Press the SAUTEE button on your instant pot. Add in the chopped bacon and cook until crispy, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Transfer the cooked bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Set aside.
4 slices of thick cut bacon
Season the chicken with kosher salt + pepper. In the bacon drippings, brown the chicken thighs in batches so you don't overcrowd the instant pot. Cook them skin side down for 5 minutes until golden brown. (You only need to cook the skin side. The rest of the chicken will cook in the instant pot, just developing flavor from the skin!) Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate.
2 pounds skin-on bone-in chicken thighs, kosher salt + pepper
Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the cooking fat from the instant pot. Add in the chopped onion and garlic. Season with kosher salt. Cook for 5 minutes until soft, scraping up all the brown bits from the bottom of the instant pot. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
1 yellow onion, 3 cloves of garlic
To the instant pot on top of the cooking onions, add in the carrots, mushrooms, red wine, chicken stock, tomato paste, browned chicken and thyme. Stir to combine.
1 cup red wine, 3/4 cup chicken stock, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 12 ounces mushrooms, 4 carrots, 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
Close with the lid, and make sure the vent is at SEALING. Hit CANCEL, then cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 10 minutes. Will take about 10-15 minutes to reach pressure, then it will start counting down from 10. After the 10 minutes is up, do a QUICK RELEASE, where you move the valve to VENTING to release all the steam. Once all the steam is gone and the float valve has dropped, you can safely open the instant pot.
Remove the lid, and press SAUTEE to bring to a boil.
Make a slurry by scooping out 1 cup of the cooking liquid to a bowl and whisk with the 2 tablespoons tapioca starch. Try and remove all the lumps. Pour this back into the instant pot and stir to combine to thicken the sauce slightly.
2 tablespoons tapioca starch
Hit cancel, and let the coq au vin cool for a few minutes before serving, since it will be very hot. Stir in the cooked bacon bits, stir to combine. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust if needed.
Serve over mashed cauliflower, and garnish with more fresh thyme. Leftovers will keep in an airtight container refrigerated for at least 5 days, or frozen for at least 6 months.