The 10 Commandments of coq au vin or mastering the art of French Cooking
I’ve been cooking since I was young and there have been different influences that have shaped how and what I cook. I cook for the joy of feeding people I love and for the pleasure of using skills I have developed.
Julia Child has probably been one of the biggest influences on my cooking. If you want to improve as a cook, ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’ (MTAOFC) is a must. It has no colour pictures and there is the odd line drawing say of a vegetable or some other item of food, if you’re lucky. It is the perfect artefact of the analogue age.
There is a lovely film called ‘Julie & Julia’ that tells the story of how Julia became an exceptional cook via her passion for food and the Cordon Bleu school. How she came to change cooking in America is beautifully told (with expected artistic license). Or you can read Julia’s own book ‘My Life in France’.
Julia was a perfectionist. She deconstructed classic French dish after French dish, learned how to make each, broke it down into steps and then wrote those steps down in MTAOFC. Julia’s recipes work. If you have the proper ingredients and carefully execute the steps – the results are wonderful. Any difficult skill or technique is explained.
I’m a word person (duh – blogger) so I’m good with the explanations. You might not be – but you can search any recommended technique and you’ll find a video on Youtube. Here’s one on how to bone a duck. Not recommended for vegetarians. Veggies and vegans – check out this one on making apple matchsticks.
Julia did fail the Cordon Bleu final exam on the first attempt but rallied and passed the second time. Working with MTAOFC you will absorb classic French techniques. And you will eat a lot of butter and cream. And bacon. Lots and lots. But Julia ate this stuff everyday, was a happy woman and lived to be 91.
Cooking ‘like Julia’ from her cookbook made me a much better cook. Many of most significant recipes have you cooking the elements separately and combining them at the point of serving. However, the impact of this approach is to call down devastation on the kitchen. You may need a dedicated assistant to help with the washing up or wash up at every pause in the recipe. Thank goodness for the Davinator.
Our favourite from MTAOFC is ‘coq au vin’ or chicken in red wine sauce. Sounds simple doesn’t it? You will find many many versions of this dish in France and many recipes on the Internet. Here’s a link to an updated version of Julia’s classic from ‘The Endless Meal’. I cook from the book but this is a good internet alternative.
Below are the ’10 Commandments of Coq au Vin’. I was inspired to write these after an early attempt at Coq au Vin. They are irreverent but I’m not mocking religion. We all worship different gods. My worship is probably bad for your cholesterol but your taste buds will be happy.
The Ten Commandments of Coq au Vin
1. I am Cordon Bleu, the Lord of French Cooking, who brought thee and thine out of the land of happy meals, ready meals, instant noodles and supersize me’. Julia Child is my prophet. Thou shalt have no other cookbooks or recipes before me.
2. Thou shall not make for thyself any ‘shortcuts’ when following my commandments. Thou shalt not omit to cartouche thy pots with buttered parchment paper. Thy shall peel as many tiny pearl onions as is commanded and caramelise them thyself. In all ways, thou shalt observe my guidance. For I, the Lord of French Cooking, shall visit the iniquity of the chef upon thee and thy dinner party guests even unto the dessert and petits fours for those who do not keep my laws.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord of French Cooking in vain. Thou shalt never say ‘Gordon Ramsay’, ‘Jamie Oliver’ or ‘Nigella Lawson’ and thou shalt not keep any of the works of these heathen in thy kitchen. For they are examples of false prophets and they and their followers are the unholy ones.
4. Thy shall sacrifice an entire day and a night to making of thy Coq au Vin. Thou shalt cause the coq to marinade for 24 hours from the eve of the Sabbath and then dedicate thyself to the making of the coq au vin from just after lunch on the seventh day until thy dinner party guests arrive that evening.
5. Honour my disciples Paul Bocuse and Michel Roux and all those that follow my true ways for they are thy teachers and can show thee the path of righteousness. Worship at the many shrines to me that thy shall find in France.
6. Thou shall procure a true French coq from Bresse, the only A.O.C (appellation de origine controlee) chicken (if possible) and the true pearl onions even if thou must worship at the shrine of natoora.co.uk or Whole Foods or another importer of gourmet produce.
7. Thou shalt sacrifice two good bottles of the true Burgundy that have ageth at least five years. These need not be a grand cru nor a premiere cru, a village appellation shall suffice. However, if thou truly honour the God of Cordon Bleu thou would happily give up thy Romanee Conti to worship him.
8. Thou shalt not retain the vegetables that are stewed with the coq in the sauce once the coq in sauce hath passed through the high heat of the oven. For these vegetables have served the Lord of Cordon Bleu with honour and their continuing presence would disturb the smooth deep brown of the ultimate sauce.
9. Thou shall degrease thy sauce. Indeed, if thou arriveth near the end of the creation of the coq au vin and there is a clean saucepan, spoon or kitchen implement – thy must pause to reflect if any steps have been omitted. For the scrubbing of pots, surfaces and implements is pleasing to the Lord of Cordon Bleu.
10. Thou shall use butter (unsalted French butter) with reckless abandon for it is pleasing to me. Thou shalt never use the words ‘too much butter’ for this is heresy and thee and all thy generations shall suffer if thou utter it.
A couple of tips for Americans:
- if you can’t get Burgundy at a reasonable price, then reasonably dry Pinot noir of decent quality. This is not the dish for any old cooking wine.
- get a fat roasting chicken if you can’t get a capon.
- eat the butter, you know you want to.
Thanks for reading the blog, for comments, for following and sharing.