Name: Simple Slow-Cooker Coq Au Vin
Total time: 6 h
Ingredients: 8 (5- to 7-ounce) bone-in chicken thighs , trimmed; Salt and pepper; 1 tablespoon vegetable oil; 1 cup frozen pearl onions; 4 slices thick-cut bacon , cut into 1-inch pieces; 10 ounces cremini mushrooms , trimmed and quartered; 1/4 cup all-purpose flour; 1 tablespoon tomato paste; 2 garlic cloves , minced; 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme; 1 3/4 cups dry red wine; 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Why This Recipe Works

Julia Child put this dish (with all of the components cooked separately) on the American food map in the early 1960s. For an easier version made in the slow cooker, we first browned flavorful chicken thighs in a skillet and then transferred them to the slow cooker. Next, we crisped bacon in the skillet and set it aside so that it would still be crispy when we added it back at the end of cooking. Though we discarded most of the fat from the chicken and bacon to control greasiness, we used a bit of it to help build a quick sauce, sautéing mushrooms in ¼ cup of the combined fat before adding tomato paste, garlic, and flour to the skillet. Just 1 3/4 cups of dry red wine was all we needed to finish our sauce, and dried thyme added some depth. After 6 to 8 hours on low, our Slow-Cooker Coq au Vin was ready to be topped with minced fresh parsley and pieces of crispy bacon.

Before You Begin

Try to find chicken thighs that are within the weight specifications so they will all fit in the skillet in one batch. We like serving this dish with boiled red potatoes.

Instructions

Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook until well browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer chicken, skin side up, to slow cooker. Add onions to slow cooker.

Pour chicken fat from skillet into bowl and set aside. Add bacon to now-empty skillet and cook over medium heat until crispy, 5 to 7 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel–lined plate; refrigerate until needed.

Pour bacon fat into bowl with chicken fat. Add 1/4 cup fat mixture to now-empty skillet and heat over medium heat until shimmering. Add mushrooms and cook until well browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in flour, tomato paste, garlic, and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in wine. Bring to simmer and cook until thickened and spatula leaves trail in sauce, about 2 minutes. Pour sauce over chicken in slow cooker.

Cover and cook until chicken is tender, 4 to 6 hours on high or 6 to 8 hours on low. Using slotted spoon, transfer chicken to serving dish. Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Cover bacon with paper towel and microwave until hot, about 1 minute. Pour sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with parsley and bacon. Serve.