'Smothered' Chicken with Bacon!

Found a GREAT, fun recipe in 'Food and Wine' magazine.  It looked really good, and I have been looking for another great Chicken recipe that my family would devour!  FOUND it!  As always, I have simplified the recipe, and altered it some!  My husband and boys, and a friend eating over for dinner, did, indeed, devour it, and told me I needed to blog this recipe, so we remember it and make it often!! Happy to oblige!! :)

'Baconie', gravy goodness!!

'Smothered' Chicken with Bacon!
10 bone in chicken thighs
6 thick slices of bacon- cut into strips
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 medium onion- sliced in half rings
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp Asian fish sauce
2 tsps soy sauce
6 bay leaves
3 cups chicken broth (I used 1 1/2 Tbsp of Knorr's powdered bouillon in 3 cups water)
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
pepper- to taste  (most likely, won't need salt..taste to check)
about 2-3 tsp Wondra Powder (for sauce at end)

Fry up bacon, til crisp.  After it is crisp, pull it out of pan and put aside into a small bowl.  KEEP the bacon grease in pan!

Place chicken thighs (excess skin and fat removed), skin side down into hot bacon grease.  Cook on med-high for about 5 minutes.

Flip over~ cook another 5 minutes!

Take Chicken out of frying pan, and put onto platter.  Leave 2 Tbsp of pan juices in pan!

Add sliced onions and bay leaves into pan and cook 2 minutes. Then add garlic, and cook another minute or two.

Add Vinegar, and soy sauce.  Scrape up bits.  Add chicken broth, fish sauce, and red pepper flakes!   Let simmer for 5 minutes.  Put chicken BACK INTO PAN, and simmer on low for 30 minutes, turning chicken over once during this time.  In pic below, I pulled out chicken again after cooking it the 30 minutes, then added Wondra powder to thicken up sauce.  IF sauce is too salty, add some water and reduce for a bit, then add Wondra Powder! 

After sauce has thickened some, add chicken back  into pan!  Let people take a piece of chicken, and spoon gravy-like sauce over it!

We served this over garlic and Herb Couscous!   The Couscous really soaks up all that flavor!! Such a great pairing!!  Hope you love, like we did!!