Chicken Thigh and Bacon Soup with Red Wine
A hearty French-style soup of golden chicken thighs and bacon simmered with onions, carrots and thyme in a red wine water. High in protein and deeply savory, it is a warming one-pot dinner.
- Total
- 74 min
- Prep 15 · Cook 59
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Medium
You'll practice: Searing · Rendering fat
- Savory
- No rush
- French
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Pat the chicken thighs dry and season both sides with 0.5 tsp salt and 0.25 tsp black pepper. Cut the bacon into 1 cm pieces. Peel the onions and carrots, then cut the onions into 1 cm dice and the carrots into 1 cm rounds.
~15 min
Salting early seasons the meat and helps it brown, while dry surfaces prevent steaming so the chicken sears instead.
-
Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until the fat renders and the edges are golden, about 5 minutes. Lift the bacon out with a slotted spoon and set aside.
~5 min
Rendering bacon fat slowly draws out its flavor and leaves behind the fat needed to sear the chicken.
Rendering fat Cook bacon over moderate heat until the fat runs clear and the edges crisp; too-hot heat burns it before the fat renders.
-
Add the chicken thighs to the bacon fat and sear until golden brown on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. They do not need to be cooked through yet. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
~8 min
Searing creates Maillard browning, and those browned bits dissolved later give the soup its deep savory flavor.
Searing the chicken in the rendered bacon fat builds the base of the soup; do not rush this step, the browned bits left in the pot are what give the water its depth.
Searing Dry the meat and wait for a hard sizzle before moving it; a pale, sticking piece means the pan was not hot enough.
-
Add the onions and carrots to the pot and cook, stirring, until the onions soften and turn lightly golden, about 8 minutes. Pour in the red wine and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom. Simmer until the wine reduces by half, about 5 minutes.
~13 min
Deglazing with wine lifts the browned fond off the pot, and reducing concentrates its flavor before adding water.
-
Return the chicken and bacon to the pot. Add the 700 ml water and the thyme sprigs. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook until the chicken is tender and reaches 74°C/165°F, about 25 minutes.
~25 min
A gentle covered simmer keeps the chicken tender and lets the flavors meld without drying out the meat.
-
Lift out the chicken, shred it with two forks, and return it to the pot. Remove the thyme sprigs. Scoop about 2 cups of the vegetables and water into a blender and blend until smooth, then stir it back into the pot to thicken the soup. Season with the remaining 0.5 tsp salt and 0.25 tsp black pepper.
~8 min
Blending part of the vegetables releases their starch and fiber, thickening the soup naturally without any flour.
Blending only part of the soup keeps some carrot and onion pieces whole for texture while the pureed portion thickens the water without any starch.