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This is kind of a dumb question, but any suggestions about how to sub out the wine and alcohol? 🙂 Grape juice for the wine maybe… but what about the brandy?
I don’t think there is a non-alcohol substitute because you are cooking the alcohol off. I could be really wrong but would love to know if there is a substitute!
I didn’t have brandy so I substituted apple juice but I did use good red wine. Maybe you could use the non alcoholic wine?
Verjuice might work for the wine if you have a good gourmet deli nearby. I would skip the brandy – I can’t think of a good approximation.
any thoughts on using chicken breasts?
TO get rid of alcohol I would use Grape juice or NA wine and maybe add a little (1-2 T) vinegar to cut the sweetness – and just skip the brandy.
I do not care for the flavour of whiskey/brandy/cognac so was somewhat concerned about whether I would like this recipe or not. Ina came through again. It was delicious! Can hardly wait to post about it Thursday.
If you can’t use wine, I wouldn’t substitute anything else (except maybe the non-alcoholic wine) because it might affect the final flavor. With a good quality broth and browning, the end result should be just fine.
I agree about the vinegar…I’ve subbed vinegar for wine before (in other dishes) and it’s been good.
If you don’t want to use brandy/wine, just eliminate it. Grape juice will be WAY too sweet. It says a dry red wine so grape juice doesn’t even come close to that. Your flavor will be different without the wine, but I’m sure it will still be good. I made it with the wine and my husband, who is not a wine drinker, thought the wine flavor was too strong. I didn’t mind it since I drink wine, but if your not a wine lover eliminating it might be a good option.
I am pretty sure that alcohol never completely cooks off in a recipe. You will cook out the harshness of the liquor, but it will still be there. Especially with the brandy which is just flamed. It also has a very distinct flavor, so if you are not wanting to use it, definitely just eliminate it. Instead of wine, just use a good quality stock. It will still be different from the original, but better than substituting juice or NA wine.
I made mine in a slow cooker and it turned out great! The meat was so tender and flavorful!
I”m cooking mine now and my carrots do not want to seem to get done. Also, it is very watery, what do you do with all the liquid?
Hi everyone! I just posted my blog update. I wanted to let you all know that I successfully substituted apple juice for the entire amount of wine. We didn’t think it was too sweet at all. Good luck!!
Peggy, I served mine with rice in a bowl. There is a lot of liquid, almost like a stew. I figured rice would be a good option to absorb some of that flavor!
I made this recipe half vegetarian (no bacon, using tofu), and half as written (for the husband). The chicken dish is a clear winner. I served mine over mashed potatoes. Nice choice Bethany!
I had quite a lot of liquid with mine, and served it with egg noodles. Next time I think I will serve it in a deep plate, rather than on a dinner plate.
Excellent choice, Bethany! Thanks.
I served mine with mashed potatoes which was a great combination. Next time I would take out some of the liquid and try to boil it down to thicken it, maybe add a bit of flour like I would for a gravy.
Great flavor, but like I said on my blog, I won’t buy a whole chicken next time. Too much trouble when the precut stuff is sitting right there at the store.
I would not use grape juice whether it is sweetened or not since grapes are naturally sugary. Most of the alcohol in the wine dissipates, and there is little alcoholic content left in the dish.
For the liquid you could sub chicken broth but the taste will be very different. You would need to add some extra herbs to spice the broth.
The brandy burns off, too, and you are left with the flavor and not the alcohol. The brandy balances the acidity of the wine,I use a few Tablespoons of cognac in my onion soup, and it is delicious.
A cut-up chicken is fine to use, but chicken breasts alone might become too dry. Do not use skinless chicken because the skin keeps the chicken moist. You can remove the skin after cooking.
For a thickener for this dish, I use Arrowroot instead of flour. I serve the Coq au vin in bowls; dish out the chicken and vegetables and then add the broth.
Did anyone experience an overly SALTY dish?