National Coq Au Vin Day | Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore

It’s National Coq Au Vin Day. It was also National Coq Au Vin Day ^[4] on May 22nd. Last time I made Julia Child’s Coq Au Vin, a classic. It was frying chicken in a red-wine based sauce with mushrooms and the most delicate pearl onions I’ve ever had.

I knew what I wanted to do because in anticipation for the first National Coq Au Vin Day I watched the Julia Child episode where she was simultaneously making traditional Coq Au Vin and Chicken Fricasse right next to each other in separate electric skillets. She was explaining that Chicken Fricassee is Coq Au Vin with white wine.

So, the plan was to make Chicken Fricassee for National Coq Au Vin Day #2.

But then I added a little bit of this, a little bit of that, didn’t use as many mushrooms as I anticipated and I realized: I don’t have Chicken Fricasse, I have Chicken Cacciatore. It’s in a slow cooker and it smells fabulous and all it needs is a pinch of salt to bring everything together and this may be even better than what my Chicken Fricassee would’ve been.

So, it’s National Coq Au Vin Day and I’m serving you up some Chicken Cacciatore. I’m not apologizing; such is life. Also, I guess we are celebrating National Chicken Cacciatore Day twice because there’s another one coming up in October. 😉

Print Recipe ^[5]

Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds frying chicken
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 Tbsp cumin
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons of butter. Place the chicken in the pan, skin side down, careful not to overcrowd. Work in batches if necessary. Once the chicken pieces are nicely browned, remove from the pan and set aside.
2. In the bowl of a slow cooker, combine onion, garlic, and green bell pepper. Stir in tomatoes and wine. Season with cumin, bay leaf, salt, and pepper.
3. Place browned chicken pieces in the slow cooker, and ladle the mixture over and around them.
4. Cover and cook on low heat for 6-8 hours.