapes is a slight twist on the traditional Coq au Riesling, and some recipes include them while others do not. I always use grapes in this dish because they add wonderful sweetness and freshness. I highly recommend not leaving them out.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make coq au riesling?
- Steps #1,2: Brown the chicken legs in 1 ½ tablespoons of the butter. This will take about 4 minutes per side; the chicken should get a nice color.
- Step #3: Place the chopped onions around the chicken legs and cook them for about 2 minutes.
- Step #4: Add the sliced mushrooms and stir for about 2 minutes.
- Step #5: Add the Riesling. Sprinkle the chicken with some salt and pepper, bring to a boil, turn the heat down, and cook with the lid on for about 25-30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken legs from the sauce and keep warm.
- Step #6: Reduce the sauce in the pan by half; this should take about 8 minutes, but check; it depends on the heat and on the size of the pan.
- Step #7: Add heavy cream, stir well, and simmer until the sauce is slightly thickened. Adjust the taste.
- Step #8: While the sauce cooks, halve the grapes if they are too large. Cook them in butter for about 2 minutes, stirring often. Add the grapes to the sauce, return the chicken legs to the pan, and serve.
How to serve?
The dish can be served immediately, but, like most stewed dishes, the Coq au Riesling is even better served the next day; the flavors will have time to meld and develop in the refrigerator.
This fact makes the white wine chicken a great dish to cook for guests. It can be made in advance and reheated when you are ready to sit down at the table; it looks great, and it tastes fantastic. It can be made in larger batches, and it is not very expensive either.
What to serve with Coq au Riesling?
Most of the time, I serve the French chicken with spätzle. If you don't have access to spätzle and don't want to make your own, noodles are a very good alternative. I would choose tagliatelle or ribbon noodles.
Otherwise, you can consider buttered potatoes with parsley, French crusty bread, or even rice.
Coq au Riesling
Ingredients
- 1 onion about 2 oz/ 60 g
- 7 oz cremini mushrooms 200 g, Note 1
- 4 chicken legs about 9 – 10.5 oz/ 250 – 300 g each
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 1¾ cup Riesling 400 ml
- ½ cup heavy cream 125 ml
- 5.5 oz white grapes 150 g
- fine sea salt and white pepper
- some fresh parsley
Instructions
- Prepare vegetables: Chop the onions and set them aside. Clean the mushrooms with kitchen paper and slice them. Set aside.1 onion + 7 oz cremini mushrooms/ 200 g
- Brown chicken legs: Heat 1 ½ tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet or pan, one which has a lid. Cook the chicken legs until nicely browned on both sides, about 4 minutes on each side.2 tablespoons unsalted butter + 4 chicken legs
- Add the chopped onions and cook, stirring often, for about 2 minutes. Add the sliced mushrooms and stir for about 2 minutes. Add the Riesling.1¾ cup Riesling/ 400 ml
- Simmer coq au riesling: Sprinkle the chicken legs with salt and white pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover, turn down the heat, and simmer for about 25-30 minutes or until the chicken legs are cooked through and tender. Remove the chicken legs from the sauce and keep warm while you finish the sauce.fine sea salt and white pepper
- Make sauce: Let the sauce cook on medium-high heat, uncovered, until reduced by half, about 8 minutes. Add the cream, turn the heat down, and let bubble gently for about 2 minutes until slightly thickened. Adjust the taste with salt and white pepper.½ cup heavy cream/ 125 ml + fine sea salt and white pepper
- Roast grapes: While the sauce cooks, halve the grapes if very large. Heat the remaining ½ tablespoon butter in a pan. Add the grapes and roast for about 2 minutes, stirring often.5.5 oz white grapes/ 150 g
- Serve: Return the chicken legs to the pan with the sauce, add the grapes, and stir gently around thems. Sprinkle with chopped parsley just before serving. Serve with spätzle or pasta.some fresh parsley
angiesrecipes says
The chicken is perfectly browned and that white wine sauce looks divine!