Our Favorite Tailgate Meals

It’s almost tailgate season! Tailgates are one of our favorite parts of Autumn in Gainesville. We love cheering on the Gators, and celebrating the team with friends and family before the games! We’ve organized our fair share of game day get-togethers over the years, and have put together some of our favorite tailgate meals. Keep reading and be prepared get hungry!

1. Charleston Cheese Dip

This delicious dish is cheesy and bacon-filled, and it only takes 1o minutes to prep and 15 to cook. This recipe serves 10, give it a try!

You’ll Need:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• One 8 oz package of cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack Cheese
• 2 green onions, finely chopped
• 1 dash cayenne pepper
• 8 butter crackers, such as Ritz, crushed
• Corn chips, crackers, or bagel chips
• 8 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

The Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• In a medium sized bowl, mix the mayonnaise, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, green onions, and cayenne pepper.
• Pour the mixture into a shallow baking dish, such as a 9-inch pie pan. Top this with the cracker crumbs and bake until its heated through, for about 15 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the oven and top the dish with bacon. Serve with corn chips, crackers, or bagel chips.

Watch this video from Trisha’s Southern Kitchen to learn how to make Charleston Cheese Dip.

2. Bacon-Wrapped Hot Dogs

This easy dish is one of our most popular tailgate meals, and only takes about 20 minutes total to prep and cook! All you’ll need is hot dogs and buns, cheddar cheese sticks, and bacon.

• Slice the hot dog down its center and insert a cheddar cheese stick.
• Wrap the hot dog with a slice of bacon.
• Let the bacon-wrapped hot dogs sit on the indirect side of the grill to prevent the bacon from flaring up. Close the dome and let the hot dogs and bacon cook for 5-10 minutes. The cheese will melt.
• Once the bacon is cooked, place each hot dog on the direct heat side of the grill for a maximum of 20-30 seconds each to crisp the bacon.

3. Meat Chili Mac

We found this delicious recipe from Rachel Ray! She chooses beer instead of broth for her dish. This recipe makes 8 servings.

You’ll Need:

• 1 pound corkscrew shaped pasta with lines or elbows with lines
• 2 pounds ground sirloin
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 sweet onion, chopped
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 tablespoons ( 1 1/2 palmfuls) dark chili powder
• 2 tablespoons (1 palmful) cumin
• 2 tablespoons cayenne pepper sauce
• Coarse salt
• 1 cup beef broth or beer
• 1 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes in juice
• 1 14-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
• Chopped scallions

The Steps:

• Boil the pasta in a large pot. Undercook slightly, as it will continue cooking with the chili.
• Simultaneously, cook the ground beef in oil over medium to high heat. Add onions, peppers, and garlic. Season with chili powder, cumin, cayenne, and salt.
• Cook together for five minutes, stirring in the broth or beer. Continue cooking for a few minutes to reduce the liquid by half.
• Stir in tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Drain the pasta and stir it into the chili. Remove from heat and garnish with scallions.

Get Cooking!

We can’t wait to get cooking this football season, and serve these fun tailgate meals for our friends and family in Gainesville. We’ll see ya’ll at the Gators game!

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