An Indoor Tailgate Party
Can't make it to Tampa for the big game? Grill indoors-Steven Raichlen explains how.
The Super Bowl is fast approaching, and you've decided to invite everyone you know for a long day of eating, drinking, and yelling. So what does a football fan want to eat in early February?
To Steven Raichlen, there's only one answer: food from the grill. "The game action takes place indoors, in front of your TV," says Raichlen, grill master and bestselling cookbook author. "So why shouldn't your tailgate picnic? Indoor grilling brings the thrill of barbecue to the center of the pregame and halftime action: your living room."
Raichlen's book Raichlen's Indoor! Grilling will show you how to bring smoke and fire into your home in the most modern ways. For Epicurious, he has chosen five of his recipes to start off your Super Bowl celebrations. And his expert tips guarantee that it will be a winning day. After all, Raichlen writes, "if something tastes good baked, fried, or sautéed, it probably tastes better grilled."
Raichlen's Ten Tips for Success
Keep It Simple
The menu I've suggested won't drive you crazy with the preparations. Remember, your main job as host is to spend time with your guests and enjoy the game.
Include Some Do-Ahead Items
Choose some dishes that can be grilled ahead and served cold or at room temperature. Good candidates on my menu include the chile-rubbed shrimp and the grilled pound cake.
Make a Plan of Attack
Write out what you need to buy, when you'll shop, when you'll prep the dishes, and what the order of grilling will be. Ninety percent of winning the cooking-and-entertaining battle is having a clear plan.
Be Organized
Buy all the supplies you need for the party no later than the day before. If possible, sort the ingredients by recipe and have them in paper bags in your refrigerator.
Avoid Smoke Alarm Issues
To keep from smoking up your house, set up indoor grills on the stove under the exhaust hood and run the exhaust fan on high, or work next to a window you can open.
Prep in Advance
Foods that must be grilled at the last minute-such as the Calgary hot wings-should be prepped in advance. That way, all you need to do close to game time is cook them, and the cooking time is quite brief.
Avoid Traffic Jams
If you have more than one dish to cook at the last minute, time them to keep the food flowing. Grill the hot wings first, followed by the Filipino-style London broil; the spicy beer-marinated wings are a Super Bowl must and a perfect lead-in to the beef.
Multitask
If you have more than one type of indoor grill, take advantage of all of them. For example, cook the wings in a stove-top smoker or grill pan and the pound cake on a contact grill (Foreman or panini machine). This, too, avoids traffic jams.
Deputize
Enlist your guests to help you cook. Most indoor grills are supereasy to use. And it's fun for all involved.
Have Fun
Grilling isn't brain surgery. Most of the dishes in my book are extremely simple, and a minor deviation from the recipe or an ingredient more or less won't result in a disaster. Remember, there's no such thing as a mistake in the kitchen, just a new dish waiting to be discovered.
Steven Raichlen's Super Bowl Sunday Menu
Supercolorful and tasty. Can be grilled ahead and served at room temperature.
No Super Bowl party should be without wings. These taste great, are quick to cook, and very appropriately, are made with beer.
Everyone likes shrimp cocktail. This one explodes with flavor, and you can make it ahead and serve cold.
Gets to the meat of the matter. Can be made ahead and served at room temperature. And it's always nice to have one big slab of meat you can carve in front of your guests.
Because no one thinks of dessert on the grill-especially for Super Bowl. Supereasy. Can be made ahead. And who wouldn't be captivated by tequila whipped cream?
For more game day recipes and tips, check out Epicurious's complete Super Bowl package.
