Super Bowl – The day after. Recipes and Tips

It can be argued that food is as important to a Super Bowl party as the big game.  The food must be simple but tasty, exciting but include staples.  My goal was to have food available throughout the whole game with a verity of snacks, main entrees, and desserts.  Most important, do not forget the importance of a variety of drinks!

My plan was to have the family room as the main event watching area, then a TV on the deck and a TV on the food table.  This allowed enough seating for everyone and no one felt like they would miss the game or a commercial if they got up for a drink or food. (Decorations are for another discussion)

We had about 25 people over, football fans and non-fans alike.   Having people bring food helps defray the costs and makes it more personal.  Remember that if you do not organize well, you will receive duplicates or not enough of something.

Tips for asking people to bring food or drinks:

• Pick a category.  For example, I asked everyone to bring a dessert
• Tell them how many people you expect
• What items you already have coming
• You know your guests, relay any food allergies that you know of
•  I also let people know if it will be and indoor or outdoor event

Before you can ask people to bring food or make any other plans, you must come up with a menu.  (A theme for the party is a subject for a different time) 

My menu looked something like this:

Fiesta Dip                               White Dish 1
Onion Dip                               White Dish 2
Buffalo Dip                             CrockPot Trio (1)
Sweet Winnies                      CrockPot Trio (2)
Nacho Cheese                    CrockPot Trio (3)
Chili                                         Large CrockPot
Veggie Tray w/ranch        Apps-on-Ice
Shredded Cheddar           Larger White Dish
Chopped Onion                 White Dish 3
Sour Cream                          White Dish 4
Ripple Chips                         Blue bowl 1
Tortilla Chips                        Blue bowl 2
Fritos                                       Blue bowl 3
Chicken Wings                    Steam Tray 1 (1/2)
Fries (steak)                         Steam Tray 1 (2/2)
Pulled Pork                           Steam Tray 2(1/2)
Hot Dogs                              Steam Tray 2 (2/2)
Hot Dog Buns                     Big Red Bowl 1
Hamburger Buns               Big Red Bowl 1

Bottled:

Ketchup
Mustard
Relish
BBQ Sauce
Blue Cheese

Drinks:

Water                                     Red Tub 1
Juice boxes                          Red Tub 1
Diet Soda                             Gray Tub 1
Coke and Sprite                 Gray Tub 2
Bottled drinks                      Metal Tub
KEG                                        Kegorator
Mixed Bottle Beer              Kegorator
ICE – 4 Small bags            Cooler
ICE – 3 large bags            in red, gray, metal tubs

Misc:

Paper Lunch Plates
Paper Small Plates (For desserts)
Napkins
Red Solo Cups  (sing along if you know it)
Forks
Spoons
Table Cloths
Chafing Dish Fuel (I use the 6 hour fuel)

Note that I include what serving dish I plan on using.  This keeps me from over committing crockpots or chafing dishes etc.  It also helps when others are helping me setup, I can just give them a list.

I develop my shopping list from my menu.  (shopping lists are another topic for another time)

Tip:  When setting up the food and drink tables, place all serving dishes out to see spacing.  You do not want to finding out that you do not have enough space right before the party starts.

Also note that I did not include any desserts in my list.  I have asked each guest to bring one.  I keep a stash of plastic serving trays, just in case someone does not bring it on a tray or in a “serve from” container.  I usually have a good idea of what people are bringing so I can plan for the appropriate spacing. 

Another good idea is to set up stations, one for drinks, and another for regular food and the last one for desserts.  This helps keeps things flowing.  Some people place chips and snack around the party area.  I am not a big fan of that; I find that you end up trying to manage too many bowls and trays.  Also I find that the person sitting next to it tends to take it over.    Let people get up and grab a plate of what they want, it encourages movement.

Tip:  When people arrive, spend a moment with them touring where everything is.  End at the drink table and fix them a drink.  You will find that the party will kick off on a better note.

Timing:

I get allot of questions on this subject.  Most of what I do is based on experience, my recommendation to you is to throw allot of parties and practice!  Seriously, I believe that throwing a good party is all about attitude.  You must think about each of your guests individually, what you want or like is less important.  Timing just lets you relax and focus on your guests.  For my Super Bowl party I had allot of elements going on that required multiple timelines.   I will try to cover them all but remember that personal experience is the key.  This was my schedule (condensed for this article):

2 weeks before:

• Initial Menu
• Guests invited and Desserts organized

1 week before:

•  Shopping list created
•  Shopping Started

2 Days Before:

•  Pork injected and wrapped place in fridge

1 Day Before:

•  Furniture moved
•  Chairs setup
•  Food and drink tables setup
•  Serving dishes set out
•  Pork BBQ’ng in the smoker (set to come out of the smoker 2 hours before the party)
• Chili cooked and in the fridge
• Dips mixed and in the Fridge

Day of the party

4 Hours Before:

• Final furniture setup
•  TVs Setup and turned on
•  Final dusting and touch up
•  Clean, dry, and dreg the chicken wings – place in fridge

3 Hours before:

•  Vegetables cleaned and cut up, placed in the fridge
•  Drinks set out, no ice yet
•  Crock pots filled and turned on high (Chili, winnies, cheese, buffalo dip)
•  Steam pans filled with water
•  Plates, cups, napkins, forks and spoons put out

2 Hours Before:

•  Pork out of the smoker (wrapped in tine foil and resting), rest for 45 min.
•  BBQ on  - Grill hot dogs
• Once the hot dogs are grilled, place in steam tray and cover
•  Light steam tray burners
•  Pull the pork and place in covered steam tray

1 Hour Before:

•  Put out all the food
• Ice all the drinks
• Heat oil in deep fryer

After guests arrive:

•  Cook fries (I do all the fries first because the chicken will change the flavor of the fries)
• Cook the chicken wings

**  If you have access to more than one deep fryer, I do recommend using two.  Also I fry almost everything in peanut oil.  You will notice the difference, trust me.

This is just a guide, depending on what food you are serving, you will need to change it up.

Recipes used:

Pulled Pork:

There are a ton of recipes for pulled pork, you may want to read up on it from multiple sources before you try it for the first time.  This one is test one hundred and something for me, the group liked it enough that I will share the recipe. Again, this is one of many recipes, try, learn, combine it with other recipes to make it your own, enjoy.

Rub:

Yellow Mustard - 1 cup
Crushed Garlic - 4 tbls
Worcestershire sauce - 3 tbls
Seasoning salt - 3 tbls
Onion powder - 2 tbls
Cumin - 1 tbls
Salt - 3 tbls

Injection:

Olive oil - 1 cup
Garlic powder - 2 tbls
Cumin – 1 tbls

Pork:

Bone in pork butt - 10 to 14lbs

The pork will take 1.5 to 2 hours per pound at 225F.  The pork is done when it reaches 190F. Remember that the pork will sit at 160f for a few hours, this is normal.  You will need to plan to have it reach 190F two hours before the party. 

Two days before the party mix the injection ingredients.  Using a meat injector, evenly inject the oil mixture in to the pork. Wrap the pork in cling wrap and refrigerate.

1 - 2 hours before you need to put the pork in the smoker. Mix together the rub ingredients then apply the rub to the pork generously.

Smoke at 225F for 1.5 to 2 hours per pound or till the internal pork temp reaches 190F

Once the pork is done, wrap it in foil and let it rest for 45 minutes or so.  Pull with 2 forks. Serve with plain hamburger buns, coleslaw and BBQ sauce.

Sweet Winnies

1 large package of little smokies
1 bottle of grape jelly
1 bottle of BBQ sauce (bold flavor)

Mix equal parts BBQ sauce and grape jelly.  Add little smokies and heat in crockpot till hot.

Wings:

Peanut oil - enough to fill deep fryer
Chicken wings - 20 - 30pcs

Dredge:

Corn starch - 2 cups
Garlic powder - 2tbls
Paprika - 2tbls
Salt - 2tbls
Cayenne pepper - 1tbls

Wing Sauce:
Hot sauce - 1 cup
Butter - 1 cup
Garlic powder - 1tbls

Mix the dredge ingredients.  Clean and dry the chicken pieces. Place chicken in a bowl with the corn starch mixture. Mix the chicken and the corn starch mixture till the chicken is well covered.  Place the bowl in the fridge till ready to use, at least one hour.

Heat the oil to 375F.

Heat the sauce ingredience in a pot over low heat till completely melted and combined.

Add wings to fryer basket, do not overload.  A good rule of thumb is a single layer in the basket. Fry for 13 minutes or until golden brown. 

Coat the wings in the sauce and serve. 

Enjoy the party!