Tailgate Recipes for Football Fans and Foodies

Here in the South, we love our football almost as much as we love a good party. Football season is back and we could not wait another week! Hot dogs and hamburgers might cut it for the tailgate rookies, but these additions to your weekly menu will impress.

Most Popular Tailgate Foods

At tailgates, there’s so many different foods to serve and everyone has their favorites. Here are the most popular tailgating foods, as ranked by college students across the country:

Chili
Ribs
Hot Dogs
Mac & Cheese
Buffalo Wings
Nachos
Burgers
Mozzarella Sticks
Chips & Dip

So, give the people what they want! Whether you’re a season-ticket holder or just plan to spend hours with friends who are yelling at the TV, it may be time to mix it up when it comes to your football foods. These recipes will give you a few twists on some old favorites and keep you from getting sidelined.

Sweet & Spicy Baked Wings

In this recipe, the heat comes from Korean gochujang instead of hot wing sauce. The fact that the wings are baked instead of fried keeps them light, yet still packed with flavor.

Ingredients

1 cup of ketchup
1 cup of rice vinegar, unflavored
½ a cup of soy sauce
2 tbsp of honey (locally sourced, if possible!)
2 tbsp of gochugang (Korean red pepper paste)
5 lbs of chicken wings or drumettes
¼ a cup of canola oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325*F.
In a small skillet or pot, whisk your ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce, honey, and gochujang together. Bring to a boil. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally until thick. Reduce to about a cup (this will take around 15 minutes).
Toss your wings with canola oil and season with salt and pepper. Then, add to a baking pan and bake until browned and cooked through (around 30 minutes).
Increase oven temperatures to 450*F. Remove wings from the oven and discard all juices from your baking pans.
In a clean bowl, toss your wings in the sauce mixture. (Careful - it’s hot.) Then, on a clean baking sheet, arrange in a single layer and bake again until glazed and lightly charred in spots (around 10-15 minutes).
Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Dip

We’ve got both - a traditional dip and a dessert dip! Take your pick (or serve both).

Ingredients

1 8oz block of cream cheese, softened
1 stick of butter (around ½ cup), softened
2 tbsp of brown sugar
½ a tsp of vanilla extract
¾ a cup of powdered sugar
¾ a cup of mini chocolate chips

Directions

Mix together your cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and brown sugar in a small bowl. Once well mixed, fold in chocolate chips.
Serve with your favorite combination of salty or sweet dippers, like pretzels, graham crackers, or even apple slices!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Hint: Need this dip pronto? Grab it from Farmview Market’s Ready-to-Eat case. Made fresh in-house, this Buffalo Chicken Dip is a touchdown of an appetizer.

Ingredients

1 tbsp of unsalted butter
2 teaspoons of garlic, minced
2 cups of cooked chicken, shredded
½ a cup of hot sauce
8 oz of cream cheese, softened
½ a cup of sour cream
½ a cup of white cheddar cheese, shredded
¼ a cup of American cheddar cheese, shredded
2 tsp of green onions, sliced
Chips (to serve with!)

Directions

Preheat your oven to 375*F.
In a cast-iron skillet, melt your butter over medium-high heat. Saute garlic until fragrant, then add in chicken and hot sauce and simmer until the sauce has thickened. Allow the sauce to reduce by half (around 2 minutes).
Reduce heat to low and stir in cream cheese; then mix until combined. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and other shredded cheeses.
Put into your oven and bake until the dip is bubbling and the cheese has melted. This should take around 10 minutes. Then, turn your oven to broil and allow the top of the dip to brown (about 1 minute).
Garnish with green onions, if you’d like.
Serve with chips & enjoy!

Watermelon Agua Fresca

Don’t get weighed down with those sugary sodas. Try this light and refreshing watermelon drink.

Ingredients

8 cups of watermelon, seedless & cut into chunks
1 cup of water, cold
2 tbsp of sugar
2 tbsp of lime juice, freshly squeezed
Watermelon wedges, to garnish

Directions

Combine half of the watermelon chunks and ½ cup of water into a blender and puree. Then, over a medium sized bowl, press the mixture through a sieve or a cheese cloth.
Transfer the strained mixture into a large pitcher.
Repeat with remaining watermelon and water.
Once all watermelon has been blended and strained, mix in sugar and lime juice. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.

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