When we want warming stews

STARTER

Pâté of chicken livers

MAIN COURSE

Coq au vin

DESSERT

Baked apple

Paté

As well as the coq au vin, the pâté and the onion bread can also be made the day before. Light the charcoal in the Big Green Egg, with the Stainless Steel Grid, and heat to a temperature of 180 °C.

Place the onions on the grid, close the lid and allow the onions to roast for about 1 hour. In the meantime, soak a handful of Wood Chips in water and brush the chicken livers with sunflower oil.

For the dough, mix the yeast with the lukewarm water and allow to stand for about 5 minutes. Place the flour with a pinch of salt in a bowl and mix together. Add the yeast mixture and knead into a firm but elastic dough. Cover with a clean tea towel and let the dough rise for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Take the onions off the grid and remove the grid. Sprinkle the Wood Chips with residual moisture over the smouldering charcoal and set the convEGGtor. Replace the grid and place the Round Perforated Porcelain Grid on top. Do not place it in the middle, but slightly to the side.

Distribute the chicken livers over the Round Perforated Porcelain Grid and place the onions next to the livers on the grid. Close the lid of the EGG. Setting the convEGGtor will make the temperature fall considerably, which is also the intention. Try to reduce this to 110 °C and smoke the chicken livers and the onions for around 15 minutes. The chicken livers should still be slightly pink on the inside.

Set the chicken livers aside and allow the onions to cool down slightly so that they can be handled. Heat up the Big Green Egg to 200 °C. In the meantime, give the dough some further attention: punch it down, cover again with the tea towel and allow to rise for another 30 minutes.

Peel the onions and coarsely cut them. Put these, together with the apple syrup and red port, in the Round Drip Pan and place the Pan onto the grid. Close the lid of the EGG and allow to boil down for about 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, finely chop the sage. Remove the Drip Pan from the grid, place the Baking Stone on the grid and heat the EGG to 240 °C.

Blend the cooled chicken livers smooth in the food processor with chopping knife. Add the mascarpone, a tablespoon of the cooked onion mixture, the finely chopped sage, the cognac and salt and pepper to taste, and briefly process to obtain a delicious, creamy pâté.

Spoon the pâté into a dish and store covered in the fridge. The quantity is about twice as much as you need, but the pâté is also wonderful on bread. You can store it in the fridge for up to three days.

Dust the worktop with flour, place the dough on this and punch down again. Shape into a round disc of dough about 1 cm thick. Place the dough on the Flat Baking Stone and spread the onion mixture over the dough, leaving an edge of about 2 cm free. Close the lid of the EGG and cook for about 15 minutes until golden brown and done.

Remove the onion bread from the EGG, allow to cool and store until preparation in a paper bag at room temperature. Remove the Flat Braking Stone, the grid and the convEGGtor with the EGGmitt. Replace the grid  to prepare the coq au vin.

Coq au vin

Heat the Big Green Egg, with the Cast Iron Dutch Oven on the grid, to a temperature of 230 °C. In the meantime, cut the legs from the chicken and cut the drumsticks from the thighs. Cut off the wings and the fillets (with the underlying bone) and halve the fillets. You could also ask the butcher to do this for you.

Heat the sunflower oil in the Cast Iron Dutch Oven and put the flour in a plate. Season the chicken portions with salt and pepper, roll them in the flour and shake off any excess flour. Fry the chicken portions on all sides until golden brown in the Cast Iron Dutch Oven, closing the lid of the EGG in between turning the chicken pieces over. Remove the chicken from the pan and set them aside. In the meantime, cut the bacon into cubes. Peel the carrots, clean the celery and coarsely chop both. Brush the mushrooms clean and cut off the stems. Wash the potatoes and peel the onion and garlic. Dice the onion and finely chop the garlic.

Sauté the onion and garlic in the Cast Iron Dutch Oven and then add the bacon. Fry for a few minutes, then add the carrot, celery and mushrooms. Deglaze with the wine and the cognac, bring to the boil and finally add the stock and the herbs. Following each action, close the lid of the EGG.

Wait until the liquid boils and return the chicken portions to the Cast Iron Dutch Oven. Take the Dutch Oven from the grid, remove the grid and place the convEGGtor. Return the grid and put the Dutch Oven back. Place the lid on the pan and the close the lid of the EGG. Placing the convEGGtor means the temperature inside the EGG will fall considerably, let it fall to about 150 °C. Allow to simmer for about 45 minutes, add the potatoes and leave to simmer for a further 15 minutes.

After 60 minutes in total, remove the lid from the Cast Iron Dutch Oven, close the lid of the EGG and allow to simmer again for another 30 minutes. This allows the sauce to reduce and the coq au vin to acquire that delicious Big Green Egg flavour. During the final 30 minutes, stir the coq au vin regularly. Allow the coq au vin to cool down and store in the fridge until needed. Put out the EGG or get it ready to prepare the pâté.

Baked apple

Set four butterscotch candies aside and finely grind the remainder in a food processor or in the chopper of the hand blender. Store in a foodcontainer until ready to use.

Coq au vin (part 1)

Start preparing the main course, which is easy because in this case the temperature of the EGG goes from low to high. What’s more, the coq au vin stays warm in the Cast Iron Dutch Oven for a long time.

Light the charcoal in the Big Green Egg, if necessary. With the convEGGtor and the stainless steel grid, heat to 150 °C. Place the Cast Iron Dutch Oven with the coq au vin, with lid, on the grid and close the lid of the EGG. Allow to heat up slowly.

Take the Cast Iron Dutch Oven out of the EGG and place on a heat-resistant surface. Now continue preparing the onion bread to go with the pâté.

Pâté

Take the pâté from the fridge, place the Flat Baking Stone on the grid and heat the EGG to a temperature of 240 °C. Place the onion bread on the Flat Baking Stone, close the lid of the EGG and heat for around 5 minutes.

Serve the warm onion bread with the pâté and optionally with a salad.
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Coq au vin (part 2)

Return the Big Green Egg in the current configuration to a temperature of 240 °C for preparing the dessert. In the meantime, sit down and enjoy the coq au vin.

Baked apple

For the tastiest result, it is better to prepare the dessert at the last minute. This is no problem in itself, as it is ready in no time.

Leave the puff pastry to thaw. Dust the worktop with flour and place the puff pastry onto this. Beat the egg and brush the slices of puff pastry with this. Peel the apples and remove the cores. Cut off a piece from the top and bottom so they stand on the puff pastry in a stable manner. Halve the apples widthwise, so four thick rings remain.

Place an apple ring on each piece of puff pastry with the widest side upward. In the middle of each ring (where the core was), place a whole butterscotch candy and sprinkle the apple ring with the finely chopped butterscotch candies.

Place the pieces of puff pastry with apple onto the Flat Baking Stone using a spatula. Close the lid of the EGG and bake the slices for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and done. Spoon a ball of vanilla ice cream onto each one and serve immediately.