Back to Chicken
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Overview
Cook the chicken gently, then crisp the skin and nestle the pieces into a red-wine sauce with mushrooms, pearl onions, and bacon. Keep the skin above the sauce so it stays crisp.
Time and temperature
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| Texture | Bath setting | Cook time |
|---|---|---|
| Tender | 155°–160°F | 3–4 hours |
| Very Tender | 165°–170°F | 4–6 hours |
Choose the time that matches the texture you want. Start timing when the bag goes into the fully heated water bath, and read the Cook safely section before serving.
Choose your texture
- 155°–160°FTender
- Juicy chicken that holds its shape in the red-wine sauce.
Best for
- Classic coq au vin
- Braised chicken dishes
- Elegant dinners
Notes
- Use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs for traditional preparation
- Dark meat works better than white meat for this dish
Tips
- Sear the skin after sous vide for crispy texture
- Use a good-quality red wine you'd drink — it affects the flavor
- Make the sauce while the chicken cooks for efficiency
- 165°–170°FVery Tender
- Soft chicken that nearly falls from the bone.
Best for
- Rustic family meals
- Comfort food
- Easy eating
Notes
- At this temp, the meat becomes very soft — handle gently
- Good for shredding into the sauce if you like
Tips
- This temperature is good for older, tougher birds
- The meat will be fall-off-the-bone tender
Get it ready
- Season bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
- Marinate them in red wine overnight if you want a deeper wine flavor.
- Arrange the thighs in one layer in food-safe bags, then seal.
- Keep the bags fully submerged while the chicken cooks.
Finish and serve
- Take the chicken out of the bags and pat the skin completely dry.
- Sear skin-side down in a hot skillet until the skin is crisp and golden.
- Set the chicken skin-side up in the red-wine sauce and simmer for 5–10 minutes.
- Finish with parsley and serve.
Useful tips
- Use a real bottle of Burgundy or Beaujolais, not cooking wine. The wine is the soul of this dish — if it tastes bad on its own, it'll taste worse after reducing. A $12 Pinot Noir is the right floor for ingredient quality. Cook the rest with dinner.
- Brown the chicken AND the lardons before bagging. Both contribute layers of flavor that no amount of sous vide time can create. Render the bacon first, set it aside, then brown the chicken in the bacon fat. That's the foundation.
- Sous vide at 155°–160°F for 4–6 hours. Lower and the dark meat doesn't fully render; higher and the white meat (if you're using a whole bird's worth of pieces) dries out. Six hours is the best range for legs and thighs.
- Anti-tip: don't add the pearl onions and mushrooms to the sous vide bag. They turn to mush at 155°F and bleed their water into the sauce. Sauté them separately in butter until golden, then fold them into the finished dish.
- Continue cooking as needed, then check every piece at 165°F in its thickest area with a food thermometer, avoiding bone. Continue cooking and recheck any piece below 165°F, then serve every piece immediately.
Cook safely
Use the bath time for texture, then use a food thermometer before serving. Check the thickest part of every piece of chicken, away from the bone. Every spot should reach 165°F. If any spot is cooler, keep cooking and check it again. Use clean plates and utensils, and keep cooked poultry away from raw juices.