Let’s braise this classic French chicken dish:

1. Preheat Oven and Season Chicken:

• Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).
• Pat the chicken thighs thoroughly dry with paper towels. Season generously all over with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

2. Cook Bacon:

• Place a large, oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sliced bacon.
• Sauté, turning occasionally, until the bacon is evenly browned and crispy, about 8-10 minutes.
• Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving the rendered bacon drippings in the skillet. Set the bacon aside.

3. Sear Chicken:

• Increase the heat under the skillet to high.
• Carefully place the seasoned chicken thighs, skin-side down, into the hot bacon drippings.
• Cook until the skin is nicely browned and crisp, about 2 to 4 minutes per side. Work in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding the pan.
• Transfer the browned chicken to a plate. Drain and discard all but about 1 tablespoon of the drippings from the skillet.

4. Sauté Vegetables:

• Lower the heat under the skillet to medium-high. Add the quartered mushrooms, diced onion, and sliced shallots to the hot skillet with the remaining drippings. Add a pinch of salt.
• Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are golden brown and caramelized, about 7 to 12 minutes.

5. Create Roux Base & Deglaze:

• Stir the 2 teaspoons of all-purpose flour and 2 teaspoons of butter into the vegetable mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute until the flour is incorporated and lightly cooked (this forms a quick roux with the vegetables).
• Pour the red wine into the skillet. Bring it to a boil while scraping any browned bits (fond) from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.

6. Build the Sauce and Add Chicken:

• Stir the reserved cooked bacon and the fresh thyme sprigs into the red wine mixture in the skillet.
• Simmer until the wine is reduced by about one-third, which should take 3 to 5 minutes.
• Pour the chicken broth into the wine mixture. Stir well.
• Return the seared chicken thighs to the skillet, nestling them into the sauce. Bring the entire mixture back to a gentle simmer on the stovetop.

7. Oven Braise:

• Transfer the oven-proof skillet (uncovered, or covered if your lid is oven-safe and you prefer a slightly more moist braise initially) to the preheated 375°F oven.
• Bake for 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes, carefully spoon some of the pan juices over the chicken thighs.
• Continue cooking for about 30 minutes more, or until the chicken is no longer pink at the bone, the juices run clear, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (near the bone but not touching it) reads 165°F (74°C).

8. Rest Chicken and Reduce Sauce:

• Carefully remove the skillet from the oven. Transfer the cooked chicken thighs to a warm platter and tent loosely with foil to keep warm.
• Place the skillet with the remaining pan juices back on the stovetop over high heat.
• Bring the sauce to a boil and cook, skimming any excess fat off the top as necessary, until the sauce thickens slightly to a nice gravy consistency, about 5 minutes.
• Taste the sauce and season with additional salt and pepper if needed. Remove and discard the thyme sprigs.

9. Serve:

• Pour the rich, reduced sauce generously over the chicken thighs on the platter.
• Garnish with fresh parsley (not listed, but a classic garnish) if desired. Serve hot.

The multi-step process builds incredible depth of flavor!