This braised chicken in a red wine reduction sauce is a classy way to French up your next dinner party for not that much money….in so much as you can use two-buck Chuck Cabernet for the wine sauce and chicken thighs are about the least expensive meat you can buy. There are a lot of step in the process, but all in all, this is an easy recipe. If you can’t find button mushrooms, use any white mushroom.
Ingredients
- 6 Chicken thighs – bone-in and skin-on
- 8 oz Bacon – sliced sliced into 1/2-inch ribbons
- 10 Button mushrooms – quartered
- 0.5 Onion – diced
- 2 Shallots – sliced
- 6 sprigs Thyme ~0.75 tsp dried
- 2 tsp Flour
- 2 tsp Butter
- 12 oz Red wine
- 8 oz Chicken broth
Process
- Mise en Place – measure and prepare your ingredients prior to starting.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Pat chicken thighs dry, then season completely with salt and black pepper.
- Heat large oven-proof skillet on MH and add bacon ribbons. Turn occasionally until evenly browned, ~10 mins. Transfer bacon to a paper-towel lined plate and leave grease in skillet.
- Increase heat to H and place chicken, skin-side down. Cook until browned, ~4 mins per side. Transfer to a plate; discard all but 1 tsp of drippings.
- Lower heat to MH; saute mushrooms, onion, and shallots in the hot skillet until golden and caramelized, 7 – 12 mins. Add a pinch of salt at the end.
- Melt butter in vegetable mixture and stir in flour until completely incorporated.
- Pour red wine into the skillet and bring to a boil while scraping the fond off of the bottom of the pan. Add bacon and thyme, then simmer until wine is reduced 1/3rd, ~5 mins.
- Add chicken broth and set chicken thighs into skillet; bring wine and stock to a simmer.
- Place pan in preheated oven for 30 mins. Spoon pan juices over the chicken and cook until internal temp near bone is 165 F., ~30 mins.
- Turn oven off and transfer chicken to a platter. Cover with foil and place back in oven to stay warm.
- Place skillet on stove at H, and reduce pan juices. Skim off fat from top. Reduce until sauce thickens slightly, ~5 mins.
- Remove thyme and season with salt and pepper.
- Pour sauce over chicken and serve.
