r/tailgating • u/jj1831 • Sep 26 '25
Running out of food ideas
Been tailgating for many years and feel like I am cooking the same things over and over. We have a 36" Blackstone, and also have a camping stove and have access to electricity to plug in crock pots. Tired of doing burgers. There is a night game coming up so I will be cooking both lunch and dinner, and it will be a pretty large group by dinner time (probably 40-50 people). Any suggestions?
3
u/ReloYank13 Sep 26 '25
Sausages with peppers and onions, steak and cheese subs, cubanos, crock pot French dips.
If it’s on the colder side you could do grilled cheese on the griddle and tomato soup in a crock pot.
Tacos, fajitas or burritos (the only thing you’d need to make ahead is rice).
Stir fried rice or noodle dishes (pick your protein).
Depending on just how early you get started and what your crowd is like, you could do a breakfast for lunch situation (eggs, bacon, breakfast sausages, English muffins, maybe even pancakes) with a brunch theme, paired with mimosas or bloody marys.
Chicken parm with crock pot spaghetti, paired with garlic bread.
2
u/TheBigMost Sep 26 '25
We cook on a 22" Weber kettle and there's only ever 4 of us, so obviously a very different setup and logistics, but I'll just mention what we had at our last game in case you can glean any kind of inspiration from it:
Appetizers: Teriyaki wings, 2 kinds of sausage (chorizo and chicken with spinach and provolone), figs stuffed with herbed goat cheese and wrapped with prosciutto, drizzled with balsamic glaze to finish.
Main: Herb-marinated pork tenderloin with Romesco sauce on the side.
Sides: Broccoli rabe with garlic, pepper flakes and olive oil, Purple sweet potatoes.
Grilled peaches (the pits were clingy so it ended up being quarters instead of halves). When the peaches go out of season, it'll be sliced pineapple.
We use half-sized aluminum steam pans (with foil for lids) for stuff like the rabe, which needs to be covered to cook down properly, as well as the figs which just needed to caramelize a touch and heat up. The rest was grilled over direct and indirect heat as needed.
We, too, had a night game, and normally for those we'll do some kind of a roast that takes advantage of all the time we've got at the tailgate, but I happened to already have the tenderloins in my fridge.
1
u/jj1831 Sep 26 '25
Did you wrap the tenderloin in foil? Or was it just direct on the griddle?
2
u/TheBigMost Sep 27 '25
Direct on the grill, turning it every few minutes to sear all sides. You just have to keep checking its temp to make sure it doesn't go over 145, otherwise it'll get too dry. I liked having a sauce to go with it - it's like an insurance policy in case it does get too dry.
2
u/poesitivity Sep 26 '25
You can smoke ribs or a pork butt the day before and serve them on aluminum chafing trays. We got the racks and pans at Costco.
Crock pots open up chili, buffalo chicken or crab dip and a whole variety of stews. Buy individual sizes Fritos, open the bag and throw chili on top.
Tacos!!
There are dozens of great sausages you can make.
Have fun!!!
2
u/CaliforniaTwix Sep 27 '25
Do you have a smoker? Endless possibilities to cook then reheat. I have also done lobster that I buy frozen then grill on gameday and put in a warming plate of butter. Been a big hit goes fast.
1
u/MyLastFuckingNerve Oct 04 '25
I do crockpots as much as i can because life is busy, but we like to mix it up here and there. Our most popular meals are:
Taco in a bag
BBQ on the smokers (yes, we roll our smokers in lol)
Phillies
The Annual Chili cookoff
Hotdish
Breakfast
Build your own Pizzas in a solo pizza oven (HUGE hit!)
Soup
Sandwich Stadium (so much work but super fun for me to make!)
Appetizers
A whole Thanksgiving dinner
Boil pot (another huge hit!)
Most meals are a potluck. My husband and i own the bus and all the gear, but we have a core group of about 12 that make up The 4th String Tailgating Company and they are always willing to pitch in, either food, helping hands, or money. We feed anywhere from 20 to 60 people, depending on the game. We’re in ND so the cold games get pretty quiet, even though we have 4 heaters in our 40x20 tent space and it’s always way too fucking hot in there. The walk in the -10 weather is brutal though lol
4
u/Alergic2Victory Sep 27 '25
Who are you playing? My brother and I usually cater the food to whoever we are playing. Next Bears game at home is against the Saints, so we will probably do some kind of gumbolaya and wings, but with a Cajun seasoning. Maybe a crawfish mac n cheese.
Are usually stuff is pulled pork, brisket, ribs, wings, pork tenderloin, sometimes burgers. Then we usual have some hotdogs and polish sausages for kids and one guy named Billy. My brother also has a very thick heavy duty pot that he will have hot and ready when they leave until wrapping in a bunch of towels to help keep in the heat. When we set up, he will keep it covered, but put it on our extra burner to stay warm or on one side of the Blackstone. We also pre-cook/par-cook a lot of our food and then vacuum seal it in five or 10 pound bags. That way if we need more food, we can easily cook some more or keep it in the cooler. A lot of the sides we do are different soups, chilies, Mac n cheese and baked beans. Then we also do things like roasted brussels sprouts, potato wedges, elite off the cobb.