• Soak dried morilles in water for 2 hours and carefully wash (if you have tinned morilles, simply rinse)
• Cut chicken into approximately 10 pieces (wing, each leg into two, each breast into 2)
• Fry the chicken pieces in butter until golden brown (taking care not to burn the butter or chicken). While frying, sprinkle flour over the chicken pieces, turn and sprinkle flour on the other side, then turn again.
• Open bottle of vin jaune and set aside half a wine glass
• Put the chicken pieces into a pot together with remaining bottle of vin jaune and  morilles.
• Simmer for 30 minutes
• Add crème fraîche to the pot
• Simmer for another 30 minutes or until chicken pieces are very tender
• Add the half wine glass of vin jaune and serve immediately.
• Side dish: Rice

   

This is a traditional and very popular meal in the Jura department (in the East of France). Unfortunately, in some parts of the world, obtaining the ingredients (the 'Vin Jaune' wine and the Morille mushroons) can be difficult. If you are in France, it is well worth giving it a try.

Vin Jaune is a wine which is produced only in the Jura region of France and has a very distinctive taste which goes very well with wine cooked in this manner.

Normally, due to the cost of Vin Jaune, this recipe is made with ordinary white wine. A glass of Vin Jaune wine is then added at the end to provide the distinctive taste and aroma to the dish. If you intend to drink the bottle of Vin Jaune, this is a perfectly acceptable and normal approach. However, if you don't intend to drink the bottle, you might as well use the entire bottle in this fashion. Although more expensive, I find using a full bottle of Vin Jaune, rather than merely adding a glass at the end, provides an even more exceptional flavour.

Morilles are a very fine mushroom with exceptional taste and aroma (although not cheap).

For other Coq au Vin recipes, as well as its history, click on Coq au Vin.