Many French regions claim coq au vin, or chicken stew, as their own, but legend has it that the recipe originated with Caesar's chef. Different variants exist throughout the country.
Nearly all recipes other than those altered for low-fat diets start with lardons, or their more available substitutes, unsmoked bacon or pancetta. The lardons are cooked, and the rendered fat used for browning the other ingredients, and (with the addition of the flour) to form the roux which thickens the sauce. Generally, a full bottle of red wine is used, and brandy may be added.
More traditional versions of coq au vin have the sauce thickened with rooster blood at the end of cooking.
Porcini mushrooms, while not particularly authentic, are good in this dish.
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