by Henry Gould – July 29th, 2019

Impossible to resist at happy hour, and until now (!) very hard to recreate at home. Not anymore!

Go the extra mile and make the blue cheese dip at home. It literally takes 30 seconds and tastes way way better than store bought.

Also, chicken wings are full of protein, and they’re not battered, so dare I say this is almost… healthy…?

Homemade Buffalo Wings w/ Blue Cheese Dip

• Chicken wings
• Olive Oil
• Hot Sauce of choice (Frank’s Red Hot Sauce being the classic)
• Butter
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Blue Cheese
• Mayonaise
• Black pepper
• Chives, finely chopped
• 1 lemon
• Plain Yogurt or Sour Cream
• Celery Sticks to serve

To make the wing sauce, melt some butter in a pot then add about 1/2 – 1 cup of hot sauce, depending how many wings you’re making. Add a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce and bring to a simmer, then turn off the heat and set side.

To make the blue cheese dip, crumble some blue cheese into a bowl, along with a little mayonnaise and yogurt. Mash with a fork and stir around until all is combined. Add some cracked black pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice, along with the chopped chives. Taste and adjust to your preferred consistency and seasoning.

Preheat your oven to 500F. Put the wings in a large bowl and coat with a little olive oil all over. The oil will help conduct the heat in the oven and crisp the skin up so they taste like they’ve been deep fried.

Spread the wings on a large baking sheet making sure the wings aren’t touching. If there’s too many, use two baking sheets otherwise they won’t crisp properly.

Stick in the oven and cook for 30 mins, but keep an eye on them. After 30 mins, take them out and have a look. Keep cooking until desired crispyness levels.

Once done, put the cooked wings in a clean bowl and pour over the sauce. Toss around to coat all the wings. Service with the dip and celery sticks.

The post RECIPE – Buffalo Wings w/ Blue Cheese Dip appeared first on Yard Athletics.

By Henry Gould – May 28th, 2019

Judging by the weather, summer has officially arrived in Vancouver. The days are longer, the willpower to resist patio drinks is basically zero, and the desire to turn an oven on to make dinner is definitely out of the question.

The solution? A lovely chilled noodle salad! This recipe is great for a number of reasons:

• It’s vegan (unless you add other protein)
• It’s gluten free (soba / buckwheat noodles are GF)
• It tastes amazing
• It will keep for a few days
• There is very minimal cooking required
• It’s a blank canvas for any other vegetables or items you want to add

Obviously the base recipe is vegan, but feel free to add whatever protein you like to the finished product (cooked chicken, hard boiled eggs, canned tuna, roasted chickpeas, tofu, prawns, etc etc).

Chilled Buckwheat Noodle Salad w/ Tahini Dressing

• Soba / Buckwheat noodles, 125g per person
• Baby spinach, 1 handful per person
• 1 red pepper, julienned
• Green onions, finely sliced
• 1 garlic clove, grated finely
• 1 small piece of ginger, grated finely
• 5-6 tablespoons Tahini
• 1-2 tablespoons Soy sauce
• 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons Sesame oil
• Honey
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Get a large pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil. Season the water with salt. Drop the baby spinach in and blanch for 10 seconds then take out with a strainer and drain in a colander and allow to cool. Set aside. Add the buckwheat noodles to the boiling water and cook according to package instructions. Remove from the water and drain thoroughly, then give a quick rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside.

To make the dressing, add the garlic and ginger to a bowl along with the tahini, sesame oil, juice of half the lemon, soy sauce, a pinch of salt, black pepper and some honey. Add a little water and then mix thoroughly. If it’s too thick, add a bit more more water and keep stirring. Have a taste and adjust the seasoning with more lemon juice, honey, salt and soy sauce to your taste. You can also add hot sauce / sriracha if you like it spicy.

Add the spinach, red peppers and green onion to your buckwheat noodles in a bowl and dress with the dressing.

The post RECIPE – Chilled Soba Noodle Salad w/ Tahini Dressing appeared first on Yard Athletics.

By Henry Gould – April 30th, 2019

For any of us who fall into the category of “millenials”, we’ve no doubt been scolded by older generations telling us we eat out in restaurants too much, buy fancy coffee drinks when we should be saving, not to mention probably thinks we eat Avocado toast for breakfast, lunch and dinner @ $10 a pop.

Nobody is perfect and austerity sucks, but we can all probably agree that eating and drinking out is expensive. It’s also bad for our health! Restaurants generally just want you full and happy so you come back and spend more money. Good for the bottom line, bad for the waistline.

The solution? Cook at home! An even better solution?? Meal prep for the week! It takes a little bit of time and planning, but the results pay massive dividends in a small amount of time. When you have lunch for the day as well as snacks, you’re less likely to take that cookie from Jenny in accounting or give in and go to Cactus Club for lunch.

There are lots of great recipes available on this blog, so have a read through and get inspired. Below are some tips on things that can make the weekly meal prep a lot easier, and allow you to stay on target for whatever your fitness goals.

Buy 5+ Reusable Containers

Seems like a no-brainer; you need something to store the food in! If you’re prepping for 5 lunches a week, you’re probably going to need 5 containers, so something cheap like plastic Ziploc containers with a closing lid are good. If you want to go big and invest in glass or metal containers, that’s a good idea too. Sometimes the plastic containers can get stained by turmeric or tomato sauce, which can make you less likely to want to use them.

Cook Two Items Instead Of One

If you make a roast chicken on Monday, chances are by Thursday or Friday you’re not going to want to eat roast chicken anymore. Solution? Make two items on the same day! Perhaps make one roast chicken and one roast pork tenderloin, then alternate days on when you take it. Or a chickpea salad and a farro grain bowl. Tuna and salmon, quinoa and lentils. You get the idea.

Focus On Durability & Be Considerate

Ceviche is delicious when made fresh. Two days later? I’d rather eat the barnacles off a dock.

That lovely salad you made of farmers market greens with a delicate vinaigrette? By lunchtime the next day it’s going to look like a wet, sloppy mess.

When prepping things to take for lunch over the course of several days, you want it to be able to hold up fairly well, in addition to having as few “odorous” compounds as possible. Not only are you less likely to want to eat 2 day old fish soup or something with a lot of garlic, chances are your colleagues will start to resent you too.

Chili? Awesome. Stew with mashed potato? Great. Sushi? Not so much. Garlic aioli? Report to the HR department immediately.

Onions, garlic, cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts), and fermented foods can be particularly bothersome to other people, so just something to keep in mind.

Condiments Are Your Friend

I dunno about you, but no matter what I make, I always seem compelled to just lather it in hot sauce or some other salty, spicy, vinegary condiment. It’s a habit I’m not particularly proud of, but it is what it is. And if that means getting you to eat your leftovers at work? I say go for it. The goal is to eat the food you brought to work, so a little shake of hot sauce is likely going to help you want to eat it rather than throw it out and get a $15 salad from the food court.

Essential condiments to keep in the work fridge. I skipped ketchup because it’s loaded with sugar, and is really only good on fried potatoes (don’t @ me).

Also watch out for condiment thieves at work…

• Maille Dijon Mustard
• Keen’s Hot Mustard
• HP Sauce
• Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
• El Yucateco sauces
• Secret Aarvark (these are the best)

Root Vegetables FTW

Of all the vegetables in the grocery store, root vegetables and squash seem to hold up the best over the course of several days. Beets, potatoes, sweet potatoes, fennel, squash (acorn, butternet etc) turnips, radishes, parsnips, carrots… the list goes on and on.

Root vegetables are packed with essential nutrients, and really only need boiling or roasting to make delicious. Instead of seasoning prior to cooking, either roast, bake or boil very simply and then dress afterwards with things like salt, pepper, vinegar, olive oil, herbs and spices.

Two recipe ideas below from past #YardHard blogs!

The post 5 Tips For Weekly Meal Prep appeared first on Yard Athletics.

By Henry Gould – April 23rd, 2019

This is an amazing salad for a bunch of reasons: it tastes great, it goes with just about anything (cold roast chicken, smoked / fresh fish, boiled eggs, soup), and it could not be easier to make. Also, if your fridge is relatively stocked with some basics like a cucumber, yogurt and lemon, all you need is some fresh dill and you’re in business. If you didn’t have a lemon, vinegar works great as well.

Some people insist on salting the peeled and sliced cucumbers 30 minutes before dressing, just to remove some of the water content and season them a bit better. If you want to do this, by all means, but I don’t find it that necessary.

The salad is also a relatively blank canvas, so it goes great with other additions like sliced red onion, radishes, extra herbs (fresh parsley, mint, basil) and even spices like caraway or coriander seeds.

Enjoy!

Cucumber Salad w/ Dill, Yogurt & Lemon

• 1 long English cucumber, peeled
• Plain greek yogurt, 2% milk fat or higher
• 1 lemon, zested and juice reserved
• Sea salt
• Pepper
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Fresh Dill, washed and finely chopped. 
• Dijon Mustard

Take your peeled cucumber, slice down lengthwise then scoop out the seeds. Slice the cucumbers into half moons. Put into a big bowl and sprinkle all over with sea salt, pepper and fresh dill.

In a separate bowl, put a heaped spoon of greek yogurt, the juice of the lemon and the zest, some olive oil and a smallish spoon of dijon mustard. Mix together thoroughly and then have a taste. It shouldn’t be too salty as you’ve already salted the cucumbers.

Pour a few spoonfuls of the dressing over the cucumbers and mix well. If you like more dressing then go wild, but sometimes less really is more…

The post RECIPE – Cucumber Salad w/ Dill, Yogurt & Lemon appeared first on Yard Athletics.

By Henry Gould – Feb 26th, 2019

There are times when I find the “one pan meal” concept a little sad and forlorn (you don’t even have the effort to clean TWO pans???). In reality though, it can be incredibly satisfying to chuck everything in the oven for ~45 minutes and suddenly have dinner ready, when otherwise you might have spent $20+ on something not as good.

This particular recipe has an Asian inspired flavor profile (soy sauce, ginger, garlic, chili) but can we tweaked and tinkered with to whatever your tastes. It also allows for adding vegetables towards the end of the cooking time, making it truly a “one pan” dish with very minimal clean up.

Enjoy!

“One Pan” Chicken w/ Soy, Garlic, Ginger and Chili

• 8-10 chicken thighs (boneless or bone-in) or drumsticks
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup sesame oil
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
• 1/4 cup honey, brown or white sugar
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 1 big piece of ginger, peeled and cut into coins
• 2 jalapenos, red chilis or serranos, cut into large chunks
• Optional
  • Bell peppers, chopped
  • Onions, chopped
  • Potatoes, chopped
  • Carrots, chopped
  • Broccoli, chopped
  • Steamed rice
  • Steamed quinoa
  • Lime wedges
  • Green onions, chopped

Put the raw chicken in a bowl and add all the ingredients, except for any of the optional vegetables. If you have time to let it marinate for a few hours or overnight, go for it. If not, no worries.

Heat your oven to 400F. Once the oven is heated, pour everything into the pan and stick in the oven for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes take out and have a look. Turn the oven up to 500F and put the pan back in the oven to reduce the sauce and caramelize the chicken. If you’re adding potatoes, put them in at this point.

Cook for another 15 minutes, then add any of the rest of the vegetables you’re using and cook for another 10 minutes. Everything should be getting nicely sticky and caramelized. If the sauce is getting too dry or is burning, add some water.

Serve with steamed rice, quinoa, or on its own just with the vegetables. Squeeze over with a bit of lime and sprinkle with the green onions.

The post RECIPE – “One Pan” Chicken w/ Soy, Garlic, Ginger and Chili appeared first on Yard Athletics.

By Yard Athletics – Feb 19th, 2019

Hope everyone had a restful Family Day weekend! Great news… for the next few weeks, Yard Athletics will be hosting a promotion from EPIC Provisions, giving away some of their famous performance and meat bars, free of charge.

EPIC Provisions was founded by Katie and Taylor Collins in Austin TX, after years following strict vegan and vegetarian diets that left them with many unidentified ailments and health issues. Deciding they needed a lifestyle change that satisfied both their active lifestyles, as well as environmental beliefs, they started EPIC, offering a variety of grass fed meat, fruit and nut bars and other products.

Yard Athletics is really excited about the promotion, so the next time you’re in the gym ask us for a sample and we will HOOK. YOU. UP.

#YardHard

The post Free EPIC Bars at Yard Athletics! Feb 19th – March 8th appeared first on Yard Athletics.

By Natalie Cumberbirch – Jan 16th, 2019

New year, new you. New goals, resolutions, ambitions, intentions. Drink more water, eat more greens, try new recipes. They’re all great. I’ve set the goal of writing food posts – one per month, maybe you’ll get two. Now I’ve said it, it’s out there; no backing down now!

As I made my dinner tonight, I did some things I wanted to share. Little “tricks” (at least I think they are) that will up your cooking game 100%. All are simple, easy adjustments that bring flavor and body to any meal you’re making.

Tip 1:

ALWAYS use equal parts butter and extra virgin olive oil when cooking. This could be when you’re sautéing an onion, frying an egg, finishing off steamed broccoli or roasting a chicken. You’re going to get that buttery flavor, but also the fragrance of olive oil. Best of both worlds.

Tip 2:

Anytime you’re using aromatics- spices- cook them out first. You’re making curry, chili, tacos, a wet spice rub. Get your butter and olive oil in the pan, then toss in all your spices and let the spices open up. You’ll smell them. They’ll be that much more potent and intense in your meal.

Tip 3:

Whenever you’re diluting something, use a stock. Whenever you’re cooking a starch – rice, quinoa, bulgar – use a stock. Anytime you’re making a sauce from drippings, use a stock.

You get the idea. Where you traditionally would use water, switch it up for a low sodium veggie, chicken, or whatever stock you prefer. Low sodium is key. You’re just adding flavor to your dish, where water would stretch your flavor thin.

Here’s a simple recipe using all these tips. Maybe you’re into it, maybe you’re not. But it’s damn delicious and full of them healthy fats and greens; all things good for you. Suitable for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or midnight snack.

BOWL

In a frying pan, add roughly ½ tsp butter and ½ tsp extra virgin olive oil. Over medium low heat, add your spices. I went for a Moroccan mix. Sweat these out for 5-8 minutes, till the smell intensifies.

Add ½ c red or white quinoa, and toast this up a bit. You’ll hear them popping, crackling; that’s all good. Stir the quinoa in your spices, and once you feel they’re toasted enough, add in your stock. For exact liquid volumes, follow according to package.

Once your quinoa (or grain of choice) is cooked, add in a can of black beans or chickpeas. If you’re well prepared, you’ll have made these from dried bean state. But I’m rarely that organized.

Still on the heat, I add two massive handfuls of raw spinach to the pan, and cook those out.

So you’ve got Moroccan spiced quinoa with black beans and spinach. Great! Now, separately have some water boiling with a splash of white vinegar in it. Poach yourself an egg. I love me a soft – medium poach; that yolk doubles as a dressing.

TO ASSEMBLE

In a bowl, place a handful of mixed greens, arugula, or spinach. Whatever you prefer. Spoon on some of your hot quinoa / bean / spinach melange.

Sprinkle on a tablespoon of hemp hearts.

Crumble a little goat cheese, or feta, on top.

Get half an avocado on there.

And that poached egg.

Salt and pepper.

The post Up Your Cooking Game w/ Natalie Cumberbirch appeared first on Yard Athletics.

By Henry Gould – Jan 8th, 2019

Warning to all food purists and authenticity snobs: this recipe is likely to cause immense grief and frustration! It’s not quite traditional soba, not really miso soup, and definitely not what might charitably be called “ramen”.

But is it delicious, inexpensive to prepare, and incredibly healthy??? Yes. Yes it is.

Although this preparation takes hints and cues from all of the above dishes (miso soup, ramen, soba) it’s more of a mashup of all 3, using chicken drumsticks as the basis for the protein and soup component. Basically you are roasting chicken drumsticks in the oven, taking the meat off the bones, then boiling the bones with vegetables and flavorings, and finally putting it all back together. It does require a bit of time, so probably better to make the day ahead, store the meat and broth separately, then reheat the next day.

In terms of additions and toppings, those are entirely up to you. I’ve given a big list of ideas, but use your imagination. Perhaps there’s a favorite item you like adding to your ramen? Put it in! Don’t like onions? Take them out!

Recipes like this are a great vehicle for anything you have leftover in the fridge, so long as the core of the recipe is in tact. As well, most of the speciality ingredients like miso, soy sauce and fish sauce can be purchased once and used for months.

Enjoy!

Chicken “Miso Soup” w/ Gluten-Free Soba Noodles

• Chicken Drumsticks (ideally a large family pack)
• Soba Noodles (look for 100% buckwheat, which are gluten-free)
• 1 Onion, peeled and cut in half
• 5 Garlic cloves
• 1 large piece of ginger, peeled and chopped roughly
• Sea Salt
• Black Pepper
• 1 Jalapeno, cut in length
• 1 Celery stick, chopped roughly
• Soy Sauce
• Thai Fish Sauce
• Miso Paste
• Toppings (optional)
  • Blanched spinach
  • Chopped green onions
  • Soft boiled egg
  • Mushrooms (shiitake, enoki, oyster, button)
  • Seaweed
  • Kimchi
  • Bamboo shoots
  • Chili oil
  • Lemon wedges

Heat your oven to 425F. Get a roasting pan or frying pan that can go in the oven, rub some oil on it, then put in all your chicken drumsticks. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Throw in the oven for 30 minutes, then check. The drumsticks should be getting nice and crispy and brown. If not, cook for another 10 minutes.

Remove the drumsticks from the pan and allow to cool. Pour a little water in the pan used to roast the drumsticks, and scrape all the brown “fond” off the bottom with a wooden spoon. Then pour this liquid into a large pot that will be used to simmer the broth.

After the drumsticks have cooled, pull all the meat off the bones and set aside. Throw all the bones into your pot for the broth.

To the pot, add the white onion, celery, jalapeno, ginger,garlic cloves, a little fish sauce and a little soy sauce. Fill to the top with cold water, bring to a boil, then lower the heat all the way and simmer for 1-2 hours, depending how much time you have.

Strain the broth and put back into the pot and bring to a boil. Get all your toppings ready along with your bowls to serve in. Once the broth is boiling, add your mushrooms if you’re using them (raw mushrooms can be toxic) and cook for a few minutes. Add a spoon of miso paste and break it up in the liquid with a spoon. Have a taste, and adjust the seasoning with more miso, soy, fish sauce, salt, pepper, as per your taste.

To the boiling broth, add 100g of soba noodles per person, and boil as per package instructions. They usually cook quick, and will keep cooking in the bowl, so cook less than you think.

Divide the noodles into each bowl, garnish with your toppings of choice, along with the shredded chicken meat and as much of the broth as you like.

The post RECIPE – Chicken “Miso Soup” w/ Gluten-Free Soba Noodles appeared first on Yard Athletics.

By Henry Gould – Nov 12th, 2018

It’s lurking on every “premium casual” lunch menu, every hotel restaurant, sports bar; even craft breweries. For a plant that was once reserved only for garnish around buffet salad bars, kale has made such a dominant push into North American food culture that it has almost become a meme in and of itself.

Nobody should be upset that people are eating more kale – it’s packed with fiber and nutrients – but they can be disappointed if the kale caesar isn’t living up to its platonic ideal.

Kale is great, but it is quite fibrous, and therefore needs a bit of love to get the most out of it. The real trick to a great kale caesar is cutting the leaves very fine and then massaging them with olive oil prior to dressing. This helps break down the cell walls of the leaves, and save your jaws a lot of work.

Also, using Tuscan Kale makes for a better salad; it seems to have an ideal texture for adhering to the dressing.

For your chicken, boneless thighs are the best in terms of juiciness and flavor. However, if you prefer chicken breast, use that instead.

• Tuscan Kale
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Sea Salt
• Black Pepper
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 anchovy filet
• 1 lemon
• Mayonnaise
• Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
• Hot Sauce (Tabasco or Franks)
• Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese
• Boneless chicken thighs
• Croutons (optional)
  • Sourdough bread, cut into small cubes
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 garlic clove, chopped finely
  • Chili flakes
  • Sea salt

Wash the Tuscan kale, trim the woody ends off the bottom of the stalks, then lay each kale leaf on top of one another like a deck of cards. With the sharpest knife you have, start to slice the kale as thin as you possibly can, cutting across the stalk (not “with” it). Slice all the way so you have a large mound of shaven kale.

Put the shaved kale into a large bowl, drizzle over some olive oil then start to massage the kale, squeezing it firmly with your hands. It should feel quite theraputic and turn your hands green…. perhaps this could be a new chlorophyll beauty regiment?? BRB SELLING THE IDEA TO GWENYTH PALTROW.

After you’ve massaged the kale it should have reduced quite a bit in size and look a little different. Don’t worry, this is normal and is how they make the kale salad at Savio Volpe which everyone goes bonkers for.

To make the dressing, a pestle and mortar is best. If you don’t have one, a blender is good, or just a knife and chopping board. Start by pounding the garlic clove and anchovy filet up in the pestle and mortar, or using the back of a knife on the cutting board. You’re trying to make a paste. Add to a bowl, along with the juice of a lemon and some of the lemon zest. Add about a tablespoon of mayonnaise, a few dashes of hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce, then stir to combine. Add salt, pepper, and a healthy glug of olive oil. Stir to combine everything then have a taste. Does it taste like the best caesar dressing ever? If not, add more salt, pepper, olive oil or lemon juice until it’s there. Don’t worry, all those ingredients, if tweaked enough, will make it taste great!

To make the chicken, simply season with salt and pepper and a little olive oil, then put on a roasting tray or frying pan that can go in the oven. Turn on your broiler and move the rack to the highest position. Put the chicken under the broiler and then watch it closely. Cooking under the broiler is great, and allows you to roast and sear at the same time, which makes for great flavor on meat. Once the first side is nicely dark brown, flip over and cook on the other side.

To make the croutons, toss the cubed bread with some olive oil, salt, garlic and chili flakes, then put under the broiler to crisp. Bonus points for cooking the croutons on the same pan you cooked the chicken… the bread will soak up all the nice juices and really take things to the next level.

Finally, to make the salad just toss the massaged kale with as much dressing as you like and a handful of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, along with some sliced chicken and croutons.

The post RECIPE – World’s Best “Kale Caesar w/ Chicken” appeared first on Yard Athletics.

By Henry Gould – Sept 12th, 2018

I have to say, I’m a little embarrassed to post this recipe because it’s almost too easy to make… quite literally fool proof. Follow the directions and I can almost guarantee it will turn out perfect.

The beauties of this recipe are many. Allow me to elaborate on some of them!

• It’s very cheap to make!
• It requires very few ingredients!
• It tastes really, really good (like Chipotle… but better)!
• You can make a large batch, portion and then freeze for a Tuesday in November when you don’t want to cook!
• It will impress you friends, girlfriend, boyfriend, husband, wife, dog, mum, dad, aunt, uncle, long long cousin from Belgium….
• It may not impress your vegetarian friends, but I have heard positive things about cooking Jackfruit in a similar fashion, which apparently gives “meat like” results. Experiment at your own discretion!

One item of contention can be store-bought corn tortillas. At La Taqueria, they’re awesome. At home, they can be cold, stiff and gross. However, I have a secret for reviving cold corn tortillas which works 100% of the time.

First, get a bowl and fill it with warm water, and then drizzle a little olive oil on the surface. Next, heat a frying pan up to medium heat. Now, take a corn tortilla, dip it in the water / oil mixture and then put in the frying pan and hold down for 10-20 seconds with a spatula. Flip over and then hold down for another 5-10 seconds.

The hot steam helps to rehydrate the tortillas, completely bringing them back to life. The little slick of olive oil will cling to the tortillas and help them not stick to the pan.

Enjoy!

• 8-10 Chicken Thighs (boneless skinless, or bone-in, skin-on)
• 1 tablespoon Cumin seeds
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 small bottle (~150mL) Mexican Hot Sauce – Tapatio, Valentina, Cholula
• Olive Oil
• Corn Tortillas
• Chicken stock, or water
• Garnishes (limes, pickeld Jalapenos, sour cream, avocado, shredded cabbage)

Season your chicken thighs generously with salt and pepper. Heat a heavy bottom pot over medium-high heat. Once hot, add enough olive oil to coat the entire bottom of the pot and then sear your chicken thighs, working in batches. Leave for 3-4 minutes on the first side to get a nice brown crust. Flip over, cook for another minute, then take out and set aside, continuing to sear the rest of the chicken.

Once the chicken is done, add your chopped onion and garlic to the same pot and cook in the residual oil, adding more if necessary. Once the onions have sweat a little, add your cumin seeds and fry for a minute. Then, return the chicken to the pot, along with the whole bottle of hot sauce (yes, the whole bottle…) and enough water or chicken stock to just barely cover the chicken. Cover with a lid and simmer for 30 mins.

After 30 mins, take the chicken out of the pot to rest, turn the heat up on the remaining liquid and reduce until it’s much thicker and richer. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Chop or shred the cooked chicken on a board, then return to the reduced sauce and stir to coat.

Serve on warmed corn tortillas with choice of garnishes. 

The post RECIPE – Shredded Chicken Tacos appeared first on Yard Athletics.