Group · Meat
Hen
The hen is a spent laying bird, more than a year old, not to be confused with the chicken slaughtered at around two or three months. Its meat is firmer and more flavoursome, but it needs long cooking: it is the meat of the classic French poule au pot and of broth.
In terms of nutrition facts, raw meat and skin: 255 kcal per 100 g, with 20.3 g of fat and 17.6 g of protein. It provides 6.26 mg of vitamin B3, 204 mg of potassium, 172 mg of phosphorus and 8 µg of selenium per 100 g, with just 0.18 g of salt.
Macronutrient breakdown
Nutrition table per 100 g
| Calories | 255 kcal |
| Kilojoules | 1060 kJ |
| Protein | 17,6 g |
| Carbohydrate | 0,4 g |
| Fat | 20,3 g |
Micronutrients per 100 g
All measured nutrients, ranked by share of the daily reference intake.
- Vitamin B36,26 mg39 %
- Omega-6 LA3,04 g30 %
- Phosphorus172 mg25 %
- Vitamin B60,33 mg24 %
- DHA0,05 g20 %
- Vitamin B50,92 mg15 %
- Selenium8 µg15 %
- Vitamin B120,32 µg13 %
See the other 17 nutrients
- Vitamin B20,17 mg12 %
- Zinc1,19 mg12 %
- Potassium204 mg10 %
- Vitamin B10,11 mg10 %
- Total omega-30,21 g8 %
- Omega-3 ALA0,15 g8 %
- Iron1,04 mg7 %
- Copper0,07 mg7 %
- Vitamin A52 µg7 %
- Magnesium20 mg5 %
- EPA0,01 g4 %
- Vitamin K12,4 µg3 %
- Vitamin B96 µg3 %
- Vitamin E0,33 mg3 %
- Calcium10 mg1 %
- Iodine1,57 µg1 %
- Manganese0,02 mg1 %
Anses Ciqual 2025. Source: Anses, 2025, Ciqual food composition table
Tips
It is fattier than chicken. 20.3 g of fat against 9.88 g for a roast chicken with its skin: the age of the bird explains the gap. The fat sits mostly under the skin, so it is easy to remove.
Poaching solves the fat problem. In a poule au pot, the fat rises to the surface of the broth and is skimmed off. It is one of the few dishes where you can remove a large share of a meat’s fat without losing any flavour.
It needs at least two hours. Its collagen only turns to gelatine after long, gentle cooking. Grilled or roasted like a chicken, it would be inedible: this is a meat for broths and slow stews.
The broth is the real prize. Rich in gelatine, it makes a soup base far beyond anything a stock cube can offer. Chill it and the set fat layer lifts off in one go.
0.18 g of salt: this is a meat, not a cured meat. It does not count towards the 150 g a week guideline for processed meats, unlike the cured products in the same Meat family.