Pregame breakfast win
A few years ago, I was in Minneapolis tailgating with friends for the University of Minnesota’s homecoming game against Northwestern. We got to the parking lot around 8:30 in the morning, to party before the 11 a.m. kickoff. Our host, Chad Jaeger, started the festivities with a hearty breakfast chili — rich and creamy, it was packed with crumbled bacon and sausage, beans, cheddar cheese and diced egg. It was the perfect way to warm up a bunch of Gopher fans on a chilly, 45-degree morning.
For those of us who love to tailgate, this is one party that’s as much about the food as it is about the actual game. And while it may be easy to fortify the gang before an afternoon or evening game, how do you plan around an early kickoff? Because not everyone’s ready to tackle a cheeseburger or a rack of ribs first thing in the morning.
And why should they? If anything, breakfast or brunch tailgates should really become a thing. At many restaurants, breakfast is the most popular meal of the day, and brunch itself has become the muse of many a chef. There’s no reason we can’t riff on some of those dishes for our pre-game festivities — particularly for those of us on the West Coast who frequently suffer through early games to satisfy East Coast programming bias. Nothing will set a sleepy tailgater’s circadian rhythm right faster than a filling
breakfast and beverage to match.
That breakfast chili is easy enough to make, and one I frequently turn to when I’m planning an early tailgate: Simply combine the ingredients in a portable slow cooker over low heat, so the flavors have time to come together the night before. On game day, plug the cooker into a car adapter to keep the chili warm on the way to the stadium. Once your tailgate is set up, put the chili out with crackers, extra green onions, shredded cheese and hot sauce so your guests can customize to taste.
Breakfast chili not your thing? Get creative. Try cooking shakshuka on the grill — the spiced pepper, onion and egg dish is an easy choice if you’re cooking outdoors. Assemble a stack of croque-madame sandwiches — bread layered with plenty of ham and cheese — then dip them to order in egg and
brown them with plenty of butter on a griddle until the cheese just begins to ooze. It’s like a grilled cheese on steroids. A friend once made a pot of congee for an early tailgate, served with a variety of toppings.
For those guests with a sweet tooth, bake your items ahead of time, then warm them up at the game. I’ll fix a batch of sticky buns or French toast muffin bites the night before and refrigerate them until I’m ready to head to the party. At the tailgate, I’ll gently heat them on a closed grill, still in the tin, until the sticky buns slide out easily, and the French toast bites are puffed up and warm, and the streusel topping is fragrant.
As with any great tailgate, the trick is to plan ahead and keep it simple. I try to make as much food as possible before I leave the house, and heat up what I need once I’m set up at the party.
Finally, don’t forget the beverages. Most thermoses will keep hot beverages — coffee, cocoa or cider — warm for hours. And it’s never too early for a cocktail. Mimosas are an easy choice for morning tailgates. If you have fresh fruit, consider making a pitcher of sangria.
If there’s one thing I always fix for an early tailgate, it’s a batch of Bloody Mary mix. Serve it with vodka or tequila (a Bloody Maria), or combine it with beer for a michelada. It’s easy to put together — combine tomatoes with a bunch of flavorings and blend. My secret ingredient is blending in a few strips of crisp bacon, which gives the mix extra heft and richness. As my friend and fellow tailgate aficionado Chris Erskine likes to say, “It’s like vodka gazpacho.”
noelle.carter@latimes.com Twitter: @noellecarter