Name: Chicken Thighs with Red-Wine Mushroom Sauce
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 4 plain whole bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, individually measurable; Salt and black pepper; 4 strips thick-cut bacon, diced; 8 large cremini mushrooms, quartered; 1/2 yellow onion, finely diced; 1 shallot, thinly sliced; 1 cup dry red wine; 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock; 1 tsp all-purpose flour; 2 tbsp butter; 4 sprigs fresh thyme

Back to Coq au Vin-Style Chicken Thighs

Last updated Oct 20, 2026

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Prep: 20 min
Bath: 2 hours
Total: 2 hr 30 min
Yield: 4 servings

Main Coursechicken

From the guide

Cooking settings

This recipe follows one reviewed setting from the Coq au Vin-Style Chicken Thighs guide.

Bath setting: 165.2°F
Bath time: 2 hours
Check before finishing: 165°F
Best for: You are cooking four whole bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, fully thawed and refrigerator-cold, plain and separately bagged; every thigh must be measurable

Use four whole bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, fully thawed and refrigerator-cold. The source gives no individual weight or thickness limit; every thigh must be large enough for reliable center measurement. Breasts, drumsticks, boneless thighs, and whole birds need different methods. Use plain thighs without injection, added solution, curing, brining, stuffing, or marinade. Season with salt and pepper and seal separately without overlap. Keep wine, mushrooms, bacon, and sauce ingredients outside the pouch. Fully submerge each sealed pouch in a verified, preheated circulating bath, leaving water space around every bag. Start timing at immersion and complete the full listed time without interruption. Cover the bath for the longer option and monitor its water level. The listed time covers the bath stage. Allow additional time for thermometer checks, any further cooking needed to pass them, and finishing. Check the thickest meat of every thigh from the side, keeping the thermometer sensing area away from bone and fat; check uneven areas. Every measured spot must reach 165°F before browning or serving. Cook any cooler thigh further in a skillet or oven and recheck. Use clean utensils, discard all pouch liquid, and keep cooked food away from raw food, its juices, and used equipment. Dry the thighs and briefly brown the skin in a skillet. Spoon over a separately cooked red-wine, mushroom, onion, and bacon sauce and serve immediately. Do not simmer the finished thighs in the sauce. These methods cover immediate service only. Frozen starts, chilling, storage, reheating, and holding need separate methods. Other poultry cuts, skinless, injected, stuffed, rolled, marinated, or unmeasurable chicken is excluded. The longer option changes tenderness at the same bath setting; it does not lower the required center temperature. Read the food safety guide.

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Ingredients

4 plain whole bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, individually measurable
Salt and black pepper
4 strips thick-cut bacon, diced
8 large cremini mushrooms, quartered
1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
1 tsp all-purpose flour
2 tbsp butter
4 sprigs fresh thyme

Method

Prepare

Keep the thighs whole, follow the starting conditions below, season with salt and pepper, and seal separately.
Keep the wine, stock, mushrooms, bacon, and butter outside the chicken bags.

Cook

Set the water bath to 165.2°F.
Use four whole bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, fully thawed and refrigerator-cold. The source gives no individual weight or thickness limit; every thigh must be large enough for reliable center measurement. Breasts, drumsticks, boneless thighs, and whole birds need different methods. Use plain thighs without injection, added solution, curing, brining, stuffing, or marinade. Season with salt and pepper and seal separately without overlap. Keep wine, mushrooms, bacon, and sauce ingredients outside the pouch. Fully submerge each sealed pouch in a verified, preheated circulating bath, leaving water space around every bag. Start timing at immersion and complete the full listed time without interruption. Cover the bath for the longer option and monitor its water level. The listed time covers the bath stage. Allow additional time for thermometer checks, any further cooking needed to pass them, and finishing. Check the thickest meat of every thigh from the side, keeping the thermometer sensing area away from bone and fat; check uneven areas. Every measured spot must reach 165°F before browning or serving. Cook any cooler thigh further in a skillet or oven and recheck. Use clean utensils, discard all pouch liquid, and keep cooked food away from raw food, its juices, and used equipment. Dry the thighs and briefly brown the skin in a skillet. Spoon over a separately cooked red-wine, mushroom, onion, and bacon sauce and serve immediately. Do not simmer the finished thighs in the sauce. These methods cover immediate service only. Frozen starts, chilling, storage, reheating, and holding need separate methods. Other poultry cuts, skinless, injected, stuffed, rolled, marinated, or unmeasurable chicken is excluded. The longer option changes tenderness at the same bath setting; it does not lower the required center temperature.
Cook for 2 hours if you are cooking four whole bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, fully thawed and refrigerator-cold, plain and separately bagged; every thigh must be measurable.
Near serving time, cook the bacon in a skillet until crisp and fully cooked. Transfer it to a clean plate, leaving a little rendered fat in the skillet.
Brown the mushrooms, then soften the onion and shallot. Stir in the butter and flour, then add wine, stock, and thyme.
Simmer until the wine sauce reduces and lightly coats a spoon. Remove the thyme stems and season to taste.

Check before finishing

At the end of the bath, open the pouch and transfer each piece intact to a clean surface with clean utensils. Discard the pouch liquid and any sauce that touched raw food.
Use a clean food thermometer. Check the thickest meat of every thigh from the side, keeping the thermometer sensing area away from bone and fat; check uneven areas.
Every spot you check must reach 165°F. If any reading is lower, keep cooking with a method hot enough to reach this temperature and check each cooler spot again. Complete this check before finishing.

Finish

After every thigh passes its center check, discard the pouch liquid and pat the chicken dry, especially the skin.
Brown the skin briefly in a clean skillet. Keep the finished chicken out of a prolonged sauce simmer.

Serve

Spoon the sauce and mushrooms around the thighs, scatter with crisp bacon, and serve immediately.

Want another texture or thickness?

The complete guide has all reviewed settings, safety context, and finishing options.

Explore the Coq au Vin-Style Chicken Thighs guide