French · Authentic-ish French
Coq au Vin
464 kcal a serving, against 780 for the traditional version. That is 316 kcal off, or 41%, with 45.6g of protein. Serves 6. 1 hour 15 minutes.
What the traditional version is
A whole chicken hacked into pieces, browned hard in bacon fat, then simmered for an hour in red wine and stock. The cooking liquor is finished by whisking in cold butter to make it glossy, rich and thick enough to coat a spoon.
What changed, and what each change costs
1200g of skin-on chicken swapped for skinless thighs
The skin goes completely flabby in a braise anyway, and it bleeds fat straight into the sauce. Skinless thighs hold their shape brilliantly and keep the meat moist without leaving an oil slick on top of your dinner.
What it costs you. You'll miss out on the rendered chicken fat that flavours the vegetables early on in the pan. I use a tiny drop of olive oil instead, which does the job but lacks that deep poultry richness.
200g of lardons down to 50g
You absolutely need that smoky pork background for it to taste French, but 200g turns it into a pork stew. I don't want that. Using 50g gives you the flavour base without drowning the dish in unnecessary fat.
What it costs you. There's less salty pork to chew on alongside the chicken and mushrooms. The dish becomes much more about the chicken itself.
Dropping the 50g of finishing butter
The traditional method mounts the sauce with cold butter for gloss and thickness at the very end. I just boil the sauce hard to reduce it instead, which concentrates the wine and chicken flavours.
What it costs you. The final sauce is darker and less velvety. A thinner, sharper gravy, then. Not a rich glaze, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 780 | 464 |
| Protein | 44.1g | 45.6g |
| Fat | 48.1g | 12.2g |
| Saturated fat | 15g | 3g |
| Carbohydrate | 19.3g | 18.8g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 5.7g | 9.8g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish French prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
Allergens. gluten, sulphites, celery.
The method is in the book
A sharp, deeply savoury red wine stew that leaves you feeling fed rather than sedated. The thinner sauce is a completely fair trade for the massive drop in fat, and the chicken pulls apart perfectly. Serve it with boiled potatoes if you want to soak up the gravy.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish French, along with 54 more. Buy the paperback