Cut a whole chicken into six or eight pieces: 2 wings, 2 breasts, 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs. You can also keep the drumsticks and thighs attached. A bird that has been allowed to rest in the refrigerator and salted for about 24 hours (loosely covered) is best.

Save the back, neck, feet, organs etc. to make bone broth with later. (I will save the bones from the coq au vin after we have eaten it and use it in the stock too.)

Pat dry and season chicken generously with salt and pepper. If the chicken was already salted as from the previous step, skip the salt as it will be overly salted.

In a heavy deep sided pan or French oven, (I use a 5 or 8 quart Le Crueset) crisp the lardons or bacon and then remove them from the heat. Do NOT drain the fat.

Add the seasoned raw chicken in small batches into the bacon fat and don’t overcrowd the pan to let it get nicely browned and crispy. Add more fat as necessary (ghee, bacon fat, olive oil etc.)

Deglaze the pan if required between batches.

As the chicken finishes browning remove it from the pan and set it aside on a plate.

Once the chicken is all done, add the onions, carrots, and celery into the same pot. Let them cook down and brown in the bacon fat. Add more fat as required.

Deglaze the pan as necessary as the fond (brown bits) build up and stick to bottom of your pot (use some of the wine but chicken stock or water are fine as well). Then scrape up the browned bits that will stick on the bottom with a wooden spoon.

Add the mushrooms and cook them down too. They will release a lot of water first before beginning to brown.

As you cook the vegetables, add more fat as necessary.

Add the garlic and stir until fragrant (about 30 seconds)

Add the flour and butter and stir, cooking it until it is no longer raw (2 minutes).

Add more fat as necessary and then deglaze the pot one final time. If you're using cognac or brandy, this is the time to add it.

Now add the chicken stock and half bottle (or more) of wine and bring it up to a simmer.

Add the bay leaves.

Add back in the crisped chicken pieces and any drippings that have come off the chicken.

Add the lardons/bacon. Some people prefer to add the bacon at the end when serving to keep it crispy but I actually prefer it in the stew.

The chicken should be almost completely submerged in the wine with scant parts exposed. Add more wine and/or stock if required. Do not drown the chicken in liquid. Exposed parts are fine.

More of the chicken will become exposed as the liquid reduces and cooks down — that is not a problem. If it gets too low as the cooking time goes on, you can add more chicken stock or even water, do not add more wine.

Allow your coq au vin to simmer on the lowest heat for about 2 - 2 ½ hours. Sometimes it will take as long as 3 hours. Leave it uncovered as it cooks. You can also put it inside your oven. I have tried both and find both methods to yield the same results — but your stovetop might run too hot and uneven, so if that is the case, consider using your oven instead.

Check the chicken at the two hour mark for tenderness with a knife or fork, it should be practically falling apart but not mushy or coming off the bone.

At the 2 hour mark add in the fresh thyme.

At the two hour mark I would also check the stew for flavor and salt but not before that as it will not have reduced enough yet.

Is it salted enough? Does it need more herbs? Add them now. Be careful with salting.

Once finished allow it to stand for 15 minutes before serving. Coq au vin is actually even better when eaten the next day.

Serve with something starchy like mashed potatoes or crusty sourdough bread.