Game Day = [Football + Grilling + Buddies + Beer]

The Big Game is quickly approaching and the time is now to plan your party. Whether this is your first Big Game Party or your 20^th, don’t be the guy who isn’t prepared. You know, the guy who wakes up Sunday morning and starts pre-gaming just to find out he doesn’t have fuel for the grill or ice for the coolers or even worse, forgets to start the grill. It is great to have folks over but it is important to make sure that you can watch the game too. No one wants to be outside grilling the entire first half just to hear cheering and yelling coming from indoors.

 

Fail to Prepare, Prepare to Fail!

 

With a little prep and planning you can wow your friends AND watch the game. Below is a timeline for prepping for the big day and tips & tricks to help everything run smoothly.

Saturday: Clean Up Your Grilling Area

• Clean up your grill: Wipe down the outside, clean out the grease tray, and clean your GrillGrates of excessive debris.
• Check your fuel: Fill up your propane tanks, buy another bag of pellets, grab some charcoal. Don’t be the guy that has to run to the store at the last minute.

Sunday Morning: Get Your Coolers Ready

• Get your beer iced down in a cooler by the grill.
• Designate a place inside for beer and stock it well.
• Make sure to have plenty of water and soda available. After all, Monday morning will come early!

Kickoff is at 6:30pm EST/3:30pm PST. Be prepared.

2 hours before kickoff…

• Get your supplies prepped and ready by the grill. Remember: koozies, tools, platters, paper towels, seasonings, gloves, lighters, and a trash bin. Go ahead and light your grill.

An hour and a half before…

• Get grillin’! Begin with appetizer foods like quesadillas and jalapeño poppers. Choose appetizers that are quick on and off the grill. As you finish food, plate it and send it in so people can start grazing.

An hour before…

• If you are grilling dinner, it is time to put the food on the grill. Brats, hamburgers, wings, etc. will all be done with minutes to spare.

15 minutes before…

• Make sure the last of the food is off the grill.
• Go ahead and get trash thrown away – you won’t feel like cleaning up after the game is over.
• Turn off the burners, unplug the pellet grill, and close the vents on the charcoal grill. Grab a beer and go inside!

 

GRATE Eats: Game Day Ideas for the Grill

 

Below, two of our favorites. On the left, our buddy Dave from Next With Dave on YouTube fills the grill with his crowd-pleasing Hamburger Bean Dip & Party Wings 4 Ways. We love the variety of flavors sure to please all palettes at your party. On the right, probably the easiest thing to grill up for game day are quesadillas. The best thing about these is they can be as simplistic (just cheese) or as complex (chicken, black bean, veggies, etc.) as you want to make them.

Brats, Brats and More Brats!

We may be biased but we love brats. The more the merrier. Beer brats, hot brats, original and whatever else they have at the store. We love them all. Grilling brats on GrillGrates is the perfect way to get them crispy, keep them juicy and protect them from the flames.

You can give your brats a beer bath on GrillGrates, and flip a few panels to griddle up some sides. Sauerkraut and Peppers & Onions griddle up perfectly on the flat side.

 

 

Pizza: From Scratch or Right Outta the Box!

Another crowd pleaser for game day is Pizza. But leave the delivery guy alone this year. Pizza on the grill can come in many forms.

• On the Left: In a time crunch? Grab a frozen pizza and throw it on the grill. Believe it or not the grill can make even frozen pizza taste better.
• In the Middle: Ready-to-bake crusts like Mama Mary’s and Boboli are ideal for kid-participation on Game Day and allow your guests to pick exactly what they want for toppings.
• On the Right: We’re biased and we won’t even try to hide it. Our absolute favorite is Urban Slicer’s Outdoor Grilling Pizza Dough made by longtime friend, Matt Frampton. If you’ve got time, it is WELL worth it.

 

Our two favorite Urban Slicer recipes….Brett Gallaway’s Philly Cheesesteak Pizza. And one of Matt’s own Recipes…The Don Framptonio.

 

Need even more GRATE game-day inspiration? Visit our Game Day Grilling page.

 

GrillGrate. Eat Well. Game On. 

– Meagan