Citrus Braised Chicken (for Tacos + Bowls )

There aren’t an abundance of animal proteins in this space, but you must believe that when I find a good one it goes right here so I can reference it again. And this Citrus Braised Chicken is a Hail Mary I can’t wait to give to you.

The recipe was somewhat accidental; we were having guests over for a casual Sunday dinner, and I had accidentally ordered navel oranges instead of mandarins. Who eats a navel orange these days? Not me, and definitely not Leo. But their juice I will absolutely squeeze.

So I turned all of those poor unwanted little oranges into juice and poured it over chicken for tacos that Sunday afternoon. I had a little nap, read a magazine (!!) made some amped up guacamole (coming soon) and Pete poured us mezcal margaritas. The sun hung low, and I went back to the oven and a truly perfect braise was ours.

This week, I had the pleasure of making this dish for my friends at Rapha here at Unbound in Emporia, Kansas. Family dinners, a couple of nights before the race, have become somewhat of a team tradition for us. It gives us all time to connect, unwind and nourish before the craziness of the week really ramps up, and gives me an opportunity to really support the athletes  in the best way I know how — through their bellies! We gathered 25 athletes, staff and support crew around a few tables and dove into the juiciest, sweetest, best damn tacos I’ve had in a while. And now you can enjoy them too.

Fueling the pros

There are several things I’m thinking of when it comes to feeding endurance athletes before a big event like this, wearing both my Ayurvedic practitioner and holistic sports nutritionist hats:

• CARBS: they need them. All of them. Literally as many as their plates and bodies can hold. So often there are lots of carbohydrate options on the table – in this case we served coconut rice, tortillas, sweet potatoes and tortilla chips.

• Digestive strength: the events these athletes are tackling are looong. In the case of Unbound, the pros will race a full-gas 200 miles or as many as 350 miles on their bikes. And, both their training, sponsor obligations before the race, and the race itself will diminish digestive strength. My job is to keep it high and functioning. I do this with warming spices and easy to digest foods that contain all Six Flavors. In this recipe, ginger, cumin, jalapeno and even citrus are helpful for keeping the juices flowing, and their bodies transforming and assimilating optimally.

• Low-fiber: race day nerves are a thing, and constipation/diarrhea do not make for a great day on the bike. In the week leading up to a big event like this, most athletes switch to lower-fiber diets which means less salad, vegetables, whole-grains and the like. This makes sense from a sport-science and Ayurvedic perspective as we don’t want them using any energy breaking down foods with low-nutritional density like veggies. They need every single square inch of the stomach to be dedicated to those carbs, proteins and fats for long-burning fuel. AND, they don’t want to have to poop their brains out on the course.

• Flavor flavor flavor: eating chicken and rice for a week is the most soul-sucking experience, but we can make that taste SO GOOD that fueling feels like a treat instead of a chore. When we get all Six Flavors into meals, the athletes stay sharp, their bodies feel satisfied and grounded, and their brains and race-craft stay sharp. Their brains literally feel well-cared for an ready. The best gift we can give them!

This citrus braised chicken…

Is such a great component of a pre-race meal. It’s protein and fat rich, spiked with sour and pungent flavors that keep digestion high and kapha congestion low, and it’s so easy to smoosh between tortillas, plop onto a grain bowl or roll into a burrito. The leftovers are divinity and we love them for quick lunches or even quick dinners later in the week. No one is sorry to have tacos on Tuesday AND Thursday.

The instructions below share how to make the braise on the stovetop or in the oven – I personally like the oven method so much more as I think it takes less forethought and leaves me able to leave the kitchen for hours and come back to dinner, DONE.