Rooster

Coq

What it is

A cockerel kept past his first year has flesh laced with collagen and almost no fat, which is why he is inedible roasted and why the classic recipe drowns him in wine for hours. In the old dish the blood is stirred in at the end to bind the sauce, and it is the bird's own collagen, not butter, that gives coq au vin its texture.

In the kitchen

Marinate overnight in the wine, then braise at a bare simmer for three hours — a boil tightens the collagen instead of melting it, and it will not come back. A capon or a hen will be tender in half the time and taste of nothing beside it.

Goes with

Red wine vinegar Lard Onion Button mushroom Thyme Garlic Bay leaf Carrot

Same species

Egg white powder (albumin) Chicken tail (bonjiri) Bresse chicken Capon Chicken Cockscomb

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