Coq au Vin, traditional, Slow-Cooker; new toy

Slow Cooker Coq au Vin

Total time: 8 hours

plus marinating

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken thighs, boneless, skinless
• 4 chicken legs, boneless, skinless
• 1 onion, cut into wedges
• 1 carrot, cut in half the long way, then into 1 inch pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed lightly
• 1 bouquet garni – or 1 bay leaf, 1/2 tsp rosemary, 1/2 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp parsley
• 1 bottle (.75L) hearty red wine, decent, drinkable wine, you may not use it all
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 3oz (90gr) bacon, cut into matchsticks
• 4oz (120gr) mushrooms, trimmed. sliced
• 8 shallots, peeled, left whole 
• 1 tbs pure cocoa   not a ‘hot chocolate’ mix
• 2 tbs cornstarch (corn flour, maizena) dissolved in 3 tbs water you may not use it all

Instructions:

• To marinate:
• Put the chicken, onion, carrot, garlic and bouquet garni in a deep bowl.
• Pour enough wine over to cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
• To cook the chicken:
• Remove chicken from marinade and drain well (over marinade). 
• Reserve marinade.
• Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat.  Add bacon and fry until crisp.
• Put into slow cooker
• Add shallots to skillet and lightly brown.
• Add to slow cooker
• Add chicken to skillet and brown on all sides.
• Add to slow cooker.
• Add the mushrooms to the slow cooker.
• Add a bit of marinade to the skillet to get all the good bits, stir well and add to slow cooker.
• Add all vegetables and herbs from marinade to chicken and enough of the marinade to almost cover the chicken. Add more wine if needed. 
• Cover and cook on low for 7 – 8 hours, stirring / rearranging chicken once or twice.
• To finish:
• Using a ladle, remove as much of the wine sauce as possible and put into a saucepan.
• Turn slow cooker off but leave chicken in and cover to keep warm. 
• Bring sauce to a boil over medium heat.
• Put cocoa into a small bowl.  Slowly whisk in 1/2 cup sauce.
• Slowly whisk cocoa mixture into simmering sauce.  Continue whisking until it returns to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and allow to reduce slightly, about 5 minutes.
• Dissolve cornstarch in water. Use to thicken sauce to desired consistency if needed. (The cocoa will thicken it slightly.) I used about half – the sauce is supposed to be a bit thick but not gluey.
• Arrange chicken and vegetables on a small platter. Spoon some sauce over and serve the rest on the side.